Harry Hooper (footballer, Born 1933)
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Harold Hooper (14 June 1933 – 26 August 2020) was an English footballer who played as an outside forward. He made more than 300 appearances in
the 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, it is the oldest football league in the world, and was the top-level football league in England from ...
, and represented England at under-23 and 'B' international level.


Life and career

Hooper was born in Pittington,
County Durham County Durham, officially simply Durham, is a ceremonial county in North East England.UK General Acts 1997 c. 23Lieutenancies Act 1997 Schedule 1(3). From legislation.gov.uk, retrieved 6 April 2022. The county borders Northumberland and Tyne an ...
. He played football for Hylton Colliery Juniors and for the Durham youth side before joining West Ham United in November 1950 when his father, also named Harry Hooper, was appointed assistant trainer at the club. He played for the reserve team in the London Combination before making his debut in
the 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, it is the oldest football league in the world, and was the top-level football league in England from ...
on 3 February 1951, at the age of 17 years 7 months, at home to
Barnsley Barnsley () is a market town in South Yorkshire, England. It is the main settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley and the fourth largest settlement in South Yorkshire. The town's population was 71,422 in 2021, while the wider boroug ...
in the Second Division. West Ham won 4–2, and Hooper himself came close to scoring eight minutes from time, when "Barnsley's Pat Kelly had to stretch like elastic to push Harry's 25-yard drive over the bar". The 1954–55 season saw Hooper make 41 league appearances for West Ham, one short of being an ever-present. This included a game against Leeds United on the afternoon of his wedding. He was made captain for the day and West Ham won the game 2–1. He played a total of 119 league games for the club, scoring 39 goals. Hooper, an England under-23 and England 'B' international, was named as a reserve for the
1954 FIFA World Cup The 1954 FIFA World Cup was the 5th edition of the FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international Association football, football tournament for senior men's national teams of the nations affiliated to FIFA. It was held in Switzerland from 16 June ...
squad but did not travel, and never won a full international
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. He represented 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 ...
in games against the Irish League in 1954, and the Scottish League in 1955. He also played for the London XI in the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup group stage game against the Basel XI on 4 June 1955, a 5–0 victory. Hooper moved to Wolverhampton Wanderers for £25,000 on 22 March 1956. He scored 19 goals in 39 league matches for Wolves, before his departure in December 1957. He then joined
Birmingham City Birmingham City Football Club is a professional football club based in Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, it was renamed Small Heath in 1888, Birmingham in 1905, and Birmingham City in 1943. The team compete in the ...
for a fee of around £20,000, spending nearly three years at the club and winning a runners-up medal in the 1960 Fairs Cup. He scored five times in the competition, including a consolation goal in the 4–1 loss to
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in the
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. In 1960, Hooper returned to the north-east, joining
Sunderland Sunderland () is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is a port at the mouth of the River Wear on the North Sea, approximately south-east of Newcastle upon Tyne. It is the most p ...
for a fee of £18,000. He went on to play non-league football with Kettering Town, Dunstable Town and Heanor Town before retiring. Hooper died on 26 August 2020 after a long battle with Alzheimer's.


Notes


References


External links

*
West Ham profile
at ''westhamstats.info''
Sunderland profile
at ''thestatcat.co.uk'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Hooper, Harry 1933 births 2020 deaths Footballers from County Durham English men's footballers England men's under-23 international footballers England men's B international footballers Men's association football wingers Hylton Colliery Welfare F.C. players West Ham United F.C. players Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. players Birmingham City F.C. players Sunderland A.F.C. players Kettering Town F.C. players Heanor Town F.C. players Dunstable Town F.C. players 1954 FIFA World Cup players English Football League players London XI players English Football League representative players People from Pittington People with Alzheimer's disease