Maurice Cook was an English professional association football player, and also an amateur cricketer for Hertfordshire.
Education
He also played for Berkhamsted Town and Reading, and finished his playing career with a season as player-coach of Banbury United, in the Southern League. Playing 45 of a possible 47 games, Cook finished 1953-1954 with nine goals as Watford ended the season fourth in the division.
Career
Capable of playing in any outfield position, Cook spent the majority of his career as a centre forward. He was best known for his spells at Football League clubs Watford and Fulham. In 1960, Cook scored the first ever goal in the Football League Cup.
Born and raised in Hemel Hempstead, Cook played for Hertfordshire as a schoolboy, and later for local sides Potten End and Berkhamsted Town.
During this time, he also played cricket for Hertfordshire County Cricket Club. Cook joined Football League Third Division South side Watford as an amateur in 1952, turning professional at the end of the 1952-1953 season.
He made his debut in Watford"s first game of the following campaign, away to Southampton on 19 August 1953. Although Cook"s strike rate was poor compared with other forwards in the team, manager Len Goulden kept faith with him for the following campaign.
One of three players to play in all 50 of Watford"s fixtures, he finished as the club"s top scorer with 31 goals in all competitions, more than twice as many as his nearest competitor—and the previous season"s top scorer—Roy Brown.
Cook scored 15 and 16 goals in 1955-1956 and 1956-1957 respectively, and amassed 10 goals in 30 Watford games in the first half of 1957-1958. Nonetheless, Cook played a central part in 1958-1959, scoring 17 of Fulham"s 96 goals as they gained promotion to the First Division for only the second time in their history. Fulham survived the following season, and on 26 September 1960, Cook became the first player ever to score a goal in the Football League Cup.
Cook remained a First Division Fulham player until 1965, with a goalscoring record of 89 goals in 229 league games.
Among his team-mates during this period were England internationals George Cohen and Johnny Haynes. Shortly after the departure of manager Bedford Jezzard in December 1964, Cook transferred to Reading in the Third Division.
After playing only 12 league games for them, he took up a post as player-coach at Banbury United. Under the management of his former Watford boss Len Goulden, Cook helped Banbury reach the Southern League for the first time in their history.
Cook died on 31 December 2006, aged 75.
Coincidentally, the following day Fulham hosted Watford in a league match at Craven Cottage, where both sets of supporters observed a minute"s silence in his honour.