5'8.5"  10st.9lb.
b. Whittle le Woods 28 April 1913                                                                                                                                                                                                       d. Mellor 27 December d.

d. Mellor 27 December1988
 

Debut  19 March 1932 (19y 325d) Final Game 1 February 1947 (33y 279d)
First Goal 3 September 1938 Final Goal 1 April 1939
CAREER: St Aidan's;Blakey Moor;Blackburn Shopkeepers;Blackburn Nomads;Blackburn Rovers Jan'31; Bolton Wanderers May'47-May'48[28].
HONOURS 2 Div Ch (Blackburn Rovers) ’39.
 

FL                  218 apps   2 gls   2 og
FAC                19 apps
Total             237 apps    2 gls   2 og
War time
NWRL             12 apps
NL                   58 apps   3 gls  et 30 mins
FLWC               3 apps
LC                   10 apps

Although he was born south of the Blackburn boundary Crook was raised in Mill Hill and went  to work as a butcher's boy. The Rovers noticed his strong, no nonsense approach to junior football and quickly signed him, grooming him to take over from Taffy Jones. Not only did the club find they had a hard, consistent player they also found a man who was virtually indestructible. He created a club record of 193 successive appearances, including the promotion season of 1938/39. During war time football with Aldershot, Chelsea and Blackpool he suffered his first injury problems and when the league resumed missed  several games with leg injuries. Falling into dispute over contract terms he left for Bolton, a move that opened a new career. After one season he embarked for the continent where he became  trainer for Ajax, helping them to eleven Dutch championships. He also coached at Sparta Rotterdam  but returned to England  for a spell with Accrington, starting as trainer and ending up also  as manager and club secretary. Following a return to Ajax he managed Wigan and for eighteen years was trainer at Preston North End.