Thomas Coop (10 March 1863 – 16 April 1929) was an English

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...

, and professional

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 112 ...

footballer who played in the 1890s. He played representative level rugby union (RU) for

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, and at club level for

Leigh Leigh may refer to: Places In England Pronounced : * Leigh, Greater Manchester, Borough of Wigan ** Leigh (UK Parliament constituency) * Leigh-on-Sea, Essex Pronounced : * Leigh, Dorset * Leigh, Gloucestershire * Leigh, Kent * Leigh, Staf ...

( Heritage № 1), as a

fullback Fullback or Full back may refer to: Sports * A position in various kinds of football, including: ** Full-back (association football), in association football (soccer), a defender playing in a wide position ** Fullback (gridiron football), in Americ ...

, i.e. number 15, and representative level rugby League (RL) for

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...

, and at club level for

( Heritage № 1), as

goal A goal is an idea of the future or desired result that a person or a group of people envision, plan and commit to achieve. People endeavour to reach goals within a finite time by setting deadlines. A goal is roughly similar to a purpose or ai ...

-kicking , i.e. number 1. Prior to Thursday 29 August 1895, Leigh was a rugby union club.

Background

Tom Coop was born in Tottington,

, England, and he died aged 66 in Bucklow,

Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a ceremonial and historic county in North West England, bordered by Wales to the west, Merseyside and Greater Manchester to the north, Derbyshire to the east, and Staffordshire and Shropshire to the south. Cheshire's county t ...

, England.

Playing career

International honours

Tom Coop won a

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 ...

for

(RU) while at Leigh in the

1892 Home Nations Championship The 1892 Home Nations Championship was the tenth series of the rugby union Home Nations Championship. Six matches were played between 2 January and 5 March. It was contested by England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales. England took the 1892 Champion ...

against Scotland.

County honours

Tom Coop won

s for

(RL) while at Leigh.

Change of Code

When Leigh converted from the

code to the

code on Thursday 29 August 1895, Tom Coop would have been 32 years of age. Consequently, he was both a rugby union, and rugby league footballer for Leigh, and he played his last match for

in the 8-11 defeat by

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 ...

Mather Lane Mather may refer to: People * Mather (given name), a list of people with the given name * Mather (surname), a list of people with the surname Places * Mather, California (disambiguation) * Mather, Manitoba, Canada, a community * Mather, Pennsyl ...

(adjacent to the

Bridgewater Canal The Bridgewater Canal connects Runcorn, Manchester and Leigh, Greater Manchester, Leigh, in North West England. It was commissioned by Francis Egerton, 3rd Duke of Bridgewater, to transport coal from his mines in Worsley to Manchester. It was ...

, on Saturday 4 December 1897.

References

External links

Search for "Thomas Coop" at britishnewspaperarchive.co.ukSearch for "Tom Coop" at britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk
{{DEFAULTSORT:Coop, Thomas 1863 births 1929 deaths England international rugby union players English rugby league players English rugby union players Lancashire rugby league team players Leigh Leopards players Rugby league fullbacks Sportspeople from Bury, Greater Manchester Rugby league players from Greater Manchester Rugby union fullbacks Rugby union players from Greater Manchester People from Tottington, Greater Manchester Sportspeople from the Metropolitan Borough of Bury