Ade Coker (born 19 May 1954) is a Nigerian-American former

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

player who played as a striker. Coker began with English club

West Ham United West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club that plays its home matches in Stratford, East London. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The club plays at the London Stadium, hav ...

then moved to the

North American Soccer League The North American Soccer League may refer to: *North American Soccer League (1968–1984), a former Division I league *North American Soccer League (2011–2017) The North American Soccer League (NASL) was a professional men's soccer league b ...

and the Major Indoor Soccer League. He also earned five

caps Caps are flat headgear. Caps or CAPS may also refer to: Science and technology Computing * CESG Assisted Products Service, provided by the U.K. Government Communications Headquarters * Composite Application Platform Suite, by Java Caps, a Java ...

with the U.S. national team.

Professional career

Coker was born in Nigeria, but moved to England at the age of 11. He was playing schoolboy football when he was spotted by West Ham

scout Scout may refer to: Youth movement *Scout (Scouting), a child, usually 10–18 years of age, participating in the worldwide Scouting movement **Scouts (The Scout Association), section for 10-14 year olds in the United Kingdom **Scouts BSA, sectio ...

Wally St Pier Stanley Walter St Pier (8 October 1904 – 1989) was an English footballer and scout. Career St Pier arrived at West Ham United from Ilford in April 1929 making his senior debut in October 1929 against Leicester City. Spending most of his tim ...

. In 1971, he signed with the English First Division club

when he was 17. His first start with the Hammers came on 30 October 1971, against

Crystal Palace Crystal Palace may refer to: Places Canada * Crystal Palace Complex (Dieppe), a former amusement park now a shopping complex in Dieppe, New Brunswick * Crystal Palace Barracks, London, Ontario * Crystal Palace (Montreal), an exhibition building ...

Selhurst Park Selhurst Park is a football stadium in Selhurst in the London Borough of Croydon which is the home ground of Premier League side Crystal Palace. The stadium was designed by Archibald Leitch and opened in 1924. It has hosted international footba ...

following a late injury to

Geoff Hurst Sir Geoffrey Charles Hurst (born 8 December 1941) is an English former professional footballer. A striker, he became the first man to score a hat-trick in a World Cup final when England recorded a 4–2 victory over West Germany at Wembley St ...

. He scored on his debut, a 3–0 victory, but despite this auspicious first game, he made only eleven first team appearances over three seasons.Belton, Brian (2006). ''The Black Hammers p.23-24'' Pennant Books. He spent the 1974 off-season with the

Boston Minutemen The Boston Minutemen were an American professional soccer team based out of Boston that played in the North American Soccer League (NASL). They played from 1974 to 1976. Their home fields included Alumni Stadium in Chestnut Hill, Schaefer Stadium ...

of the

(NASL), earning Second Team All Star honors. Returning to England, in December 1974 he joined Lincoln City on loan, making his debut in the 2-0 home victory over

Stockport County Stockport County Football Club are a professional association football, football club in Stockport, England, who compete in EFL League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. Formed in 1883 as Heaton Norris Rovers, they wer ...

on 20 December 1974. He remained with the Imps for a month before returning to West Ham. Coker then moved permanently to America, rejoining the

. Halfway through the 1976 season, Minutemen owner John Sterge began selling his players in order to forestall bankruptcy. Coker was sent to the

Minnesota Kicks The Minnesota Kicks were a professional soccer team that played at Metropolitan Stadium in the Minneapolis suburb of Bloomington, Minnesota, from 1976 to 1981. The team was a member of the now defunct North American Soccer League (NASL). Initiall ...

. After the Kick's playoff victory over the

Tampa Bay Rowdies The Tampa Bay Rowdies are an American professional Association football, soccer team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The club was founded in 2008 and first took the pitch in 2010. Since 2017, the Rowdies have been members of the USL Champions ...

, Coker's shoes were stolen off his feet by a jubilant fan. Three games into the 1978 season, Minnesota traded Coker to the

San Diego Sockers San Diego Sockers may refer to: *San Diego Sockers (1978–1996) The San Diego Sockers were a soccer and indoor soccer team based in San Diego, California. The team played in the indoor and outdoor editions of the North American Soccer League ( ...

. At the end of the 1979 season, the Sockers sent Coker to the Rochester Lancers for the 1980 season. Coker spent the 1980–1981 Major Indoor Soccer League club

Baltimore Blast The Baltimore Blast is an American professional indoor soccer team based in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. The team is a part of the Major Arena Soccer League. The team has won 10 championships since it was founded in 1980. Beginning with t ...

. In 1982 Coker was back with San Diego as the Sockers began to transition towards indoor soccer. When the NASL collapsed following the 1984 season, the Sockers moved to MISL and became the league's dominant team. Coker remained with the Sockers until 1987. He spent one more season (1987–1988) in MISL with the St. Louis Steamers.

U.S. national team

Coker earned 5

with the U.S. national team. He earned his first cap in a September 9, 1984, scoreless draw with the

Netherlands Antilles nl, In vrijheid verenigd"Unified by freedom" , national_anthem = , common_languages = Dutch English Papiamento , demonym = Netherlands Antillean , capital = Willemstad , year_start = 1954 , year_end = 2010 , date_start = 15 December , ...

. A month later, he scored twice as in a 4–0 victory over the Netherlands Antilles after coming on for

Chance Fry Chance Fry (born June 29, 1964, in Bellevue, Washington) is a retired U.S. soccer forward who began his career straight out of high school with the Seattle Sounders of the North American Soccer League. With the collapse of the NASL, he moved to ...

. He scored again two matches later, a 1–0 victory over

Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...

. He played his fifth and last match for the U.S. in a 2–1 loss to

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

on October 17, 1984.

Post-Career

In 2008, Coker alongside his West Ham teammates,

Clive Charles Clive Michael Charles (3 October 1951 – 26 August 2003) was an English football player, coach and television announcer. He was one of five National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) coaches to win more than 400 games. Born in Dagenham, E ...

and

Clyde Best Clyde Cyril Best, MBE (born 24 February 1951) is a Bermudian former football player. He was one of the first black players in First Division football in England, scoring 47 goals as a striker for West Ham United between 1968 and 1976. Early ...

, were the subjects of the book 'East End Heroes, Stateside Kings'.

References

External links

Reminiscence of Coker at West Ham

West Ham stats

Lincoln City F.C. Official Archive Profile

{{DEFAULTSORT:Coker, Ade 1954 births Living people Footballers from Lagos American soccer players Baltimore Blast (1980–1992) players Boston Minutemen players Association football forwards English footballers English emigrants to the United States Lincoln City F.C. players Major Indoor Soccer League (1978–1992) players Minnesota Kicks players New York Arrows players Nigerian footballers Nigerian emigrants to the United Kingdom American people of Yoruba descent Yoruba sportspeople North American Soccer League (1968–1984) indoor players North American Soccer League (1968–1984) players Rochester Lancers (1967–1980) players San Diego Sockers (1980 – 1996, indoors) players San Diego Sockers (1978–1996) players St. Louis Steamers (original MISL) players English Football League players United States men's international soccer players West Ham United F.C. players Naturalised association football players