Walter Crook (28 April 1913 – 27 December 1988) was an English

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

player and manager.

Career

Playing career

Crook, who played as a full back, played in the

Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional association football, football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, it is the oldest football league in Association football around the world, the w ...

for

Blackburn Rovers Blackburn Rovers Football Club is a professional football club based in Blackburn, Lancashire, England, which competes in the , the second level of the English football league system. They have played home matches at Ewood Park since 1890. Th ...

and

Bolton Wanderers Bolton Wanderers Football Club ( ) is a professional association football, football club based in Horwich, Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in EFL League One, League One, the third level of the Englis ...

, making a total of 264 appearances. He holds the record for most consecutive Football League appearances by a Blackburn player (208 between 1934 and 1946). Crook also made one wartime international appearance for

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

in 1939.

Coaching career

Crook managed Dutch side

Ajax Ajax may refer to: Greek mythology and tragedy * Ajax the Great, a Greek mythological hero, son of King Telamon and Periboea * Ajax the Lesser, a Greek mythological hero, son of Oileus, the king of Locris * Ajax (play), ''Ajax'' (play), by the an ...

between 1948 and 1950, and again between 1953 and 1954. He also managed

Sparta Rotterdam Sparta Rotterdam () is a Dutch professional football club based in Rotterdam. Established on 1 April 1888, Sparta Rotterdam is the oldest professional football team in the Netherlands. Sparta currently competes in the Eredivisie, the top flig ...

and English club sides Accrington Stanley and

Wigan Athletic Wigan Athletic Football Club is a professional association football club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. The team competes in the EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system. Founded in 1932, they have p ...

Personal life

Walter was born in Whittle-le-Woods, the son of Jane Parker and Alfred Crook. He was married to Doris Sutcliffe.

References

1913 births 1988 deaths People from Whittle-le-Woods English men's footballers England men's wartime international footballers English football managers Blackburn Rovers F.C. players Bolton Wanderers F.C. players English Football League players AFC Ajax managers Sparta Rotterdam managers Accrington Stanley F.C. (1891) managers Wigan Athletic F.C. managers English expatriate football managers Men's association football fullbacks English expatriate sportspeople in the Netherlands Expatriate football managers in the Netherlands {{England-footy-manager-stub