Sport(s) Football Name S. Cooke Overall 1–4 | 1899 Maryland 1897–1899 Maryland Positions Fullback | |
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Role American football head coach Died May 28, 1944, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States | ||
Samuel Stephen Cooke, Sr. (August 7, 1879 – May 28, 1944) was an American college football coach. He served as head coach for the football team at the Maryland Agricultural College (now the University of Maryland) in 1899.
Biography
A native of Hyattsville, Maryland, Cooke enrolled at the Maryland Agricultural College (now the University of Maryland) in 1897. He played on the football team from 1897 to 1899 as a fullback. 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. 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. Cooke left the college before graduating and went to work for the Potomac Electric Power Company in Washington, D.C. He married Mary née Ward on March 28, 1910.