Daniel Cooper.

Daniel was born in Darwen, he was a member of the Darwen team that won the Lancashire League Championship in 1901/02 finishing 6 points clear of Southport, he was also a member of the Darwen team that won the East Lancashire trophy beating Accrington in the final 2-1 on the 6th December 1902.
Writing some fifty years later Alderman Taylor, a lifelong stalwart of Darwen Football Club, said of Daniel: "Danny was one of the best little players I have ever known. He would have been a celebrity in football had he not had such bad luck with his health and had to retire so early. He was not big but he had one of the strongest shots I have ever seen on a football ground"
The Darwen team of which Daniel played at inside right in 1901/02 went through the league unbeaten, and the only defeat they suffered that season in all competitions was against Woolwich Arsenal 0-2 at the Anchor on the 5th January 1902 in the FA cup in front of 5,900 spectators. Newspaper records show that Darwen completely dominated the game only to sucumb to two goals on the break, the only chances Arsenal created in the game.
Daniel went on to play for Accrington Stanley and Stalybridge and carried on working locally untill he was well into his 70's
Daniel died in the early 1960's, sadly his winners medals were callously stolen from his grand-daughters (Mrs Marjorie Bibby) home in 1993, and have never been recovered.

A a photo of the triumphant Darwen team of 1901/02 .

Acknowledgements for the history in this section are made to :  Darwen RBL -- who originally published this page in 2002