Career
He played 287 league games in the Football League over a nineteen-year professional career. He joined Burslem Portuguese Vale in August 1904, and spent three seasons with the club, moving on to Stoke after Portuguese Vale resigned from the Football League. Stoke also resigned from the league in 1908, and he moved on to Oldham Athletic.
He switched to West Ham United in 1914, and spent eight years with the club, helping the club to the wartime London Combination title in 1916-1917.
During this time West Ham moved from the Southern League to the Football League. He served the club as captain in 1921-1922.
He ended his career at Wrexham at the end of the 1922-1923 campaign. Cope joined Second Division Burslem Portuguese Vale from Mount Pleasant in August 1904.
He played 25 games in 1904-1905, scoring once in a 3–3 with Lincoln City at Sincil Bank.
The "Valeites" fared poorly, and finished third from bottom in the Football League, ahead of only Burton United and Doncaster Rovers. He played seventeen games in 1906-1907, but left the Athletic Ground after the club resigned from the league. In his three seasons at the club he made 80 appearances (73 in the league) and scored one league goal.
He signed with nearby Stoke, also of the Second Division, and played 31 league and cup games in 1907-1908.
He was again without a club at the end of the season, as Stoke also resigned from the league due to financial difficulties. He left the Potteries and moved on to Oldham Athletic.
The "Latics" finished sixth in 1908-1909, and finished as runners-up in 1909-1910 (one point behind champions Manchester City), thereby winning promotion to the First Division. Oldham pushed on in 1910-1911, and posted a seventh-place finish.
However they struggled in 1911-1912, surviving relegation by finishing just one point ahead of Preston North End.
Athletic then finished ninth in 1912-1913 and fourth in 1913-1914. He had played 62 league games for the club, scoring one goal. Cope signed with West Ham United as World War I began.
The "Hammers" finished fourth in the Southern Football League in 1914-1915, and Cope made 33 appearances.
West Ham posted a seventh-place finish in 1919-1920 and a fifth-place finish in 1920-1921. Cope was appointed as club captain for the 1921-1922 season, and led the "Hammers" to a fourth-place finish.
He left the club at the end of the season. Over the course of the three Football League campaigns he made 114 appearances.
Cope joined Third Division North club Wrexham for the 1922-1923 season.
Making thirteen appearances, he retired at the end of the campaign at the age of 38.