Donald James Cock (10 July 1896 – 31 August 1974) 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 le ...

. He was the younger brother of England international

Jack Cock John Gilbert Cock MM MID (14 November 1893 – 19 April 1966) was an English footballer who played for various English club sides as a centre forward. He also had the distinction of being the first Cornishman to play for the England nationa ...

and his other brother

Herbert Herbert may refer to: People Individuals * Herbert (musician), a pseudonym of Matthew Herbert Name * Herbert (given name) * Herbert (surname) Places Antarctica * Herbert Mountains, Coats Land * Herbert Sound, Graham Land Australia * Herbert, ...

was also a footballer. Born in Hayle, Cornwall, Cock started his professional career with

Brentford Brentford is a suburban town in West London, England and part of the London Borough of Hounslow. It lies at the confluence of the River Brent and the Thames, west of Charing Cross. Its economy has diverse company headquarters buildings whi ...

during World War I. A

striker Striker or The Strikers may refer to: People *A participant in a strike action *A participant in a hunger strike *Blacksmith's striker, a type of blacksmith's assistant *Striker's Independent Society, the oldest mystic krewe in America People wi ...

, he moved to

Fulham Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea. The area faces Wandsworth ...

in 1919. In three seasons with the Second Division club, he averaged a goal every other game, and was the club's leading goalscorer in 1919–20 and 1920–21. He moved to Notts County in October 1922 and played nearly 100 games in three seasons there, being the club's top scorer in 1922–23 and 1923–24, winning the Second Division title in the former. Cock's exploits at Notts County earned the eye of

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 ...

and he was signed by

Leslie Knighton Albert Leslie Knighton (15 March 1887 – 10 May 1959) was an English football manager. He managed Arsenal, Bournemouth & Boscombe Athletic, Birmingham, Chelsea and Shrewsbury Town. Management career Knighton was born in Church Gresley, Sw ...

in March 1925, making his debut for Arsenal against

Bolton Wanderers Bolton Wanderers Football Club () is a professional football club based in Horwich, Bolton, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in . The club played at Burnden Park for 102 years from 1895 after moving from their original home at Pike's ...

on 7 March 1925. However, in his next match, against his former club Notts County at Meadow Lane, he was tackled strongly and broke his leg. He was out of action for five months and could not find favour under new manager Herbert Chapman. Cock only played one more game for Arsenal before being sold to Clapton Orient in October 1925. Cock regained his form at Orient, becoming top scorer for the Second Division side in 1925–26 and 1926–27 before finishing his career with brief stints at Wolves and Newport County in 1927. He retired from professional football, aged 31, soon after. He died in 1974, aged 78.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cock, Donald 1896 births 1974 deaths People from Hayle English footballers Men's association football forwards Brentford F.C. players Fulham F.C. players Notts County F.C. players Arsenal F.C. players Leyton Orient F.C. players Footballers from Cornwall Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. players Newport County A.F.C. players