Samuel Dickinson Crooks (16 January 1908 – 3 February 1981) was an English

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...

who played as

outside forward Forwards (also known as attackers) are outfield positions in an association football team who play the furthest up the pitch and are therefore most responsible for scoring goals as well as assisting them. As with any attacking player, the role ...

or outside right for

Derby County Derby County Football Club () is a professional association football club based in Derby, Derbyshire, England. In 2022, it was announced that DCFC was acquired by Clowes Developments (UK) Ltd, a Derbyshire-based property group. Founded in 1884 ...

in the mid-war era. He was one of the best-known footballers of the 1920s and 1930s and was capped 26 times by

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

Early life

Crooks was born at

Bearpark Bearpark is a village and civil parish in County Durham in England. It is situated two and a half miles west of Durham, and a short distance to the north of Ushaw Moor. The name may be a corruption of the French term ''Beau Repaire'' – ...

, County Durham, one of a family of 17 children. After leaving school, he worked in the coal-mines and played for the colliery team and then for

Tow Law Town Tow Law Town Association Football Club is an English non-league football club from Tow Law, County Durham, currently playing in the Northern League Division One, in the ninth level of the English football league system. The team, nicknamed "T ...

in his spare time until problems with rheumatism forced him to abandon his career underground. When his health was restored he joined Durham City in June 1926 and made 16 appearances for them in the

Third Division (North) The Third Division North of the Football League was a tier in the English football league system from 1921 to 1958. It ran in parallel with the Third Division South with clubs elected to the League or relegated from a higher division allocated to ...

Derby County and England

By April 1927, he had been spotted by

George Jobey George Jobey (July 1885 – 9 May 1962) was an English football player and manager. He won the league championship as a player with his hometown club Newcastle United. Career Jobey was born in 1885 in Heddon, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, and played foo ...

and was signed for Derby County for a fee of £300, making his debut for The Rams in a 2–1 win over

Leicester City Leicester ( ) is a city, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands. The city lies on the River Soar and close to the eastern end of the Nation ...

on 10 September 1927. Between 1927 and 1946 he played 445 games for the Rams, scoring 111 goals. During this period, County were twice runners-up in the Football League, in

1930 Events January * January 15 – The Moon moves into its nearest point to Earth, called perigee, at the same time as its fullest phase of the Lunar Cycle. This is the closest moon distance at in recent history, and the next one will be ...

and

1936 Events January–February * January 20 – George V of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions and Emperor of India, dies at his Sandringham Estate. The Prince of Wales succeeds to the throne of the United Kingdom as King E ...

. His first appearance for England was in a 5–2 victory against

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to th ...

on 5 April 1930. He then became a regular fixture in the England side, making 26 appearances and scoring 7 goals, including two in a 7–1 defeat of

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' ( Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , ...

on 9 December 1931. His final England appearance came in a 6–2 victory over

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croa ...

on 2 December 1936, (playing alongside Derby County colleagues

Raich Carter Horatio Stratton "Raich" Carter (21 December 1913 – 9 October 1994) was an English sportsman who played football for Sunderland A.F.C., Sunderland, Derby County F.C., Derby County and Hull City A.F.C., Hull City, as well as representing Engla ...

and Eric Keen). In 1935,

Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

attempted to sign Crooks and Tom Cooper in exchange for Alex James, but the deal fell through as Arsenal required a cash payment as well which Derby were not prepared to meet. Crook's playing career was interrupted by

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, but he made a handful of league appearances in the 1946–47 season before retiring. He was unlucky to miss Derby's

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competit ...

win of 1946 due to a knee injury, having scored in all of the earlier rounds.

Management

In December 1949, Crooks moved into management with

Retford Town Retford Town F.C. was a football club based in Northern Counties East League, Nottinghamshire, England. History Retford Town F.C. joined the Yorkshire League in 1949 and won the Second Division title in their first season, winning promotion t ...

. In May 1950 he became manager of

Shrewsbury Town Shrewsbury Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England. The team competes in League One, the third tier of English football. The club plays its home games at the New Meadow, having mov ...

, who had been elected to the

Football League Division Three North The Third Division North of the Football League was a tier in the English football league system from 1921 to 1958. It ran in parallel with the Third Division South with clubs elected to the League or relegated from a higher division allocated to ...

for the 1950–51 season. He remained with the Shropshire side until 1954.* In 1954 he moved to Gresley Rovers turning out occasionally as a player, making his début on Boxing Day 1954 in the Birmingham & District League at

Burton Albion Burton Albion Football Club is a professional association football club in the town of Burton upon Trent, Staffordshire, England. The team compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. The club moved its home gro ...

. There followed spells as manager with

and Heanor Town. During this time he opened a sport clothing store in

Derby Derby ( ) is a city and unitary authority area in Derbyshire, England. It lies on the banks of the River Derwent in the south of Derbyshire, which is in the East Midlands Region. It was traditionally the county town of Derbyshire. Derby gain ...

. After finishing in local team management he became Derby County's Chief Scout (until 1967) and also served for 14 years as Secretary of the Association Football Players Union. His career has been marked by Durham City naming the upper lounge at New Ferens Park, 'The Sammy Crooks Lounge', which is home to some of the memorabilia from his playing career. Similarly, Belper Leisure Centre, situated in the town where he died, renamed the bar to 'The Sammy Crooks Suite'.

References

* Mortimer, Gerald (2004): ''The Who's Who of Derby County''. Breedon Books Publishing, Derby. * Mortimer, Gerald (2006): ''Derby County – The Complete Record''. Breedon Books Publishing, Derby. * Official matchday programme: Burton Albion v Gresley Rovers 26/12/54.

External links

Profile at www.Englandfc.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Crooks, Sammy 1908 births 1981 deaths Footballers from County Durham English footballers Men's association football wingers England men's international footballers Tow Law Town F.C. players Durham City A.F.C. players Derby County F.C. players English Football League players English Football League representative players English football managers Retford Town F.C. managers Shrewsbury Town F.C. managers Gresley Rovers F.C. managers Burton Albion F.C. managers Heanor Town F.C. managers People from Bearpark