S. S. Cooke Explained

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.

Biography

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]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: FamilySearch: Sign In. . 15 July 2023.
  2. https://archive.org/stream/reveille1900mary#page/42/mode/2up/search/cooke Reveille
  3. https://books.google.com/books?id=wDwwAAAAYAAJ Alumni record of the Maryland Agricultural College: 1914
  4. http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/md/sports/m-footbl/auto_pdf/07guide-11.pdf All-Time Lettermen
  5. Morris Allison Bealle, Kings of American Football: The University of Maryland, 1890 - 1952, p. 30, Columbia Publishing Co., 1952.
  6. Bealle, pp. 30 - 35.
  7. Bealle, p. 36.