William Osser Xavier Cook (October 8, 1895 – May 5, 1986) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player who was a right winger for the Saskatoon Crescents of the Western Canada Hockey League (WCHL) and the New York Rangers of the National Hockey League (NHL). A prolific scorer, Cook led the WCHL in goals twice and the NHL three times. He was named an all-star seven times between the two leagues. Known as "The Original Ranger", Cook was the first captain of the New York Rangers, scored the first goal in franchise history and led the team to two Stanley Cup championships.
Turning to coaching following his playing career, Cook led the Cleveland Barons to two Calder Cup championships and the Minneapolis Millers to a United States Hockey League championship. He coached the New York Rangers during the 1951–52 NHL season until his retirement in 1953. Cook was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1952 and Canada's Sports Hall of Fame in 1975.
Early life
thumb|left|upright|Cook with the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds
Cook was born on October 8, 1895, in Brantford, Ontario. He was a middle child of a large family, and the eldest of three sons, preceding his brothers Frederick ("Bun") and Alexander ("Bud"). The family moved to Kingston, Ontario, where he learned to skate on the Rideau Canal. He joined the Kingston Frontenacs' junior hockey team in 1913 and played for two seasons before his career was interrupted by the First World War. Arriving in England in April 1916, Cook was initially promoted to acting Bombardier, but reverted to Gunner so he could serve on the front earlier, and was sent there in July 1916. With the end of the First World War Cook was sent to Archangel in northern Russia, part of the allied intervention in the Russian Civil War. He would spend 8 months in Russia, and was awarded the Military Medal for his services in April 1919. He returned to Canada in July 1919 and was discharged shortly after.
Upon his return from the war, Cook rejoined the Frontenacs for one season before joining the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds in 1920. He led the Northern Ontario Hockey Association (NOHA) in both goals, 12, and points, 19, while the Greyhounds won the NOHA championship. He won the scoring title again in 1921–22 with 20 goals and 28 points. Cook moved to Saskatchewan, where he had been granted land for his service in the war. Bill Cook was officially the first player signed by the Rangers, and was named the team's first captain. Appearing in 44 games, he led the league in both goals, 33, and points, 37. He finished as the runner-up to Herb Gardiner of the Montreal Canadiens for the Hart Trophy as the NHL's most valuable player. The Rangers finished first in the American Division, but were eliminated by the Boston Bruins in the playoffs. Cook recorded 24 points in 1927–28, the seventh highest total in the league. The Bread Line scored every Rangers goal in the 1928 Stanley Cup Final. Cook led the Rangers and finished fourth in league scoring in 1929–30 and 1930–31 with 59 and 42 points respectively.
Cook was again the top scorer in 1932–33, leading the NHL in both goals, 28, and points, 50. At 36 years, 5 months old, Cook was the oldest player in NHL history to win a scoring title until 2013 when Martin St. Louis of the Tampa Bay Lightning led the NHL in scoring at the age of 37. then scored the championship winning goal, in overtime, in the fourth game. It was the first overtime power play goal in NHL playoff history. The trophy was not available on the night the Rangers won, leading the series to become known as the "Forgotten Cup". Cook accepted the Stanley Cup on behalf of his team in November of that year, seven months after the Rangers victory. The Bread Line was broken up in 1935–36 when Bun was forced out of the Rangers lineup by illness. Bill Cook scored just seven goals that season, and at the age of 40, scored one goal in 21 games before retiring as a player during the 1936–37 season. He is believed to be the first NHL player to score a goal after turning 40.
Coaching career
Turning to coaching, Cook took over as the manager of the Cleveland Barons in the International-American Hockey League (IAHL) in the 1937–38 season. He inherited a team that had struggled the season before and led it to a respectable season, winning 34 of 50 games played combined between the regular season and playoffs. Cook was pressed into service as a player as a result of injuries. His team was able to dress only 10 of 17 players in the deciding game of the Barons' playoff series against the Syracuse Stars. Cook played a regular shift in the game, but the Barons lost, 3–2, in the fourth overtime period.
The Barons finished fifth overall in the IAHL standings in 1938–39, but defeated the Springfield Indians and Providence Reds to reach the league championship series against the Philadelphia Ramblers. They won the best-of-five championship three games to one to claim the Calder Cup. Cook coached the Barons to a second Calder Cup in 1940–41, defeating the Hershey Bears in the final. Cook remained behind the Barons' bench until the conclusion of the 1942–43 American Hockey League (AHL) season.
Cook left the Barons to join the Minneapolis Millers of the United States Hockey League (USHL) in 1947. He coached the team for three seasons, leading the team to the Paul W. Loudon Trophy as league champions in 1949–50. He coached the final 47 games of the Rangers' 1951–52 season, winning 17, losing 22 and tying 8. He remained behind the Rangers bench in 1952–53, but the Rangers missed the playoffs after winning only 17 of 70 games. Cook was replaced as coach following the season as Boucher named himself head coach. Cook then retired from hockey. He was regarded as being the greatest right wing in the game's history when he retired, and Canada's Sports Hall of Fame in 1975. The Hockey News ranked Cook as the 44th greatest player in NHL history, and highest Ranger on the list, in its 1998 book The Top 100 NHL Players of All Time.
