Sammy Crooks

Early life

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 career

Club career

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.

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 sustained in an earlier round against Aston Villa, having scored in all of the earlier rounds. Despite featuring in the practice match prior to the game, he was not considered fit enough to play in the final. Crooks believed that he was just a week away from being fit enough to have been able to feature, despite the possibility he may not have been risked in any scenario.

In total, he made 448 appearances for Derby, scoring 110 goals.

International career

His first appearance for England was in a 5–2 victory against Scotland on 5 April 1930. He then became a regular fixture in the England side with 15 consecutive appearances, making 27 total appearances and scoring 7 goals, including two in a 7–1 defeat of Spain on 9 December 1931. His final England appearance came in a 6–2 victory over Hungary on 2 December 1936,

Managerial career

In December 1949, Crooks accepted his first managerial position at Retford Town, several months after resigning as Derby County's chief scout. Following that resignation, Crooks had expressed that if he was unable to secure a managerial position in England, he would pursue opportunities in the United States. During his tenure at Retford, he occasionally played for the team, including a match in April when he featured as a winger against Ilkeston. Crooks left the club at the expiration of his contract in May 1950, having led them to win the Yorkshire League, with just one loss in 23 games.

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, leaving due to his wife wishing to return to Derby and also due to his own business interests.

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 a spell as manager with Burton Albion from June 1957 until his sacking just six months later in November following a loss of confidence from the club's directors. He then returned to manage Gresley Rovers before becoming manager at 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'.

Career statistics

References

• Mortimer, Gerald (2004): The Who's Who of Derby County. Breedon Books Publishing, Derby.
• Mortimer, Gerald (2006): Derby County – The Complete Record. Breedon Books Publishing, Derby.
• Official matchday programme: Burton Albion v Gresley Rovers 26/12/54.

References

1. [http://www.englandstats.com/matchreport.php?mid=170 England v Scotland 1930 line-ups at englandstats.com]
2. {{Englandstats
3. playing alongside Derby County colleagues [[Raich Carter]] and [[Eric Keen]].[http://www.englandstats.com/matchreport.php?mid=207 England v Hungary 1936 – lineups at englandstats.com]
4. (21 December 1949). "Sammy Crooks to manage Retford Town". Evening Post.
5. (8 April 1950). "Crooks to play for Retford". Football Post.
6. (4 May 1950). "Sammy Crooks to leave Retford". Nottingham Evening News.
7. *{{soccerbase (manager)
8. (2 May 1957). "Sammy Crooks appointed manager". Burton Observer.
9. (13 November 1957). "Burton Town sack Sammy Crooks". Hull Daily Mail.
10. (12 February 1975). "Super Sammy: Pit lorry to Rams' legend". Evening Telegraph.