George William Cook (27 February 1895 – 31 December 1980), sometimes known as Billy Cook, 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 lea ...

, best remembered for his spells as an

inside left In the sport of association football, a forward (attacker or striker) is an outfield position which primarily plays further up the pitch than midfielders and defenders. As with any attacking player, the role of the forward relies heavily on be ...

in the

Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional association football, football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, it is the oldest football league in Association football around the world, the w ...

with

Huddersfield Town Huddersfield Town Association Football Club is a professional association football club based in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England. They compete in , the third tier of English football league system, English football. Huddersfield Town we ...

and

Aston Villa Aston Villa Football Club (commonly referred to as simply Villa) is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club, founded in 1874, compete in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The team have p ...

Career

Early years

Cook began his career with spells as a youth at Evenwood Juniors and Trindle Juniors and played for the

Royal Artillery The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...

during the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. He joined Northern League club

Bishop Auckland Bishop Auckland ( ) is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish at the confluence of the River Wear and the River Gaunless in County Durham, England. It is northwest of Darlington and southwest of Durham, England, Durham. M ...

in 1919 and won the

FA Amateur Cup The FA Amateur Cup was an English football competition for amateur clubs. It commenced in 1893 and ended in 1974 when the Football Association abolished official amateur status. History Following the legalisation of professionalism within footb ...

in 1920–21 and 1921–22. A move to

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 ...

club Rotherham County followed in 1922.

Huddersfield Town

Cook joined

First Division 1st Division or First Division may refer to: Military Airborne divisions *1st Parachute Division (Germany) *1st Airborne Division (United Kingdom) * 1st Airmobile Division (Ukraine) * 1st Guards Airborne Division Armoured divisions *1st Armoure ...

club

in 1923. He was a part of the most successful period in the club's history, winning the First Division championship in the 1923–24, 1924–25 and 1925–26 seasons. He scored 35 goals in 91 appearances before departing the Terriers in February 1927.

Aston Villa

Cook signed for First Division club

in February 1927. While he failed to win any silverware, Cook was in prolific goalscoring form, scoring 40 goals in 61 matches before departing at the end of the 1928–29 season.

Tottenham Hotspur

Cook dropped down to join Second Division club

Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as simply Tottenham (, , , ) or Spurs, is a professional Association football, football club based in Tottenham, North London, England. The club itself has stated that it should always ...

during the 1929 off-season. Now aged 34, he scored 30 goals in 73 appearances before his release in April 1931.

Brentford

Cook moved across

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

to sign for

Third Division South The Third Division South 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 North with clubs elected to the League or relegated from Division Two allocated to on ...

club

Brentford Brentford is a suburban town in West (London sub region), West London, England and part of the London Borough of Hounslow. It lies at the confluence of the River Brent and the River Thames, Thames, west of Charing Cross. Its economy has dive ...

during the 1931 off-season. He began his time at

Griffin Park Griffin Park was a association football, 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 was in a predominantly resi ...

well, scoring on his second appearance in a 1–1 draw with

Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after th ...

. In a mediocre season for the club, he failed to find the net again until 30 April 1932, when he scored two goals in a 4–2 win over Bournemouth & Boscombe Athletic. With the arrival of forwards Jack Holliday and Billy Scott, Cook departed Brentford at the end of the 1931–32 season.

Colwyn Bay United

Cook ended his career in

non-League football Non-League football describes association football, football leagues played outside the top leagues of a country. Usually, it describes leagues which are not fully professional. The term is primarily used for football in England, where it is ...

with spells at Birmingham & District League clubs Colwyn Bay United and

Rhyl Rhyl (; , ) is a seaside town and community in Denbighshire in Wales. The town lies on the coast of North Wales, at the mouth of the River Clwyd. To the west is Kinmel Bay and Towyn, to the east Prestatyn, and to the south-east Rhuddlan ...

Honours

Bishop Auckland *

(1): 1920–21, 1921–22 Huddersfield Town *

Football League First Division The Football League First Division was the top division of the Football League in England from 1888 until the end of the 1991–92 season, when its teams broke away to form the Premier League. From 1992 to 2004, the name First Division was g ...

(3): 1923–24, 1924–25, 1925–26

Career statistics

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cook, George 1895 births 1980 deaths Footballers from County Durham English men's footballers Men's association football inside forwards Bishop Auckland F.C. players Rotherham County F.C. players Huddersfield Town A.F.C. players Aston Villa F.C. players Tottenham Hotspur F.C. players Brentford F.C. players Colwyn Bay F.C. players Northern Football League players English Football League players Rhyl F.C. players British Army personnel of World War I Royal Artillery personnel Military personnel from County Durham 20th-century English sportsmen