Cook: Walter Charles (Walter)

1918-1919 (Leeds City War-time Guest Player Details)

Goalkeeper

Born: 1895: Midsummer Norton, Somerset

Debut: v Notts County (a): 14-09-1918

Height & Weight: Unknown

Cook started in West Riding local football and was given his chance by Leeds City in the final season of the War-time League. He deputized for Willis Walker in the first half of the season, when the regular City keeper was serving with the Royal Naval Depot in London and while he did manage to play for City on a few occasions when he could get leave, his availability was limited. This situation continued until Walker had been demobbed. Walker played in the first game of the season, a 4-1 defeat of Notts County on 7th September 1918, but Cook took over between the sticks the following week, in the return with County at Meadow Lane. City lost the game 5-2, though the Yorkshire Post reported, "Although the score against him was heavy, Cook kept a fine goal for the City, some of his saves being brilliant". Cook retained his place for the following five games, during which he conceded seven goals. Most of them came in a single game, the 4-2 defeat at Birmingham on 28th September 1918. The young custodian impressed local reporters with his performances; following the 1-0 defeat at Lincoln City on 19th October 2018, the Leeds Mercury noted that "it was the consistent good play of the backs and the really brilliant goalkeeping of Cook that saved a worse situation for Leeds City", while the Post wrote of his "fine custodianship". Altogether that season, Cook made eleven appearances for City, though he was only on a winning side on three occasions. Cook continued to act as reserve to Willis Walker after the latter was demobbed, though he never appeared for City in peacetime and joined Castleford Town following Leeds' expulsion from the League in October 1919. He made his debut for them in an FA Cup tie against Hednesford Town in January 1920. He remained with them until he joined Third Division (South) Plymouth Argyle towards the end of the 1920-21 season, the club's first season in the Football League. Fred Craig had been Plymouth's regular goalkeeper and he was ever-present in that season. The redoubtable Craig was very reliable and it was not until 31st December 1921 that Cook made his debut for Argyle in a 3-1 home win over Swansea Town. He went on to play five more games that season, in which the team from Home Park finished as runners-up in the League, playing in the reverse fixture in a 0-3 defeat at Swansea Town and in the both fixtures with Brentford, which saw a 1-3 defeat away and a 4-1 revenge at home and then both games against Aberdare Athletic in which he kept two clean sheets with a 3-0 home win and a 0-0 away draw. His final game for Plymouth was another 0-0 draw at Millwall in the opening game of the 1922-23 season, on 26th August 1922 to bring his total appearances for Argyle to seven. He left Home Park for Brighton and Hove Albion, where he went on to make fifty-two League appearances in the 1923-24 and 1924-25 seasons. He later joined Stockport County and made nine League appearances in the 1928-29 season before returning to Yorkshire to play two more seasons with Harrogate Town in 1929. He died at Harrogate in 1973.