GoS: Player Details

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Greens on Screen started its life in 1999 before many of the football sites that we are familiar with today, including Plymouth Argyle's own official site. Greens on Screen is dedicated to the sights, sounds and history of Plymouth Argyle Football club. It is owned and run by the Plymouth Argyle Heritage Archive, a charity dedicated to the promotion, preservation, and display of the heritage of our great football club.

The site owes its existence to Steve Dean. Without Steve's dedication and commitment for over 25 years, GoS would not exist and be the valued and loved resource for all football fans that it is today. The site is truly the envy of many clubs, and we owe a huge debt to Steve for his tireless work, and continued support behind the scenes.

Greens on Screen's first page was published in January 1999. Its early purpose was to bring Plymouth Argyle a little closer to those unable to see their team, and whilst it has changed a great deal over the years, its core themes - sights and sounds for Westcountry exiles - still stand. The site was very lucky to take on the content of Trevor Scallan's Semper Viridis in the summer of 2007, and in 2009 launched GoS-DB, a wealth of facts and figures from PAFC's history. A year later, we embarked on a complete history of Argyle, with much-valued contributions from chapter authors. Greens on Screen was taken over by its new custodians, The Argyle Archive, in 2024.

Greens on Screen is an amateur website and proud of it. It is run by a team of volunteers from the Plymouth Argyle Heritage Archive (Argyle Archive). Without the hard work and much-valued contributions of these volunteers, running the site would not be possible. Greens on Screen is self-taught and as a result, a little bit quirky.

Greens on Screen remains advertisement free, which means we are grateful for the generous support of our donors and the work of our volunteers to help keep it free of promotions. If you would like to support the work of Greens on Screen, please consider donating to the Plymouth Argyle Heritage Archive.

GoS's sole aim is to be a service to fellow supporters, and we look forward to continuing to celebrate Argyle's history for many years to come.

Plymouth Argyle Heritage Archive.
April 2024

Can you help? This page is the result of the best endeavours of all concerned. If you spot a mistake or know of facts to add, or have a better photo, please get in touch using 'Contact Us' (top, right).

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JAMES COOK

Born: 10 September 1885

Came from: Grimsby Town Went to: Hull City

First game: 16 September 1908 Last game: 17 March 1909

Appearances: 15 (15/0) Goals: 0

Cook was born in Kilbirnie, Ayrshire, in 1885 and played for Kilbirnie, Vale of Garnock Strollers, Celtic, Greenock Morton, Glasgow Benburb and Airdrieonians before moving south to join English Football League Second Division side Grimsby Town in 1906.

He made just eight appearances in two years with the Mariners before signing for Argyle in 1908, during a period when the club was 'managed by committee'. An outside-right, he was described in the Argyle handbook as "speedy, dashing and able to centre with accuracy". He could not hold down a place in the starting line-up, however, and was released at the end of the campaign having made 15 appearances.

Some records show a brief association back in the north with Hull City in 1909, but this has proved difficult to substantiate. What is known is that, later in 1909, he emigrated to Chicago in the United States of America.

He initially worked for General Motors before later founding and serving as President of the Kloster Steel Corporation.

In May 1954, when Argyle toured the USA, one of their tour games was against a Chicago All-Stars side managed by former Argyle player Eugene Melaniphy. Argyle triumphed 8-1, and Chicago-based Melaniphy and Cook acted as greeters for the club when they arrived in Illinois.

He died in December 1971 after suffering a heart attack while driving his car, which then collided with a tree in River Forest, Illinois. He was pronounced dead on arrival at Gottlieb Memorial Hospital, aged 86.

Footnote: several contemporary sources list him latterly, and at death, as James B. Cook. He was, however, born as James Cook, with no middle name, in Kilbirnie. Where the B comes from is unclear, and it is not from his mother's maiden name (Duncan). It could possibly have been an affectation adopted Stateside, where such naming structures were common in business.

YOUR CONTRIBUTION

If you can add to this profile, perhaps with special memories, a favourite story or the results of your original research, please contribute here.

APPEARANCE DETAILS [reselect competitions]

The details below reflect appearances in all first-team competitions.

We are very grateful to many who have helped write GoS-DB's player pen-pictures, and to Dave Rowntree and the PAFC Media Team for their help with photos. Thanks also to staff at the National Football Museum, the Scottish Football Museum and ScotlandsPeople for their valuable assistance.

The following publications have been particularly valuable in the research of pen-pictures: Plymouth Argyle, A Complete Record 1903-1989 (Brian Knight, ISBN 0-907969-40-2); Plymouth Argyle, 101 Golden Greats (Andy Riddle, ISBN 1-874287-47-3); Football League Players' Records 1888-1939 (Michael Joyce, ISBN 1-899468-67-6); Football League Players' Records 1946-1988 (Barry Hugman, ISBN 1-85443-020-3) and Plymouth Argyle Football Club Handbooks.

Greens on Screen is run as a service to fellow supporters, in all good faith, without commercial or private gain. We have no wish to abuse copyright regulations and apologise unreservedly if this occurs. If you own any of the material on this site, and object to its inclusion, please get in touch using the 'Contact Us' button at the top of the page.