Harry Reed Hooper (16 December 1910 – 24 March 1970) 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 ...

who played as a full-back. Born in

Burnley Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2021 population of 78,266. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, at the confluence of the River Calder and River B ...

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated ''Lancs'') is a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Cumbria to the north, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south, and the Irish Sea to ...

, he started his career with

Nelson Nelson may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Nelson'' (1918 film), a historical film directed by Maurice Elvey * ''Nelson'' (1926 film), a historical film directed by Walter Summers * ''Nelson'' (opera), an opera by Lennox Berkeley to a lib ...

before joining

Sheffield United Sheffield United Football Club is a professional football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. The club competes in the Championship, the second tier of English football. They are nicknamed "the Blades" due to Sheffield's history ...

in 1930. During his time with United, he captained the side in the 1936 FA Cup Final. After 17 years with the club, he moved to Hartlepools United before retiring in 1950. Between 1957 and 1962, he was the manager of

Halifax Town FC Halifax Town is a professional association football club based in Halifax, West Yorkshire, England. They currently compete in the National League, the fifth level of English football league system. They replaced Halifax Town, who went i ...

Playing career

Nelson

He was playing for Nelson Tradesmen when he was spotted by

Football League 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 t ...

side

, who signed him as an amateur in October 1928. He made his senior debut on 20 October in the 0–4 defeat away at

Carlisle United Carlisle United Football Club ( , ) is a professional association football club based in Carlisle, Cumbria, England. The team currently compete in the National League, the fifth level of the English football league system. They have played their ...

. Hooper was awarded a professional contract the following month, but found it difficult to break into the first-team. He returned to the starting line-up in place of Clem Rigg for the 2–3 loss to

Darlington Darlington is a market town in the Borough of Darlington, County Durham, England. It lies on the River Skerne, west of Middlesbrough and south of Durham. Darlington had a population of 107,800 at the 2021 Census, making it a "large town" ...

on 5 January 1929 and retained his place for the next ten matches. Hooper found his first-team opportunities even more limited in the 1929–30 season following the signing of Billy Fairhurst from

Southport Southport is a seaside resort, seaside town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton in Merseyside, England. It lies on the West Lancashire Coastal Plain, West Lancashire coastal plain and the east coast of the Irish Sea, approximately north of ...

Sheffield United

After making eight further league appearances for Nelson, Hooper was signed by

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 ...

side

. He moved along with half-back Harry Tordoff for a combined transfer fee of £750. On his arrival at United Hooper he became a regular at left-back, but in 1933 he switched to right-back and became first choice in that position until 1939, missing very few games. Hooper went on to play for Sheffield United for 17 years, scoring 10 goals in 269 league matches for the club. Hooper was made captain in 1935 and captained the side as they lost 0–1 to

Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

in the 1936 FA Cup Final. Suffering an injury towards the end of the 1938–39 season he missed a lengthy run of games for the first time. Following the outbreak of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

he joined the

Royal Army Ordnance Corps The Royal Army Ordnance Corps (RAOC) was a corps of the British Army. At its renaming as a Royal Corps in 1918 it was both a supply and repair corps. In the supply area it had responsibility for weapons, armoured vehicles and other military equi ...

and rarely played for United again, although he did make guest appearances for

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. Most of Portsmouth is located on Portsea Island, off the south coast of England in the Solent, making Portsmouth the only city in En ...

, Hartlepools United and

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 ...

. Following the cessation of hostilities, Hooper did briefly return to United's first team during the 1945–46 season but drifted out of contention and played out the remainder of his time at

Bramall Lane Bramall Lane is a association football, football stadium in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, which is the home of Sheffield United F.C., Sheffield United. The stadium was originally a cricket ground, built on a road named after the Bramall ...

in United's reserves. He left United having played 300 times, scoring eleven goals.

Hartlepools United

In July 1947, Hooper signed for Hartlepools United on a permanent basis and went on to make 66 league appearances for them, scoring 4 goals.

Coaching career

Hartlepool released Hooper at the end of the 1949–50 season, and appointed him to the role of assistant trainer and coach. He moved on to an assistant trainer post at

West Ham United West Ham United Football Club is a professional Association football, football club based in Stratford, London, Stratford, East London, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English f ...

in November 1950. In October 1957, he was appointed

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of organizations, whether businesses, nonprofit organizations, or a government bodies through business administration, nonprofit management, or the political science sub-field of public administra ...

, and spent almost five seasons in charge of the club before leaving in April 1962.

Personal life

Harry Hooper was born in the town of

, on 16 December 1910. Before becoming a professional footballer, he trained as a tailor. Hooper was a heavy smoker and would famously have a cigarette at half-time while with Sheffield United. His smoking was such that goalkeeper Jack Smith was the only teammate that would room with him on away trips. Following his retirement from football he lived in

Halifax, West Yorkshire Halifax is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Calderdale, in West Yorkshire, England. It is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. In the 15th century, the town became an economic hub of the old West Riding of Yorkshire, primarily in woo ...

, and died from

lung cancer Lung cancer, also known as lung carcinoma, is a malignant tumor that begins in the lung. Lung cancer is caused by genetic damage to the DNA of cells in the airways, often caused by cigarette smoking or inhaling damaging chemicals. Damaged ...

there on 24 March 1970, at the age of 59. His son, also named

Harry Harry may refer to: Television * ''Harry'' (American TV series), 1987 comedy series starring Alan Arkin * ''Harry'' (British TV series), 1993 BBC drama that ran for two seasons * ''Harry'' (New Zealand TV series), 2013 crime drama starring Oscar K ...

, was also a footballer and represented four different league clubs.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hooper, Harry 1910 births 1970 deaths Military personnel from Lancashire Footballers from Burnley English men's footballers Men's association football defenders English Football League players Nelson F.C. players Sheffield United F.C. players Huddersfield Town A.F.C. wartime guest players Portsmouth F.C. wartime guest players Hartlepool United F.C. players West Ham United F.C. non-playing staff Halifax Town A.F.C. managers English Football League managers Royal Army Ordnance Corps soldiers British Army personnel of World War II Deaths from lung cancer in England English football managers 20th-century English sportsmen