Les Cocker (13 March 1924 – 4 October 1979) was an English professional

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 and coach. As a player, Cocker played as a striker for

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 ...

and

Accrington Stanley Accrington Stanley Football Club is a professional association football club based in Accrington, Lancashire, England. The club competes in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. They have spent their complete history ...

, making nearly 300 appearances 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 Engl ...

. After retiring as a player, Cocker became a coach, working with club sides

Luton Town Luton Town Football Club () is a professional association football club based in the town of Luton, Bedfordshire, England, that competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1885, it is nicknam ...

and

Leeds United Leeds United Football Club is a professional football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire in England. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of England's football league system, and plays its home matches at Elland Road S ...

, before working with the victorious England team at the

1966 World Cup The 1966 FIFA World Cup was the eighth FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial football tournament for men's senior national teams. It was played in England from 11 July to 30 July 1966. The England national football team defeated West Germany 4-2 in the ...

Early and personal life

Cocker was born in

Stockport Stockport is a town and borough in Greater Manchester, England, south-east of Manchester, south-west of Ashton-under-Lyne and north of Macclesfield. The River Goyt and Tame merge to create the River Mersey here. Most of the town is within ...

on 13 March 1924. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, Cocker spent time with the Reconnaissance Regiment in Occupied France. Cocker was married to Nora and had three sons – David, Stephen and Ian.

Career

Playing career

Cocker began his professional career with

in 1946, scoring 43 goals in 173 League games between then and 1953. Cocker then played with

, scoring 48 goals in 122 League games between 1953 and 1958. In his professional playing career, Cocker scored a total of 91 goals in 295 League games.

Coaching career

After retiring as a player in 1958, Cocker became a Coach at

. In 1960 Cocker moved to

, as one of the country's first FA Coaching Certificate holders. In 1962, Cocker was called up by England national team manager

Walter Winterbottom Sir Walter Winterbottom (31 March 1913 – 16 February 2002) was an English football player and coach. He was the first manager of the England national team (1946–1962) and Director of Coaching for The Football Association (the FA). He ...

to become a squad trainer, combining his national duties with those of his club. Cocker left Leeds in 1974 to become full-time Assistant Manager to

Don Revie Donald George Revie OBE (10 July 1927 – 26 May 1989) was an England international footballer and manager, best known for his successful spell with Leeds United from 1961 until 1974, which immediately preceded his appointment as England manage ...

with the England national team. When Revie left in 1977 to become manager of the United Arab Emirates national team, Cocker followed as his assistant. Cocker returned to England in 1979 to become a coach at

Doncaster Rovers Doncaster Rovers Football Club is a professional association football club based in Doncaster, South Yorkshire, England. The team compete in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. The club play their home games at ...

under former Leeds legend

Billy Bremner William John Bremner (9 December 1942 – 7 December 1997) was a Scottish professional footballer and manager. Regarded as one of the game's great midfielders, he combined precision passing skills with tenacious tackling and physical stam ...

, but he died in October of that year aged 55.

1966 World Cup

Cocker was also a Team Trainer with the victorious England squad at the

. Despite the England team winning the competition, Cocker was not awarded a medal, and a posthumous campaign for Cocker to be awarded one was launched by his family in February 2008. The campaign attracted support from former Leeds players including Eddie Gray,

Peter Lorimer Peter Patrick Lorimer (14 December 1946 – 20 March 2021) was a Scottish professional footballer, best known for his time with Leeds United and Scotland during the late 1960s and early 1970s. An attacking midfielder and the club's youngest-ever ...

and

Johnny Giles Michael John Giles (born 6 November 1940) is an Irish former association football player and manager best remembered for his time as a midfielder with Leeds United in the 1960s and 1970s. After retiring from management in 1985, Giles served as t ...

, as well as British politicians including

Gerry Sutcliffe Gerard Sutcliffe (born 13 May 1953) is a British Labour Party politician who was Member of Parliament (MP) for Bradford South from 1994 to 2015. He was the Minister for Sport and Tourism in the Brown Government. Biography Born in Salford, ...

and

Richard Caborn Richard George Caborn (born 6 October 1943) is a British politician who served as Minister of Sport from 2001 to 2007 and later as the prime minister's ambassador for England's 2018 FIFA World Cup bid. He previously served as a junior minister ...

. Cocker was eventually awarded a medal in June 2009, which was collected on his behalf by his family.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cocker, Les 1924 births 1979 deaths English footballers Stockport County F.C. players Accrington Stanley F.C. (1891) players English Football League players British Army personnel of World War II Footballers from Stockport Association football forwards Reconnaissance Corps soldiers Military personnel from Cheshire Leeds United F.C. non-playing staff Luton Town F.C. non-playing staff Doncaster Rovers F.C. non-playing staff Association football coaches