William Morrill Cooke is a former American football

American football

American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...

 defensive end

Defensive end

Defensive end is the name of a defensive position in the sport of American and Canadian football.This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formations have substantially changed how the position is played over the years...

 in the National Football League

National Football League

The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...

 who played for the Green Bay Packers

Green Bay Packers

The Green Bay Packers are an American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The Packers are the current NFL champions...

, the San Francisco 49ers

San Francisco 49ers

The San Francisco 49ers are a professional American football team based in San Francisco, California, playing in the West Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team was founded in 1946 as a charter member of the All-America Football Conference and...

, the Detroit Lions

Detroit Lions

The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit, Michigan. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League , and play their home games at Ford Field in Downtown Detroit.Originally based in Portsmouth, Ohio and...

 and the Seattle Seahawks

Seattle Seahawks

The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle, Washington. They are currently members of the Western Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team joined the NFL in 1976 as an expansion team...

. Listed at 6'-5" and 249 lbs, he played professionally for 6 seasons and retired in 1980.

Early years

Bill was born February 26, 1951 in Lowell, Massachusetts

Lowell, Massachusetts

Lowell is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, USA. According to the 2010 census, the city's population was 106,519. It is the fourth largest city in the state. Lowell and Cambridge are the county seats of Middlesex County...

, and grew up in neighboring Chelmsford where he attended Chelmsford High School

Chelmsford High School

Chelmsford High School a public high school located in North Chelmsford, Massachusetts built in 1974. Before 1974 the high school was located in the current McCarthy Middle School building. It serves as the public high school for students in grades 9 through 12. It is part of a central campus that...

 then to prep school, Worcester Academy

Worcester Academy

Worcester Academy is an independent coeducational preparatory school spread over in Worcester, Massachusetts in the United States. The school is divided into a middle school, serving approximately 150 students in grades six to eight, and an upper school, serving approximately 500 students in...

 in Worcester, MA.

College years

Cooke first played collegiate ball

College football

College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...

 for the University of Connecticut

University of Connecticut

The admission rate to the University of Connecticut is about 50% and has been steadily decreasing, with about 28,000 prospective students applying for admission to the freshman class in recent years. Approximately 40,000 prospective students tour the main campus in Storrs annually...

, and then from 1973-1974 at University of Massachusetts

University of Massachusetts

This article relates to the statewide university system. For the flagship campus often referred to as "UMass", see University of Massachusetts Amherst...

 Under head coach Dick MacPherson

Dick MacPherson

Richard F. MacPherson is a former American football player and coach. He served as the head coach at the University of Massachusetts Amherst from 1971 to 1977 and at Syracuse University from 1981 to 1990, compiling a career college football record of 111–73–5...

, before being drafted by the Green Bay Packers

Green Bay Packers

The Green Bay Packers are an American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The Packers are the current NFL champions...

 in the 10th round of the 1975 NFL Draft

1975 NFL Draft

The 1975 National Football League Draft was held on January 28–29, 1975.-Player selections:-Round one:-Round two:-Round three:-Round four:-Round five:-Round six:-Round seven:-Round eight:-Round nine:-Round ten:...

.

(1974) Senior year, he was named to First Team All-Yankee Conference

Yankee Conference

The Yankee Conference was a collegiate sports conference in the eastern United States. It once sponsored competition in many sports, but eventually became a football-only league...

, and played along side with teammates; Ed McAleney

Ed McAleney

Edward P. "Ed" McAleney is a former American football defensive lineman who played one season in the National Football League for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers....

, Tim Berra

Tim Berra (American football)

Timothy Thomas Berra is a former American football player who played for the Baltimore Colts in 1974. He is the son of Baseball Hall of Fame catcher Yogi Berra and the brother of former Major League Baseball infielder Dale Berra.-College:Berra played college football for the UMass Minutemen from...

 & Steve Schubert.