Davie Cooper - Early Life

Early Life

Cooper was born in Hamilton, Scotland on 25 February 1956. He attended Beckford Street Primary in Hamilton before moving on to Udston Primary, and it was to be at the latter that his talent started to flourish as captain of the school team. He played then at left-half (the equivalent of left midfield in contemporary footballing terms) and at inside left (roughly equivalent to a modern-day deep-lying striker).

Cooper moved up to St. John's Grammar School (now Hamilton Grammar School), which had no team playing before third year. He soon went on to secure a regular starting place with local juvenile team Udston United. As a boy he was a Rangers supporter and when he was not playing it was to Ibrox that he went with his father and brother. His brother, John, had a two year spell with Hull City when he was 16, but he failed to secure a career as a professional footballer.

Cooper himself later moved on to Hamilton Avondale from where he would subsequently sign for Clydebank. He played with the Under-16 team before moving up to Under-18. At the time he was working as an apprentice printer with the brothers who ran Avondale. He had gained a cap for the Scottish Amateur League, but his first International recognition came when he represented his country at Under-18 level against the Home Nations.

Rangers, Motherwell, Clyde and Clydebank, together with English sides Coventry City and Crystal Palace, all expressed an interest in signing the young Cooper. After his brother's less than pleasant experience on Humberside, Cooper was hesitant about the step up to professional football. When he became too old to play for Avondale in the younger age groups, and after having served his apprenticeship as a printer, a career in professional football began to become a more realistic prospect. Cooper's bosses asked Jack Steedman, then the owner of Clydebank, to help persuade the youngster to turn professional. Steedman is said, perhaps apocryphally, to have turned up with the takings from the fruit machine - in the 'Bankies' social club as the lure. The sum involved varies, but the story has it that the objective was to "persuade" Cooper to sign. The result was that in mid-1974, Cooper became a Clydebank player.