John Cocking Explained

John Cocking
Birth Date:	13 May 1944
Birth Place:	Sunderland, England
Height:	^[1]
Position:	Defender
Clubs1:	Gillingham
Clubs2:	Crook Town
Clubs3:	Alvechurch
Clubs4:	Enfield
Years5:	1967–1973
Clubs5:	Atlanta Chiefs
Caps5:	108
Goals5:	5
Totalcaps:	108+
Totalgoals:	5+

John Cocking (born 13 May 1944) is an English former professional footballer who played as a defender.

Career

Born in Sunderland, Cocking spent his early career with Gillingham, Crook Town, Alvechurch and Enfield.^{[1] [2]} At Crook he won the Northern League title in 1962–63.^[3]

Cocking then spent seven seasons in the National Professional Soccer League (NPSL) and North American Soccer League (NASL) for the Atlanta Chiefs between 1967 and 1973, making a total of 108 appearances - 4 in the NPSL and 104 in the NASL.^[1] With the Chiefs he won the NASL championship in 1968.^{[4] [5]}

Personal life

Cocking was married to Jane and the couple had sons.^[4]

Notes and References

1. Web site: NASL-John Cocking. www.nasljerseys.com.
2. Web site: End of the Wembley era. 6 March 2021. The Northern Echo.
3. Web site: 60 years since Crook Town's remarkable title success. 30 May 2023. The Northern Echo.
4. Web site: Remember champion Chiefs as Atlanta United goes for MLS title. Paul. Newberry. The Augusta Chronicle.
5. Web site: Remembering soccer’s Chiefs, 50 years after they won it all. Steve. Hummer. AJC.com.