S. S. Cooke | |
Birth Date: | 7 August 1879 |
Birth Place: | Hyattsville, Maryland, U.S. |
Death Place: | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
Player Years1: | 1897–1899 |
Player Team1: | Maryland |
Player Positions: | Fullback |
Coach Years1: | 1899 |
Coach Team1: | Maryland |
Overall Record: | 1–4 |
Samuel Stephen Cooke Sr. (August 7, 1879 – May 28, 1944)[1] was an American college football coach. He served as the head football coach at Maryland Agricultural College—now known as the University of Maryland, College Park—in 1899, compiling a record of 1–4.
A native of Hyattsville, Maryland,[2] Cooke enrolled at the Maryland Agricultural College (now the University of Maryland) in 1897.[3] He played on the football team from 1897 to 1899 as a fullback.[4] [5] In the 1898 game against Western Maryland, Cooke performed the dubious feat of kicking a punt from midfield over his head and backwards 25 yards. The opponent scored a touchdown shortly thereafter.[6] The following season, the team elected Cooke as captain, but he suffered a broken arm in the first game against Western Maryland. By Thanksgiving, he returned to the sport, playing for the Hyattsville town team.[7] Cooke left the college before graduating and went to work for the Potomac Electric Power Company in Washington, D.C.[3] He married Mary née Ward on March 28, 1910.[3]