Ernest 'Ernie' Samuel Cockle (12 September 1896 – 1966) was an English professional

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 ...

who played as an Centre-forward in the English Football League.

Career

Born in

East Ham East Ham is a district of the London Borough of Newham, England, 8 miles (12.8 km) east of Charing Cross. East Ham is identified in the London Plan as a Major Centre. The population is 76,186. It was originally part of the Becontree Hun ...

, Cockle joined his local Second Division club Clapton Orient after the Great War. After dipping into non-league with Margate Town and

Maidstone United Maidstone United Football Club is a professional football club based in Maidstone, Kent, England. The team compete in the National League, at the fifth tier of the English football league system. The current club filled the void left by the ol ...

, Cockle signed for

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 ...

at the start of the 1923 season, but failed to make an appearance despite being a prolific goalscorer for the reserves. In search of first team football, he signed for Luton Town in May 1924.

Northampton Town (1924–1927)

Cockle signed for Northampton Town in December 1924 alongside fellow Luton Town teammate Ralph Hoten. They were signed by manager

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due to the injury of record goalscorer at the time, William Lockett. He played every game in the 1925–26 season, which started in great fashion, scoring all 4 goals in a 4–3 win against

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 ...

Griffin Park Griffin Park was a football ground in Brentford in the London Borough of Hounslow, England. It was the home ground of Brentford F.C. from its opening in September 1904 to August 2020. The ground is in a predominantly residential area and was ...

. He also ended up the leading league goalscorer, however

Les Robinson Les Robinson (born September 23, 1942) is an American former college basketball coach and athletic director at East Tennessee State University, North Carolina State University, and The Citadel, The Military College of South Carolina. He is a memb ...

's six FA Cup strikes left him the leading goalscorer in all matches. Cockle continued as a regular goalscorer, including leading the overall scoring charts the following year, but lost his place from the start of the 1927–28 season before transferring to Wigan Borough in June 1928.

References

1896 births English men's footballers Men's association football forwards Leyton Orient F.C. players Margate F.C. players Maidstone United F.C. (1897) players Arsenal F.C. players Luton Town F.C. players Northampton Town F.C. players Wigan Borough F.C. players Guildford City F.C. players Chorley F.C. players English Football League players 1966 deaths {{England-footy-forward-1890s-stub