Joe Cockroft

Joseph Cockroft (20 June 1911 – February 1994) was an English footballer who played in the Football League for Rotherham United, West Ham United, Sheffield Wednesday and Sheffield United.[1]

Joe Cockroft
Cockroft at West Ham United
Personal information
Full name Joseph Cockroft
Date of birth (1911-06-20)20 June 1911
Place of birth Barnsley, England
Date of death February 1994 (1994-03) (aged 82)
Place of death King's Lynn, England
Position(s) Wing half
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
Wombwell ? (?)
1931–1932 Rotherham United 3 (1)
1932–1933 Gainsborough Trinity ? (?)
1933–1939 West Ham United 251 (3)
→ West Ham United (wartime)
→ Dartford (guest)
→ Sheffield Wednesday (guest)
1945–1948 Sheffield Wednesday 87 (2)
1948–1949 Sheffield United 12 (0)
1949–19?? Wisbech Town (player-manager) ? (?)
Teams managed
1949–1952 Wisbech Town (player-manager)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Cockroft played for Yorkshire Paper Mills, Barnsley Old Boys, Ardsley Athletic, Wombwell, Rotherham United and then Gainsborough Trinity before moving to West Ham United, then of Division Two, in 1933.[2]

Signed after a months trial from Gainsborough by Charlie Paynter, Cockroft made his West Ham debut on 14 April 1933, having made just four reserve appearances for the club. Drafted in after injuries to first-choice left-halves Albert Cadwell and Joe Musgrave, he made the position his own and rarely missed a game up to the outbreak of World War II.[2][3]

Cockroft played as a left-half, but often switched positions with Len Goulden during matches to dumbfound oppositions.[2] He was an ever-present in the team for the 1933–34, 1934–35, 1935–36 and 1936–37 seasons, making 217 consecutive appearances.[2][3][4]

Cockroft played in the first three games of the 1939–40 season, but these were expunged from the records after the League was suspended following the outbreak of World War II. The war saw Cockroft's home destroyed in the Blitz.[4] He was part of West Ham's War Cup-winning side of 1940, appearing in all 9 games including the final, and made 20 appearances in the League South.[3] He guested for Sheffield Wednesday as direction of labour laws compelled his employment at Edgar Allen and Company, a steelworks in Sheffield.[5] He made 198 wartime appearances for Wednesday, more than any other player, and scored 13 goals.[6] He played for the Owls in the northern final of the War Cup in 1943, and went on to join the club after hostilities ended.[7]

Cockroft spent almost three years at Hillsborough after the war, making a total of 97 appearances in all competitions.[8] His debut came on 5 January 1946 in a goalless FA Cup 3rd round first leg game against Mansfield Town. He went on to play in all of the Owls' FA Cup games in the 1945–46 season; the club were eventually knocked out by Stoke City in the 5th round following comprehensive wins over York City and Mansfield.[2][5]

He joined Sheffield United for £4,000[7]:28 in November 1948[9] and became the oldest First Division debutant as a 37-year-old.[4][10] He left a year later to take on a player-manager role at Wisbech Town.[11] His tenure of 1,065 days makes him one of Wisbech's longest serving managers.[12]

Outside of football, Cockroft had many other interests. He was a keen golfer, swimmer and motorist, and was also interested in anatomy.[13]

Career statistics
Club Season League FA Cup Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Rotherham United[5] 1930–31 Division 3 North 21—21
1931–32 Division 3 North 1 0 — 1 0
Total 31 —31
West Ham United[3] 1932–33 Division 2 600 060
1933–34 Division 2 42020440
1934–35 Division 2 42020440
1935–36 Division 2 42120441
1936–37 Division 2 42120441
1937–38 Division 2 38010390
1938–39 Division 2 39130421
Total 2513 1202633
Sheffield Wednesday[8] 1945–46 N/A 006060
1946–47 Division 2 33120341
1947–48 Division 2 41020430
1948–49 Division 2 13100131
Total 872100972
Sheffield United[14] 1948–49 Division 1 12020140
Career total 35362403776

References
  1. Joyce, Michael (2012) [2002]. Football League Players' Records 1888 to 1939. Nottingham: SoccerData. p. 61. ISBN 978-1-905891-61-0.
  2. Hogg, Tony (2005). Who's Who of West Ham United. Profile Sports Media. p. 49. ISBN 1-903135-50-8.
  3. "Joe Cockroft". westhamstats.info. Retrieved 10 July 2008.
  4. "The Ex-Files - Rare trade in Owls and Hammers". The Independent. 13 December 1997. Retrieved 26 March 2018.
  5. "Joe Cockroft" (DOC). Rotherham United F.C. Retrieved 26 March 2018. Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  6. Dickinson, Jason; Brodie, John (2005). The Wednesday Boys: A Definitive Guide to Sheffield Wednesday Football Club. Pickard Communication. p. 65. ISBN 0-9547264-9-9.
  7. 1986-1987 Official Handbook (PDF). Sheffield Wednesday F.C. p. 24. Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 March 2018.
  8. Jackson, Stuart. "Joe Cockroft". The Sheffield Wednesday Archive. Retrieved 10 July 2008.
  9. "Morrison's No To Sheffield United". Derby Daily Telegraph. 6 November 1948. p. 8 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  10. Edgar, Bill (14 August 2017). "The game in numbers: seesaw start for Premier League". The Times. Retrieved 26 March 2018.
  11. Brown, Neil. "Sheffield United". Post War Football League Player Database. Retrieved 10 July 2008.
  12. Armstrong, Mark; Caney, Gavin (20 November 2012). "'Appy anniversary: Wisbech Town boss celebrates 1,000 days in charge as St Ives Town arrive for FA Vase replay". The Pink Un. Norwich. Retrieved 26 March 2018.
  13. "Popular Footballers cigarette card". Carreras Limited – via theflysohigh.
  14. Joe Cockroft at the English National Football Archive (subscription required)
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