Davie Cooper

David Cooper (25 February 1956 – 23 March 1995) was a Scottish professional footballer who played as a winger. Born in Hamilton, Cooper played as a youth for local side Hamilton Avondale, whilst also working as an apprentice printer for the club's owners. His talents were noticed by numerous top-flight clubs in Scotland and England. Cooper chose to sign for Scottish Second Division side Clydebank in 1974, beginning his career as a professional footballer. Cooper continued to show potential at Clydebank, finishing as the club's top scorer in his second full season and helping the club achieve successive league promotions in 1975–76 and 1976–77. Cooper signed for Rangers in June 1977 for a fee of £100,000 at the age of 21. The next 12 years would see him become a Rangers stalwart, playing 540 games and winning numerous trophies with club, including the Scottish Premier Division in 1977–78, 1986–87 and 1988–89. In August 1989, Tommy McLean signed Cooper for Motherwell for a fee of £50,000. He played over 150 times for the club and was part of the team that won the 1991 Scottish Cup Final against Dundee United. Cooper also represented the Scotland national team from 1979 to 1990; he won 22 caps and scored 6 goals. He represented Scotland at the 1986 FIFA World Cup in Mexico, making two appearances at the tournament. In his later career, Cooper returned to Clydebank as a player/assistant coach. He intended to retire as a player at the end of the 1995 season, but on 22 March 1995 he suffered a subarachnoid haemorrhage at Broadwood Stadium in Cumbernauld whilst filming Shoot, a youth coaching television programme. He died the following day at the age of 39. An inductee of the Scottish Football Hall of Fame, Cooper is regarded by many as one...