Reuben Cooper
{{Short description|Australian rules footballer}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2016}}
{{Use Australian English|date=January 2016}}
{{Infobox AFL biography
| name = Reuben Cooper
| image =
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1951|08|14|df=y}}
| birth_place =
| death_date =
| death_place =
| height =
| weight =
| position =
| club1 = South Melbourne
| years1 = 1969
| games_goals1 = 2 (0)
| club2 = Darwin
| sooteam1 = Northern Territory
| coachyears1 = 1986–87
| coachclub1 = Nightcliff
| careerhighlights =
}}Reuben Cooper (born 14 August 1951) is a former Australian rules football player and coach. He was the first Northern Territorian in history to play in the Australian Football League, having debuted for South Melbourne in 1969.
Biography
Cooper, an indigenous Australian was born into a footballing family, his father Ron who played football with the Buffaloes in the NTFL.{{cite web | url=http://www.aflnt.com.au/fileadmin/user_upload/Images/Downloads/NTFL_History_BOOK-_Latest.pdf | title=History of the NTFL | publisher=AFL Northern Territory | accessdate=21 July 2014 | page=5}} His great grandfather Robert Joel 'Joe' Cooper was a buffalo shooter Melville Island and was married a Iwaidja woman named Alice.{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article160200179 |title=Northern Territory Identity. |newspaper=The Gloucester Advocate |volume=XXXVIII |issue=2563 |location=New South Wales, Australia |date=8 December 1942 |accessdate=5 April 2023 |page=4 |via=National Library of Australia}}{{Citation |last=Bauer |first=F. H. |title=Robert Joel (Joe) Cooper (1860–1936) |work=Australian Dictionary of Biography |url=https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/cooper-robert-joel-joe-5772 |access-date=2024-03-21 |place=Canberra |publisher=National Centre of Biography, Australian National University |language=en |last2=Bauer |first2=J. B.}} Joe sent Reuben's grandfather, Reuben Cooper Snr to St Peter's College, Adelaide after which he returned to introduced the sport to Darwin in 1915, Reuben Snr was the first "coloured" player to play in the Darwin league and his wife.ABORIGINAL HISTORY 1992 pg 17. Editors: John Mulvaney, Peter Grimshaw.
Playing career
In 1968 Cooper moved to Melbourne to play for South Melbourne but was unable to play for the Swans immediately due to Northern Territory transfer rules. He spent the 1968 season playing suburban football in Melbourne.{{cite news | title=First of NT's legion of stars | work=Northern Territory News | date=9 May 2008 | author=Morris, Grey}}
He made his league debut during the 1969 VFL season as a seventeen-year-old, becoming the first player from the Northern Territory to play in the VFL.{{cite web | url=http://www.sydneyswans.com.au/club/history/every-player | title=Every South Melbourne/Sydney Swans Player | publisher=Sydney Swans | accessdate=21 July 2014}}
After returning to Darwin, he played for Darwin Football Club in the Northern Territory Football League (NTFL). He was best on ground in the Buffaloes' 1970/71 grand final-winning team.{{cite web | url=http://www.aflnt.com.au/fileadmin/user_upload/Images/Downloads/NTFL_History_BOOK-_Latest.pdf | title=History of the NTFL | publisher=AFL Northern Territory | accessdate=21 July 2014 | page=69}}
Coaching career
Cooper was coach of NTFL club Nightcliff for the 1986/87 season.{{cite web | url=http://www.nightclifffootballclub.com.au/files/nfc_history.pdf | title=NFC History | publisher=Nightcliff Football Club | accessdate=21 July 2014}}
External links
- {{AFL Tables|R/Reuben_Cooper.html}}
References
{{Reflist}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cooper, Reuben}}
Category:Darwin Football Club players
Category:Indigenous Australian players of Australian rules football
Category:Australian rules footballers from Darwin, Northern Territory