Stephen Brian Cooper (22 June 1964 – 15 February 2004) 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
forward
Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward.
Forward may also refer to:
People
*Forward (surname)
Sports
* Forward (association football)
* Forward (basketball), including:
** Point forward
** Power forward (basketball)
** Smal ...
. Best known for his time spent with
Airdrieonians
Airdrieonians Football Club is a Scottish professional football team in Airdrie, North Lanarkshire, who are members of the Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) and play in the . They were formed in 2002 as Airdrie United Football Club ...
, his headed goal in the semi-final at Hampden against Hearts ensured that his side made it to the
1995 Scottish Cup final
The 1995 Scottish Cup Final was played between Celtic and Airdrieonians at Hampden Park on 27 May 1995.
Celtic won the match 1–0, with a goal by Pierre van Hooijdonk who headed in after a cross from the left by Tosh McKinlay.
This would pr ...
and he played the full 90 minutes against
Celtic
Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to:
Language and ethnicity
*pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia
**Celts (modern)
*Celtic languages
**Proto-Celtic language
*Celtic music
*Celtic nations
Sports Foot ...
as the Diamonds lost 1–0 to a
Pierre van Hooijdonk
Pierre van Hooijdonk (; born 29 November 1969) is a Dutch former professional footballer who played as a striker. He had spells with clubs across Europe where he was a prolific goal scorer. Van Hooijdonk was capped 46 times for the Netherland ...
goal.
Before joining Airdrie, Cooper played for a number of clubs in England, most notably
Tranmere Rovers
Tranmere Rovers Football Club are a professional association football club based in Birkenhead, Merseyside, England. The team competes in , the fourth level of the English football league system.
Founded in 1884 as Belmont Football Club, they ...
, where he scored twice in Tranmere's successful playoff campaign in 1991, which resulted in the club's promotion to the
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 ...
, and also scored in the club's 3–2 defeat against Cooper's former club,
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 ...
NAC Breda
NAC Breda (), often simply known as NAC, is a Dutch professional football club, based in Breda, Netherlands. NAC Breda play in the Rat Verlegh Stadium, named after their most important player, Antoon 'Rat' Verlegh. They play in the Eredivisi ...
.
For
Peterborough United
Peterborough United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Peterborough,
Cambridgeshire, England. The team compete in League One, the third level of the English football league system.
Peterborough United formed in ...
, Cooper came off the bench to score a late diving header, winning the 1992 Third Division play-off semi-final second leg against
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 ...
.
He was inducted into the Airdrie United Hall of Fame in 2004 as recognition of his service to the club.
He died in his sleep at his home in
Yardley, Birmingham
Yardley is an area in east Birmingham, in the county of the West Midlands, England. It is also a council constituency, managed by its own district committee. Historically it lay within Worcestershire.
Birmingham Yardley is a constituency and ...
, on 15 February 2004, unknowingly having had a bleed on the brain.