Billy Cooke

William Henry Cooke Date of Birth: Mar 7, 1919

After guesting for the Hatters during the war, it took some persuading and a substantial fee to prise Billy away from Bournemouth.

The effort was worthwhile, though, as crowd favourite Billy made over 200 league appearances for the Town as a rugged, no-nonsense full back who took no prisoners. Remarkably consistent, Billy invariably came out on top against the finest wingers of the day with Preston’s Tom Finney a prime example, being kept quiet on more than one occasion.

After finally leaving Kenilworth Road in 1953, age 34, Billy had spells at Shrewsbury, Watford and Bedford before working at Electrolux until retirement. Billy sadly died in Luton in 1992.