Personal life
Accepting a land grant from the federal government, Cook settled in Saskatchewan following the First World War, taking a half section of land adjacent to a similar holding of his brother Bun's.
Cook died of cancer in Kingston on May 5, 1986. He was buried at St. Mary's Catholic Cemetery in Kingston, near Bun.
Career statistics
Regular season and playoffs
{| border="0" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="0" style="text-align:center; width:60em"
|- bgcolor="#e0e0e0"
! colspan="3" bgcolor="#ffffff"|
! rowspan="100" bgcolor="#ffffff"|
! colspan="5"|Regular season
! rowspan="100" bgcolor="#ffffff"|
! colspan="5"|Playoffs
|- bgcolor="#e0e0e0"
! Season
! Team
! League
! GP !! G !! A !! Pts !! PIM
! GP !! G !! A !! Pts !! PIM
|-
| 1914–15
| Kingston Frontenacs
| OHA
| — || — || — || — || —
| — || — || — || — || —
|- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| 1914–15
| Kingston Frontenacs
| OHA Sr
| — || — || — || — || —
| — || — || — || — || —
|-
| 1919–20
| Kingston Frontenacs
| OHA Sr
| — || — || — || — || —
| — || — || — || — || —
|- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| 1920–21
| Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds
| NOHA
| 9 || 12 || 7 || 19 || 48
| 5 || 5 || 1 || 6 || —
|-
| 1920–21
| Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds
| NMHL
| 12 || 12 || 6 || 18 || —
| — || — || — || — || —
|- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| 1921–22
| Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds
| NMHL
| 12 || 20 || 8 || 28 || —
| — || — || — || — || —
|-
| 1921–22
| Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds
| NOHA
| 8 || 7 || 5 || 12 || 38
| 2 || 1 || 1 || 2 || 2
|- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| 1922–23
| Saskatoon Crescents
| WCHL
| 30 || 9 || 16 || 25 || 19
| — || — || — || — || —
|-
| 1923–24
| Saskatoon Crescents
| WCHL
| 30 || 26 || 14 || 40 || 20
| — || — || — || — || —
|- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| 1924–25
| Saskatoon Crescents
| WCHL
| 27 || 22 || 10 || 32 || 79
| 2 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 4
|-
| 1925–26
| Saskatoon Sheiks
| WHL
| 30 || 31 || 13 || 44 || 26
| 2 || 2 || 0 || 2 || 26
|- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| 1926–27
| New York Rangers
| NHL
| 44 || 33 || 4 || 37 || 58
| 2 || 1 || 0 || 1 || 6
|-
| 1927–28
| New York Rangers
| NHL
| 43 || 18 || 6 || 24 || 42
| 9 || 2 || 3 || 5 || 26
|- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| 1928–29
| New York Rangers
| NHL
| 43 || 15 || 8 || 23 || 41
| 6 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 6
|-
| 1929–30
| New York Rangers
| NHL
| 44 || 29 || 30 || 59 || 56
| 4 || 0 || 1 || 1 || 11
|- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| 1930–31
| New York Rangers
| NHL
| 43 || 30 || 12 || 42 || 39
| 4 || 3 || 0 || 3 || 4
|-
| 1931–32
| New York Rangers
| NHL
| 48 || 34 || 14 || 48 || 33
| 7 || 3 || 3 || 6 || 2
|- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| 1932–33
| New York Rangers
| NHL
| 48 || 28 || 22 || 50 || 51
| 8 || 3 || 2 || 5 || 4
|-
| 1933–34
| New York Rangers
| NHL
| 48 || 13 || 13 || 26 || 21
| 2 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 2
|- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| 1934–35
| New York Rangers
| NHL
| 48 || 21 || 15 || 36 || 23
| 4 || 1 || 2 || 3 || 7
|-
| 1935–36
| New York Rangers
| NHL
| 44 || 7 || 10 || 17 || 16
| — || — || — || — || —
|- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| 1936–37
| New York Rangers
| NHL
| 21 || 1 || 4 || 5 || 6
| — || — || — || — || —
|-
| 1937–38
| Cleveland Barons
| IAHL
| 5 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 5
| 1 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0
|- bgcolor="#e0e0e0"
! colspan="3" | WCHL totals
! 117 !! 88 !! 53 !! 141 !! 144
! 4 !! 2 !! 0 !! 2 !! 30
|- bgcolor="#e0e0e0"
! colspan="3" | NHL totals
! 474 !! 229 !! 138 !! 367 !! 386
! 46 !! 13 !! 11 !! 24 !! 68
|}
NHL Coaching career
{| class="wikitable" style="font-size: 95%; text-align:center; width:70em;"
|-
! rowspan="2"|Season !! rowspan="2"|Team !! rowspan="2"|League !! colspan="6"|Regular season !! colspan="1"|Postseason
|-
! G !! W !! L !! T !! Pct !! Division rank !! Result
|-
| 1951–52
| New York Rangers
| NHL
| 47 || 17 || 22 || 8 || .447
| 5th overall
| Did not qualify
|-
| 1952–53
| New York Rangers
| NHL
| 70 || 17 || 37 || 16 || .357
| 6th overall
| Did not qualify
|- bgcolor="#e0e0e0"
! colspan="3"| NHL totals
! 117 !! 34 !! 59 !! 24 !! .393
!
!
|}
See also
- List of NHL players who spent their entire career with one franchise