Orange County Sports Hall of Famer Andrew “Bill” Cook , a 1922 graduate of Anaheim Union High School, is known as the “The Father of Anaheim Football,” and not because he was the school’s first star player. In a three-year career, Cook played nearly every skill position on the offense as well as defense. He excelled in forward passing and no one could catch him in the open field. Once, when Head Coach Youngman fell ill, Cook coached the team as a senior. But he is referred to as the “Father of Anaheim Football” because as a freshman student he led a petition drive to have football reintroduced as a team sport.
There was no football program at Anaheim High between 1911 and 1918 because the school board deemed the sport as “too dangerous.” The school board also realized it was also too costly after paying out $1,400 in medical costs. With his student-signed petition in hand, Cook was able to convince the school board to reinstate football for the fall of 1919.
A school leader and all-around athlete, Cook was a four-sport hero at Anaheim High. He served as president of his class (’20) and of the Boys’ League (’22). He also worked as the athletics manager (’21) and yearbook business manager (’22).
Football was in Cook’s blood and his life became centered on the sport. Cook went on to become a member of Howard Jones’ first USC team in 1925 and; ultimately, he became the head football coach at Santa Ana college from 1927 to 1952, compiling a 160-73-26 overall record. Cook won 11 conference titles and two national championships in 1940 and 1942.
He stills holds the records for most wins (160), conference championships (11) and longest tenure (26 years) and is third in winning percentage (.664) in the history of the football program. In addition to his fabulous coaching record at SAC, his All-Time SAC team included backs John Fouch (‘48), Blanchard Beatty (‘29), Al Carmichael (‘49), Ray Willsey (‘50), Joe Margucci (‘41), Chuck Page (‘42), as well as, Paul Cleary (‘42), center Bus McKnight (‘40), and tackles Rusty Rouquet (‘37) and Ace Adler (‘50).
Cook died in 1976 at the age of 71, and was inducted into the Orange County Sports Hall of Fame in 2003.
