On this day in 1962 former Sunderland player, kitman and all round club legend John ‘Cookie’ Cooke was born. He spent 31 years at the club (six as a player and 25 as kitman) before the club made the shallow decision of letting him go during the pandemic.
In his playing days he started his career on Wearside, managing over 60 appearances from the right wing. He was part of the 79-80 season that saw promotion to the top flight but couldn’t make much of an impact at the top level.
He went to Carlisle United which was the club he made the most appearances for in his career. He also had spells at other clubs such as Stockport County, Chesterfield, Gateshead and Spennymoor United.
After retirement he came back to the Black Cats as the kit-man. He stayed in the role for 25 years, witnessing all the highs and the lows of the club from the sidelines and the dressing room. He had a job which I'm sure many Sunderland fans would have been envious of, and I’m sure some would’ve done the job for free if given the chance!
Behind the scenes Cookie was adored by all at the club, it seems. After it was announced that he was let go the amount of support from former players on social media was outstanding. All of the messages mentioned how kind he was and proved his passion for the club.
Peter Reid - "Great at his job, Sunderland will miss his personality, drive and humour."
Thomas Sorensen - "Cookie is a legend and has given everything to Sunderland. The club should not forget to recognise a person who worked every day of the week, through the night at times, so us players could proudly wear the club badge."
Ultimately he gained the respect of everyone he worked with, evidently so as after his departure, South Shields FC set up a friendly against former SAFC players in his honour. Plenty of Sunderland legends turned up to honour him- including Kevin Ball, Niall Quinn, Michael Gray, Alex Rae, John O’Shea, Wes Brown, Gary Bennett, Gordon Chisholm, Ian Atkins, Kevin Arnott and Gary Rowell amongst others.
