HARRY’S most famous association was with Dixie Dean.
The legendary goalscorer was injured in the penultimate match of his record breaking 1927/28 season at Burnley – still three goals short of the 60-goal record.
Harry Cooke spent the next seven days at his bedside tending to the centre-forward 24 hours a day to ensure his fitness for the record breaking bid against Arsenal seven days later.
“Harry was bandaging and putting plasters on my right leg through the week,” remembered Dean. “He stuck with me right to the morning of the match and we went across to Goodison together.”
Dixie, of course, broke the record.
It was a partnership which went back years.
When Dean suffered his appalling motorcycle accident and was told he would never play again, there was understandable apprehension in the air when he ran out to play for Everton reserves barely six months later.
“Old Harry Cooke was worried about what would happen when I first headed the ball,” recalled Dean. “He told Teddy Critchley, our outside right that day, to try to get a good centre over to me early in the game so that I could head it.
“Harry told me that if I felt any pain from my head after heading the ball I was to come off right away.
“I remember it was a very heavy day so naturally we were all worried about what was going to happen when I headed the ball. After about a quarter of an hour over came the ball from Teddy Critchley. I thought to myself ‘Here goes!’ and I went up to head it.
“The ball flew into the net. I shook my head and I could see Harry Cooke on the line thinking something was wrong as I did so.
“They started to call me off but I shouted that there was nothing wrong.
“In those days you got a £1 bonus for winning a reserve game and I was a goal up towards £1 so I stayed on. We won 2-0 and I’ve never felt anything wrong as a result of that accident ever since.
“As a matter of fact I think the skull fracture knitted twice as hard, so they tell me, and it considerably helped me with the old heading trick.”
