Samuel Dickinson Crooks (16 January 1908 – 3 February 1981) was an English footballer who played as outside forward or outside right for Derby County in the mid-war era. He was one of the best-known footballers of the 1920s and 1930s and was capped 26 times by England.
Crooks was born at Bearpark, County Durham, one of a family of 17 children. After leaving school, he worked in the coal-mines and played for the colliery team and then for Tow Law Town in his spare time until problems with rheumatism forced him to abandon his career underground. When his health was restored he joined Durham City in June 1926 and made 16 appearances for them in the Third Division (North).
Playing careeredit
By April 1927, Crooks had been spotted by George Jobey and was signed for Derby County for a fee of £300, making his debut for The Rams in a 2–1 win over Leicester City on 10 September 1927. Between 1927 and 1946 he played 445 games for the Rams, scoring 111 goals. During this period, County were twice runners-up in the Football League, in 1930 and 1936.
His first appearance for England was in a 5–2 victory against Scotland on 5 April 1930.[1] He then became a regular fixture in the England side, making 26 appearances and scoring 7 goals, including two in a 7–1 defeat of Spain on 9 December 1931.[2] His final England appearance came in a 6–2 victory over Hungary on 2 December 1936,[2] (playing alongside Derby County colleagues Raich Carter and Eric Keen).[3]
In 1935, Arsenal attempted to sign Crooks and Tom Cooper in exchange for Alex James, but the deal fell through as Arsenal required a cash payment as well which Derby were not prepared to meet.
Crook's playing career was interrupted by World War II, but he made a handful of league appearances in the 1946–47 season before retiring. He was unlucky to miss Derby's FA Cup win of 1946 due to a knee injury, having scored in all of the earlier rounds.
Managerial careeredit
In December 1949, Crooks moved into management with Retford Town.
In 1954 he moved to Gresley Rovers turning out occasionally as a player, making his début on Boxing Day 1954 in the Birmingham & District League at Burton Albion. There followed spells as manager with Burton Albion and Heanor Town. During this time he opened a sport clothing store in Derby.
After finishing in local team management he became Derby County's Chief Scout (until 1967) and also served for 14 years as Secretary of the Association Football Players Union.
His career has been marked by Durham City naming the upper lounge at New Ferens Park, 'The Sammy Crooks Lounge', which is home to some of the memorabilia from his playing career. Similarly, Belper Leisure Centre, situated in the town where he died, renamed the bar to 'The Sammy Crooks Suite'.
Referencesedit
^England v Scotland 1930 line-ups at englandstats.com
^ ab"Sammy Crooks". Englandstats.com. Retrieved 31 October 2012.
^England v Hungary 1936 – lineups at englandstats.com
^*Sammy Crooks management career statistics at Soccerbase
Mortimer, Gerald (2004): The Who's Who of Derby County. Breedon Books Publishing, Derby. ISBN1-85983-409-4
Mortimer, Gerald (2006): Derby County – The Complete Record. Breedon Books Publishing, Derby. ISBN1-85983-517-1
Official matchday programme: Burton Albion v Gresley Rovers 26/12/54.
External linksedit
April 10, 2024
sammy, crooks, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, news, newspapers, books, scholar, jstor, november, 20. This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Sammy Crooks news newspapers books scholar JSTOR November 2012 Learn how and when to remove this template message Samuel Dickinson Crooks 16 January 1908 3 February 1981 was an English footballer who played as outside forward or outside right for Derby County in the mid war era He was one of the best known footballers of the 1920s and 1930s and was capped 26 times by England Sammy CrooksPersonal informationFull nameSamuel Dickinson CrooksDate of birth 1908 01 16 16 January 1908Place of birthBearpark County Durham EnglandDate of death3 February 1981 1981 02 03 aged 73 Place of deathBelper EnglandPosition s Outside rightYouth careerBearpark CollieryBrandon JuniorsTow Law TownSenior career YearsTeamApps Gls 1926 1927Durham City16 4 1927 1946Derby County408 105 Total424 109 International career1930 1936England26 7 Managerial career1949 1950Retford Town1950 1954Shrewsbury Town1954 1957Gresley Rovers1957Burton Albion1958 1959Gresley Rovers1959 1960Heanor Town Club domestic league appearances and goals Contents 1 Early life 2 Playing career 3 Managerial career 4 References 5 External linksEarly life editCrooks was born at Bearpark County Durham one of a family of 17 children After leaving school he worked in the coal mines and played for the colliery team and then for Tow Law Town in his spare time until problems with rheumatism forced him to abandon his career underground When his health was restored he joined Durham City in June 1926 and made 16 appearances for them in the Third Division North Playing career editBy April 1927 Crooks had been spotted by George Jobey and was signed for Derby County for a fee of 300 making his debut for The Rams in a 2 1 win over Leicester City on 10 September 1927 Between 1927 and 1946 he played 445 games for the Rams scoring 111 goals During this period County were twice runners up in the Football League in 1930 and 1936 His first appearance for England was in a 5 2 victory against Scotland on 5 April 1930 1 He then became a regular fixture in the England side making 26 appearances and scoring 7 goals including two in a 7 1 defeat of Spain on 9 December 1931 2 His final England appearance came in a 6 2 victory over Hungary on 2 December 1936 2 playing alongside Derby County colleagues Raich Carter and Eric Keen 3 In 1935 Arsenal attempted to sign Crooks and Tom Cooper in exchange for Alex James but the deal fell through as Arsenal required a cash payment as well which Derby were not prepared to meet Crook s playing career was interrupted by World War II but he made a handful of league appearances in the 1946 47 season before retiring He was unlucky to miss Derby s FA Cup win of 1946 due to a knee injury having scored in all of the earlier rounds Managerial career editIn December 1949 Crooks moved into management with Retford Town In May 1950 he became manager of Shrewsbury Town who had been elected to the Football League Division Three North for the 1950 51 season He remained with the Shropshire side until 1954 4 In 1954 he moved to Gresley Rovers turning out occasionally as a player making his debut on Boxing Day 1954 in the Birmingham amp District League at Burton Albion There followed spells as manager with Burton Albion and Heanor Town During this time he opened a sport clothing store in Derby After finishing in local team management he became Derby County s Chief Scout until 1967 and also served for 14 years as Secretary of the Association Football Players Union His career has been marked by Durham City naming the upper lounge at New Ferens Park The Sammy Crooks Lounge which is home to some of the memorabilia from his playing career Similarly Belper Leisure Centre situated in the town where he died renamed the bar to The Sammy Crooks Suite References edit England v Scotland 1930 line ups at englandstats com a b Sammy Crooks Englandstats com Retrieved 31 October 2012 nbsp England v Hungary 1936 lineups at englandstats com Sammy Crooks management career statistics at Soccerbase Mortimer Gerald 2004 The Who s Who of Derby County Breedon Books Publishing Derby ISBN 1 85983 409 4 Mortimer Gerald 2006 Derby County The Complete Record Breedon Books Publishing Derby ISBN 1 85983 517 1 Official matchday programme Burton Albion v Gresley Rovers 26 12 54 External links editProfile at www Englandfc com Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Sammy Crooks amp oldid 1215954835, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
