Richmond is mourning the passing of one of its greatest servants - Allan Cooke - who died yesterday (May 12) at the age of 80.
Cooke was involved with the Tigers for four decades - firstly as a player and then as chairman of selectors.
He was recruited to Richmond from Mitcham and started with the Club’s under 19s in 1946. The following year, he won the thirds’ Best and Fairest.
From there, he worked his way up through the ranks at Tigerland, playing reserve-grade football in 1948, before breaking through for his senior league debut in 1949.
Cooke’s fifth game of league football - in the final round of the ‘49 home-and-away season - coincided with the farewell appearance of the great Jack Dyer, who kicked six goals in a convincing Tiger win against Geelong at Punt Road.
Allan Cooke would go on to play a total of 116 senior games from 1949-58, as well as 71 all-up in the reserves, winning the seconds’ Best and Fairest in 1957.
He was a strongly-built ruckman, who gave everything he had for his beloved Tigers on the field of battle.
After retiring as a player from Richmond, Cooke returned to Mitcham as captain-coach from 1959-61, and then had stints in suburban football with Vermont (1962-63, as a player) and Nunawading (1964, as coach).
Cooke was subsequently invited back to Richmond and was appointed the Club’s chairman of selectors in 1969.
He soon formed a strong bond with coach Tommy Hafey and became a key figure behind the scenes throughout the Tigers’ golden era (a further three premierships under Hafey - 1969, 1973 and 1974, and the 1980 triumph under Tony Jewell’s coaching).
Years later, Cooke told author Rhett Bartlett in “RICHMOND F.C. A Century Of League Football” of his philosophy as chairman of selectors.
“I had a firm belief that I would never make a judgment on a player unless I saw him play,” Cooke said.
“In all my years as chairman of selectors I never missed one seconds game. I was there every Saturday morning at 9am, I saw the whole game through, then the firsts . . .
“If a player came to me during the week saying ‘Why wasn’t I getting a game?’ I would honestly answer him with my opinion.
“That’s my belief and I stuck by it, that’s why I was there for that long.”
Cooke received RFC Life Membership in 1958, was awarded the AFL’s Jack Titus Medal in 1992, in recognition of his services to Australian Football, and was inducted into Richmond’s Hall of Fame in 2006.
He also was one of the 100 Tiger Treasures of the Century (in the Servants category), announced during the Club’s 2008 AFL/VFL Centenary year.
The Club extends its deepest sympathy to Allan’s family and friends.
Richmond players will wear black armbands in Sunday’s match against Hawthorn at the MCG as a mark of respect for Allan Cooke.
