The roughest and most contentious rugby league player of the turbulent 1970s passed away at age 67 from cancer.
Bob Cooper, a Western Suburbs hardman who held the record for the most extended suspension in the game’s history, passed away last night.
Last Friday’s Wests Magpies reunion had a lot of talk about Cooper, who has received supportive and kind letters from his teammates.
Josh White, a former Magpie, stated, “It’s incredibly terrible Because he was Wests through and through.”
He was in such bad shape that he didn’t want his teammates to visit him in the hospital.
“But last week, at our yearly reunion, everyone wished him their best wishes because he was one of the nice ones,” said the group.
How did Bob Cooper die?
Bob Cooper, a State of Origin player for Foundation NSW, has passed away at age 67 following a brief fight with cancer. Cooper, a controversial athlete in the late 1970s and early 1980s, rose to fame at Western Suburbs as a hardman. Before receiving the most extended on-field suspension in the sport’s history for an on-field altercation in Wollongong, he played 81 games for the club, ending his time with the Magpies.
In 1984, once his 15-month sentence was over, he returned to North Sydney, but later that year, a shoulder injury ended his career. Cooper, a strong second-rower for NSW in 1980, also participated in the initial Origin game. On Saturday, the Western Suburbs club recognised him as a “towering figure of that age” and noted that he was selected for their 1980s team.
Who was Bob Cooper?
Bob Cooper, one of the most contentious athletes of the late 1970s and early 1980s, became well-known for being a hardman at Western Suburbs.
Before his tenure with the Magpies ended, he played 81 games for the group. This resulted from the most extended on-field suspension in sports history following an altercation in Wollongong.
Bob Cooper Biography
Robert Charles “Bob” Cooper, a former motorcycle speedway rider with Rye House Rockets and the Leicester Lions, was born in the United Kingdom on June 23, 1950.
Cooper, a Warwickshire native, raised in Rugby, ran cross-country for Central Midland Schools as a teen. He linked his career in speedway with his job as a Rolls-Royce engine fitter. He attended a training school in King’s Lynn in 1971, and in 1972 he competed for the first time in a ‘Stars of Tomorrow tournament.
He rode for Leicester Lions in 1974 for the junior squad and was given to Rye House Rockets on loan. During his first season, he averaged 4.78 and rode for Lions in one match in the top division, but he failed to score from three rides. He made two further appearances for Leicester in 1975 while riding for Rye House until 1978. For Rye House, he made 128 appearances and scored 628 points.
Bob Cooper Net Worth
Bob Cooper is one of the wealthiest and most well-known formers. Bob Cooper has a $5 million net worth, per our analysis of data from sources like Wikipedia, Forbes, and Business Insider.
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