Charlie Cooke

From Junior to Legend. 

The subject of this story was born in St.Monans, Fife in 1942 in the middle of the Second World War. The authorities deemed it wise to relocate the expectant Mum (and Dad) from Greenock, where they lived, to the coast on account of the German Air Force’s occasional visit to the River Clyde  in its aim to ‘redesign’ the layout of the area. The new born was christened Charles and I am glad to report he was quickly introduced to relatives back in the West of Scotland.

My all-time football hero, Charlie Cooke, grew up supporting Morton and learning how to bewilder defenders on Clydeside. 

Most fans will know the role of the scout in football; the local scout, who occupies the bottom rung, scans games all round his patch and lobs names up the line sometimes via a middle- ranking one, leading eventually to the big chief scout.

Fans of a certain vintage will be familiar with Renfrew’s former ground, Western Park.  When Charlie started with them the pitch was located not far from the main road, around which several top class hostelries could be found.

Indeed, one could finish off refreshment, with an ear to the door, and on hearing the roar of the crowd signifying the emergence of the teams from the pavilion, swiftly nip round the corner before the referee started the match.

At the time of the local scout’s discovery of him, Charlie had completed the first two years of his apprenticeship (electrician, I think) and was playing for fun. He was a boy playing against men, but he had a secret protector as the number five shirt was worn by a cousin. In fact Charlie lived with his older cousin and family nearby .In Renfrew in 1960 there still remained a culture of making and building things and for these aims it was necessary for those entering shipbuilding and factory work to undergo training in a range of skills.

To those who never saw Charlie play I should at this point try to describe his skill set. 

He could use right foot, left foot, show the defender the ball then skip past leaving the opposing player looking static and leaden. In fact, he used to get a row for going back and repeating the exercise, just to rub it in! The cloggers were always too slow to leave a mark on him and I can just imagine the scene on a cold, dark November afternoon when the local scout witnessed this magician for the first time. 

He shuttled then sprinted, stopped, feinted as if to go right then switched leaving opposition defenders imitating a group which could be described as ‘ the Great Bewildered.’

And so the call was made to the big Chief Scout. This scout person was no ordinary person. Mr Robert Calder, known as Bobby, had a career as a railwayman behind him which he combined with refereeing at the top level at nights and weekends.

If that wasn’t hard enough he also managed Dunfermline Athletic for a short spell before a major fall out led him northwards to the Granite City, Aberdeen.

Pause for a moment to allow him a wry smile at the hearing of ‘he’s the best thing since sliced bread’, uttered by the local scout. In any case Bobby inserted the name in his ledger and confirmed he could indeed attend the next home game at Renfrew in the company of the local man. There will be more about Mr Calder later, but for the time being let me boast that I have met this legend. No, I never made it into his ledger, but in the miserable summer of 1967, when Third Lanark F.C. was unlawfully killed, Mr Calder took time out to attend one of a series of meetings and talk about his role as a scout organised by those of us who hoped beyond hope that Thirds could be revived.

Some of us remain to this day. I still possess my Third Lanark Members Card. And so it came to pass. Mr Calder did attend. Was he impressed? Beyond expectations.

Another with a claim to be regarded as a legend now enters the story. Eddie Turnbull was the manager of Aberdeen F.C. to whom Bobby reported .Eddie was a member of the Hibernian ‘Famous Five’, where he took his place in the forward- line alongside Willie Ormond, Gordon Smith, Lawrie Reilly and Bobby Johnstone. I can’t recollect a later Hibs team that could beat that crew.

A conversation took place between Manager and Scout; Calder told the boss that he understood the ‘usual suspects’, that is Rangers and Celtic were sniffing around. Time for a short travel announcement. In the early 1960’s travel by road from Renfrew to Aberdeen required flasks sandwiches, road maps and above all, patience. With the exception of the Kingsway in Dundee the route was a form of torture as travellers had to negotiate villages, towns and cities and Heaven forbid that one chose to travel when the Farmer’s Market was taking place in Forfar.

