Tom Cooper

At this time, each year we remember the brave men and women who lost their lives fighting for this country. Men and woman from all professions were either called up or decided to enlist to help their country keep its freedom. Amongst these were footballers, many of whom were household names.
Liverpool Football Club had seventy five members enlist including their Captain Tom Cooper who was unfortunately killed aged 36 in 1940 whilst on military duty.

Tom was born in 1904 in Stoke on Trent and began his playing career for Longham and Trentham before being bought by Port Vale for £20 in 1924. He was a regular in the team until September 1925 but regained his first team place in December of that year. He was then sold to Derby County in March 1926 for £2,500 after impressing manager George Gobey during an FA cup tie. Tom settled in very quickly and eventually became captain in 1931. His career continued to impress the management there until after 267 appearances he caught the attention of Liverpool manager George Patterson in 1934. He was eventually sold to them aged 30 for £7,500.

He joined the club and formed a partnership with Ernie Blenkinsop and went on to make 160 appearances. During this time unfortunately the one thing he was unable to do was score. Tom was a great servant for the club and only missed two games during the 1934-35 season. His last competitive game for the club was against Chelsea at Anfield where young Cyril Done scored on his debut and won the game for Liverpool. During this time Tom also made 15 appearances for England.