James Thomson Cooper (born 28 December 1939), commonly known as Jim or Jimmy Cooper, is a Scottish former 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 a winger in the Scottish League for Raith Rovers and

Airdrieonians Airdrieonians Football Club is a Scottish professional football team in Airdrie, North Lanarkshire, who are members of the Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) and play in Scottish League One. They were formed in 2002 as Airdrie United ...

and in the English

Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...

for Brighton & Hove Albion and

Hartlepools United Hartlepool United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Hartlepool, County Durham, England. The team competes in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. They were founded in 1908 as Har ...

Life and career

Cooper was born in

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

in 1939. A right-footed winger with considerable pace, he joined Raith Rovers from junior club Ardeer Thistle in December 1965. He made nine appearances in the

1960–61 Scottish Division One The 1960–61 Scottish Division One was won by Rangers, who finished one point ahead of nearest rival Kilmarnock. Clyde and Ayr United finished 17th and 18th respectively and were relegated to the 1961-62 Second Division. League table Result ...

season as his team finished just above the relegation places, and the following season he scored twice from eight appearances for

as they avoided the drop by an even narrower margin. After a trial, Cooper signed for English club Brighton & Hove Albion, newly relegated to the

Football League Third Division The Football League Third Division was the third tier of the English football league system in 1920–21 and again from 1958 until 1992. When the FA Premier League was formed, the division become the fourth tier level. In 2004, following the f ...

. He played in around half the matches as the team suffered a second consecutive relegation, and a similar number in 1963–64. After his third season was spent entirely in the reserves, in the 1965–66 season he signed for

, where he made 22 appearances under manager

Brian Clough Brian Howard Clough ( ; 21 March 1935 – 20 September 2004) was an English football player and manager, primarily known for his successes as a manager with Derby County and Nottingham Forest. He is one of four managers to have won the Englis ...

in all competitions, and then moved into South African football with

Addington Addington may refer to: Places In Australia: * Addington, Victoria In Canada: * Addington, Ontario * Addington County, Ontario (now Lennox and Addington County, Ontario) * Addington Highlands, Ontario * Addington Parish, New Brunswick * Adding ...

and

Cape Town City A cape is a clothing accessory or a sleeveless outer garment which drapes the wearer's back, arms, and chest, and connects at the neck. History Capes were common in medieval Europe, especially when combined with a Hood (headgear), hood in t ...

References

1939 births Living people Footballers from Glasgow Scottish men's footballers Men's association football wingers Ardeer Thistle F.C. players Raith Rovers F.C. players Airdrieonians F.C. (1878) players Brighton & Hove Albion F.C. players Hartlepool United F.C. players Addington F.C. players Cape Town City F.C. (NFL) players Scottish Junior Football Association players Scottish Football League players English Football League players National Football League (South Africa) players {{Scotland-footy-midfielder-1930s-stub