Turnbull asked the Scout to go and see Charlie play again, the next time at an away game and authorised him to offer him a contract if, as expected, the Greenock boy excelled. No shocks, here, as Charlie treated the away game as just another demonstration of his sparkling skills.

After this game, and with the consent of Renfrew F.C., Bobby spoke to Charlie and was offered a one year deal. Charlie was grateful for the generous terms offered him and appreciated the opportunity but he rejected the offer immediately quietly explaining to Bobby that he was absolutely loving playing with Renfrew and, crucially, finishing off his apprenticeship.

Calder reported back to Turnbull first thing on Monday morning. A cunning plan was agreed and so it came to pass that Renfrew lost not one but two players. Yes, Aberdeen made offers to Charlie and his cousin which in financial terms could not be turned down by them. Not only that, Aberdeen F.C.organised accommodation and employment for both locally and, crucially, arranged for Charlie to start his final year of his apprenticeship. Clever stuff.

And so for four fantastic years until 1964 those fans of the Reds witnessed the maturing of a true star as he made 125 appearances, scoring twenty seven times-described as a winger in club records. 

Unfortunately no statistics are available on the number of defenders who required psychological counselling after chasing him round a football pitch during his time up North. But it was time for ‘money to talk‘ again. Having attained Under 23 International caps for Scotland always helps to put up the price, as reigning Champions, Dundee, paid out in 1964 to take him to Dens Park. Before leaving the Aberdeen part of the story ,it should be noted that Bobby Calder was responsible for the following players signing for the club-Jimmy Smith, Bobby Clark, Tommy Craig, Willie Miller, Jim Leighton, Alex McLeish, Arthur Graham and John McMaster. When Aberdeen met Real Madrid in 1983 in Gothenburg to win the European Cup Winners’ Cup, Bobby had recently retired but Alex Ferguson, then manager, organised Bobby’s attendance as a gesture of gratitude owed to him.

There is a strong case for the word ‘legend’ to be used again. Well, just ask any fan of Dundee how many times their club has been Champions of Scotland? In the Spring of 1962 Dundee achieved that feat and followed that with getting to the semi-final of the European Cup the following season.  Mr Bob Shankly is the man to thank for that. But by now Charlie’s reputation and skills couldn’t be hidden from those with the biggest bank accounts and another Scot, Tommy Docherty, brought his cheque book to Dens Park and wrote out the sum of £72,000 in April, 1966 to wipe the smiles off the faces of the blue side of the City of Dundee but to change the lives for the better of Chelsea fans, Chelsea pub managers and restaurant owners.

He became the number seven in a forward line that included Alan Hudson, Peter Osgood, Ian Hutchison and Peter Houseman .He had a couple of protectors in the Chelsea colours, namely fellow Scot ,Eddie Mc Creadie and the full back on the other side of the pitch Ron ‘Chopper’ Harris. 

After helping Chelsea to a European Trophy in 1971, defeating Real Madrid, he had two years at Crystal Palace before returning to Chelsea. 

Sixteen caps for Scotland might seem on the light side but he was competing for the jersey with number seven on the back with Alex Scott, Willie Henderson, Peter Lorimer, Willie Morgan and Jimmy Johnstone.

He wound down his career in the U.S.A. before running soccer schools there. Recently Chelsea F. C. had a summer tour in the States and somebody tracked him down to a small farm he was running with an invitation to join the Club and officials at one of the tour games. He was completely overwhelmed that anyone would remember him after such a long passage of years, but as he had animals to feed and crops to gather he had to reluctantly decline the generous invitation.

In a year which has seen the death of one of Scotland’s all-time greats, Denis Law, also known as the King, it’s  worth celebrating that we still have the man the Chelsea boys know as Bonnie Prince Charlie.

I last saw him in a YouTube video dated 28/02/2024 in which he reminisces with Alan Hudson. Recently living In California with his son and family this video brought back some great memories for me and I will never forget the images of Charlie in free flow weaving past stricken defenders like a downhill skier on the Cresta Run.

 But I bet he still misses a pint in the Western Bar, Renfrew.

Provided by Alan Stewart