Post by joelatics on Dec 15, 2008 17:05:38 GMT -5
An Oldham legend, Ernie Cooksey, died in the most tragic circumstances in July, I'll give you some info before asking my quiestion 
He developed the most serious kind of Malignant Melanoma [skin cancer], and died from it.
Why's this tragic? you're asking. I'll go on.
Ernie Cooksey
The story with Ernie is that he came to the club when we were being threatened by administration. We couldn’t buy anyone, because we had no money and were on the brink of having no club. The only players we had left at the club were youth team players, those who weren’t good enough for any team of note at all, and unheard of's from 4 divisions below the Conference. Ernie was one of them. He was probably offered a wage that was basically nothing. He did, however, take a massive paycut, and made his debut vs Rochdale away, in a friendly.
He came on as a sub. He looked about 55, at least, but was only actually about 24 at the time. There has surely never been a player who has been taken by the fans as quickly as he did. By the time he'd reached his position in midfield, there were sporadic chants aimed at Ernie, ranging from "One Ernie Cooksey" to "Ernie for England." - It grew louder as the game progressed and we saw that despite him having absolutely no skill whatsoever, he ran for everything and played with passion and effort. All we ever asked of anyone in a season we were expected to be relegated. He played the rest of the match with a huge smile on his face - probably half because of the chants, and the added grin because he was happy he was at a professional club - be it one playing with a bunch of youth players.
He went onto other clubs and made a similar impact, taken by fans rather quickly because of his effort and determination he put in despite the clear lack of skill. The type of player who's very appreciated by fans of lower league teams, especially when there's a team full of players with the skill but a waste of effort and passion for the club.
n.b. I was at the game, but was too young to remember it, so I’ve nicked that from the programme
The one thing that everyone remembers him for was “his large grin”. He simply loved playing football, and, as I already mentioned, probably did it for nearly free. Indeed, the only person who’s played for us who comes anywhere near to being as committed as him is our resident Oldham fan who plays for us, Chris Taylor.
Another Ernie-related memory I have was when Chris Moore was doing his best to ruin the club, and my Godfather still had the shirt that bore his company’s name, so what did he do? He stuck some duct tape over the ‘TOREX’ of ‘TOREX foundations’, and put ‘Ernie’ in its place, “because Ernie’s done 100 times more for our club than TOREX”.
He was never the most skilled of players, he was never going to be the next Kaka, or Lionel Messi (or even match up to Danny Whittaker to be quite honest!), but he became a legend because of this sheer enthusiasm, which more than made up for the fact that he wasn’t the best on the pitch.
His Death
He was only 28 when he died, and would certainly have played on for many more years.
The most tragic part of this story is the fact that, when he died, his wife was 8 month pregnant with his baby.
I know that nobody in the USA (and 99% of people in the UK!) has never heard of him, but I thought that it may be a nice idea to have an Ernie Cooksey day on 3rd July (which is his anneversary) to remember him?
I totally understand if this isn't possible, but I'm trying my best to get this going on as many forums as possible, and I'd gladly do a skin/banner/whatever for it if you want?
Thanks a lot
KtF
Joe
He developed the most serious kind of Malignant Melanoma [skin cancer], and died from it.
Why's this tragic? you're asking. I'll go on.
Ernie Cooksey
The story with Ernie is that he came to the club when we were being threatened by administration. We couldn’t buy anyone, because we had no money and were on the brink of having no club. The only players we had left at the club were youth team players, those who weren’t good enough for any team of note at all, and unheard of's from 4 divisions below the Conference. Ernie was one of them. He was probably offered a wage that was basically nothing. He did, however, take a massive paycut, and made his debut vs Rochdale away, in a friendly.
He came on as a sub. He looked about 55, at least, but was only actually about 24 at the time. There has surely never been a player who has been taken by the fans as quickly as he did. By the time he'd reached his position in midfield, there were sporadic chants aimed at Ernie, ranging from "One Ernie Cooksey" to "Ernie for England." - It grew louder as the game progressed and we saw that despite him having absolutely no skill whatsoever, he ran for everything and played with passion and effort. All we ever asked of anyone in a season we were expected to be relegated. He played the rest of the match with a huge smile on his face - probably half because of the chants, and the added grin because he was happy he was at a professional club - be it one playing with a bunch of youth players.
He went onto other clubs and made a similar impact, taken by fans rather quickly because of his effort and determination he put in despite the clear lack of skill. The type of player who's very appreciated by fans of lower league teams, especially when there's a team full of players with the skill but a waste of effort and passion for the club.
n.b. I was at the game, but was too young to remember it, so I’ve nicked that from the programme
The one thing that everyone remembers him for was “his large grin”. He simply loved playing football, and, as I already mentioned, probably did it for nearly free. Indeed, the only person who’s played for us who comes anywhere near to being as committed as him is our resident Oldham fan who plays for us, Chris Taylor.
Another Ernie-related memory I have was when Chris Moore was doing his best to ruin the club, and my Godfather still had the shirt that bore his company’s name, so what did he do? He stuck some duct tape over the ‘TOREX’ of ‘TOREX foundations’, and put ‘Ernie’ in its place, “because Ernie’s done 100 times more for our club than TOREX”.
He was never the most skilled of players, he was never going to be the next Kaka, or Lionel Messi (or even match up to Danny Whittaker to be quite honest!), but he became a legend because of this sheer enthusiasm, which more than made up for the fact that he wasn’t the best on the pitch.
His Death
He was only 28 when he died, and would certainly have played on for many more years.
The most tragic part of this story is the fact that, when he died, his wife was 8 month pregnant with his baby.
I know that nobody in the USA (and 99% of people in the UK!) has never heard of him, but I thought that it may be a nice idea to have an Ernie Cooksey day on 3rd July (which is his anneversary) to remember him?
I totally understand if this isn't possible, but I'm trying my best to get this going on as many forums as possible, and I'd gladly do a skin/banner/whatever for it if you want?
Thanks a lot
KtF
Joe
