William Arthur Cope (25 November 1884 – 18 February 1937) 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 ...

who played as a full-back. He played 287 league games in the Football League over a nineteen-year professional career. He joined Burslem Port Vale in August 1904, and spent three seasons with the club, moving on to

Stoke Stoke is a common place name in the United Kingdom. Stoke may refer to: Places United Kingdom The largest city called Stoke is Stoke-on-Trent in Staffordshire. See below. Berkshire * Stoke Row, Berkshire Bristol * Stoke Bishop * Stok ...

after Port Vale resigned from the Football League. Stoke also resigned from the league in 1908, and he moved on to

Oldham Athletic Oldham Athletic Association Football Club is a professional football club in Oldham, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in the National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system. The history of Oldham Athletic be ...

. He spent six years with the club, helping the club win

promotion Promotion may refer to: Marketing * Promotion (marketing), one of the four marketing mix elements, comprising any type of marketing communication used to inform or persuade target audiences of the relative merits of a product, service, brand or i ...

out of the

Second Division In sport, the Second Division, also called Division 2 or Division II is usually the second highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Following the rise of Premier League style compet ...

in 1909–10, and to compete for the First Division title. He switched to

West Ham United West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club that plays its home matches in Stratford, East London. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The club plays at the London Stadium, hav ...

in 1914, and spent eight years with the club, helping the club to the wartime

London Combination The Football Combination was a football competition for the reserve teams of English Football League clubs from Southern England, the Midlands and Wales; other clubs from the Midlands and those from the North playing in the Central League (it is n ...

title in 1916–17. During this time West Ham moved from the Southern League to the Football League. He served the club as captain in 1921–22. He ended his career at

Wrexham Wrexham ( ; cy, Wrecsam; ) is a city and the administrative centre of Wrexham County Borough in Wales. It is located between the Welsh mountains and the lower Dee Valley, near the border with Cheshire in England. Historically in the count ...

at the end of the 1922–23 campaign.

Career

Cope joined

Burslem Port Vale from Mount Pleasant in August 1904. He played 25 games in

1904–05 Nineteen or 19 may refer to: * 19 (number), the natural number following 18 and preceding 20 * one of the years 19 BC, AD 19, 1919, 2019 Films * ''19'' (film), a 2001 Japanese film * ''Nineteen'' (film), a 1987 science fiction film Music ...

, scoring once in a 3–3 with Lincoln City at

Sincil Bank Sincil Bank Stadium, known for sponsorship reasons as LNER Stadium, is a football stadium in Lincoln, England which has been the home of Lincoln City since 1895. Previously, Lincoln City had played at the nearby John O'Gaunts ground since th ...

. The "Valeites" fared poorly, and finished third from bottom in the Football League, ahead of only Burton United and

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 ...

. Cope was a key part of the club's

1905–06 Nineteen or 19 may refer to: * 19 (number), the natural number following 18 and preceding 20 * one of the years 19 BC, AD 19, 1919, 2019 Films * ''19'' (film), a 2001 Japanese film * ''Nineteen'' (film), a 1987 science fiction film Music ...

campaign, playing 38 games alongside defensive partner James Hamilton. He played seventeen games in

1906–07 Nineteen or 19 may refer to: * 19 (number), the natural number following 18 and preceding 20 * one of the years 19 BC, AD 19, 1919, 2019 Films * ''19'' (film), a 2001 Japanese film * ''Nineteen'' (film), a 1987 science fiction film Music ...

, but left the Athletic Ground after the club resigned from the league. In his three seasons at the club he made 80 appearances (73 in the league) and scored one league goal. He signed with nearby

, also of the Second Division, and played 31 league and cup games in 1907–08. He was again without a club at the end of the season, as Stoke also resigned from the league due to financial difficulties. He left the Potteries and moved on to

. The "Latics" finished sixth in 1908–09, and finished as runners-up in 1909–10 (one point behind champions Manchester City), thereby winning

to the First Division. Oldham pushed on in 1910–11, and posted a seventh-place finish. However they struggled in 1911–12, surviving

relegation In sports leagues, promotion and relegation is a process where teams are transferred between multiple divisions based on their performance for the completed season. Leagues that use promotion and relegation systems are often called open leagues. ...

by finishing just one point ahead of Preston North End. Athletic then finished ninth in 1912–13 and fourth in 1913–14. He had played 62 league games for the club, scoring one goal. Cope signed with

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

began. The "Hammers" finished fourth in the Southern Football League in 1914–15, and Cope made 33 appearances. He was with West Ham for the duration of the war, and made 111 wartime appearances; the club won the

in 1916–17 and were elected to the Football League in 1919. West Ham posted a seventh-place finish in 1919–20 and a fifth-place finish in 1920–21. Cope was appointed as club captain for the 1921–22 season, and led the "Hammers" to a fourth-place finish. He left the club at the end of the season; over the course of the three Football League campaigns he made 114 appearances. Cope joined

Third Division North The Third Division North of the Football League was a tier in the English football league system from 1921 to 1958. It ran in parallel with the Third Division South with clubs elected to the League or relegated from a higher division allocated to ...

club

for the 1922–23 season. Making thirteen appearances, he retired at the end of the campaign at the age of 38.

Career statistics

Source:

Honours

Oldham Athletic *

Football League Second Division The Football League Second Division was the second level division in the English football league system between 1892 and 1992. Following the foundation of the FA Premier League, the Football League divisions were renumbered and the third t ...

second-place promotion: 1909–10 West Ham United *

: 1916–17

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cope, William 1884 births 1937 deaths Footballers from Stoke-on-Trent English men's footballers Men's association football fullbacks Port Vale F.C. players Stoke City F.C. players Oldham Athletic A.F.C. players West Ham United F.C. players Wrexham A.F.C. players English Football League players Southern Football League players