Albert Cooper Jr. (February 23, 1904 – December 1993) was a former U.S.

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

goalkeeper In many team sports which involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or intercepting o ...

who later served in the

New Jersey General Assembly The New Jersey General Assembly is the lower house of the New Jersey Legislature. Since the election of 1967 (1968 Session), the Assembly has consisted of 80 members. Two members are elected from each of New Jersey's 40 legislative districts for ...

. Cooper earned two

cap A cap is a flat headgear, usually with a visor. Caps have crowns that fit very close to the head. They made their first appearance as early as 3200 BC. Caps typically have a visor, or no brim at all. They are popular in casual and informal se ...

with the U.S. national team in 1928. The first came at the

1928 Summer Olympics The 1928 Summer Olympics ( nl, Olympische Zomerspelen 1928), officially known as the Games of the IX Olympiad ( nl, Spelen van de IXe Olympiade) and commonly known as Amsterdam 1928, was an international multi-sport event that was celebrated from ...

when the U.S. lost to

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

11–2. Following this loss, the U.S. tied

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

, 3-3, on June 10, 1928. At the time of the Olympics, he played for Trenton F.C. Born and raised in

Trenton, New Jersey Trenton is the capital city of the U.S. state of New Jersey and the county seat of Mercer County. It was the capital of the United States from November 1 to December 24, 1784.Trenton Central High School Trenton Central High School is a four-year comprehensive public high school that serves students in ninth through twelfth grades from Trenton, in Mercer County, New Jersey, United States, operating as part of the Trenton Public Schools. As ...

, from which he graduated in 1921. After his Olympic play, he competed for the

Trenton Highlanders The Trenton Highlanders were an American soccer club based in Trenton, New Jersey Trenton is the capital city of the U.S. state of New Jersey and the county seat of Mercer County. It was the capital of the United States from November 1 to Dec ...

of the American Soccer League and played minor league baseball. He also played basketball, including for the

Trenton Tigers The Trenton Tigers were an American basketball team based in Trenton, New Jersey that was a member of the American Basketball League. In the 1946/47 season, the team made it to the championship playoffs where they were to meet the Baltimore Bu ...

and the

Trenton Bengals The Trenton Bengals was the name given to two separate teams in the American Basketball League, the first professional basketball league in the United States. Trenton Bengals/Royal Bengals The Trenton Bengals (also known as the ''Royal Bengals'') ...

of the American Basketball League. An attorney, he was elected to serve as Sheriff of

Mercer County, New Jersey Mercer County is a county located in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Its county seat is Trenton, also the state capital, but also directly borders the Philadelphia metropolitan area and is included within the Federal Communications Commission's ...

and represented Trenton as a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

in the

.Trenton Olympians

Trenton City Museum Mansion House (also referred to as Ellarslie and McCall House) is a historic residence located in Trenton, Mercer County, New Jersey, United States. The house was built as a summer residence for Henry McCall Sr. of Philadelphia in 1848, and i ...

. Accessed August 17, 2022. "Albert Cooper was born in Trenton. A 1921 graduate of Trenton High School, he was the first Trenton resident to be selected and compete in the Olympics..... Later in life, Cooper would become an attorney at law, NJ assemblyman, and sheriff of Mercer County. He was appointed as a judge in Trenton Municipal Court, a position he held until he retired in 1973."''Manual of the Legislature of New Jersey, Volume 156''
p.359. J. A. Fitzgerald, 1932. Accessed August 17, 2022. "Albert Cooper Jr. (Dem., Trenton) Mr. Cooper was born in Trenton, February 23, 1904. He received his education in the Trenton public schools , including Trenton High School and Rider Moore Business College of Trenton."

References

1904 births 1993 deaths Footballers at the 1928 Summer Olympics Democratic Party members of the New Jersey General Assembly New Jersey lawyers Olympic soccer players for the United States People from Southampton Township, New Jersey Soccer players from Trenton, New Jersey Sportspeople from Burlington County, New Jersey Trenton Central High School alumni Trenton Highlanders players United States men's international soccer players Men's association football goalkeepers American men's soccer players 20th-century American legislators {{US-footy-goalkeeper-stub