Ronnie Cocks

{{Short description|Maltese footballer and manager}} {{Infobox football biography | name = Ronnie Cocks | image = | image_size = | caption = | fullname = | birth_date = {{birth date|1943|08|01|df=y}} | birth_place = Gżira, Malta | death_date = {{death date and age|2017|05|16|1943|08|01|df=y}} | death_place = | height = | position = Striker | currentclub = | clubnumber = | years1 = 1956–1961 | clubs1 = Gżira United | caps1 = | goals1 = | years2 = 1962–1966 | clubs2 = Sliema Wanderers | caps2 = | goals2 = | years3 = 1967 | clubs3 = Pittsburgh Phantoms | caps3 = 17 | goals3 = 10 | years4 = 1968–1974 | clubs4 = Sliema Wanderers | caps4 = | goals4 = | years5 = 1975–1978 | clubs5 = Ħamrun Spartans | caps5 = | goals5 = | years6 = 1978– | clubs6 = Pietà Hotspurs | years7 = | clubs7 = Gżira United | nationalyears1 = 1966–1978 | nationalteam1 = Malta | nationalcaps1 = 21 | nationalgoals1 = 1 | manageryears1 = | managerclubs1 = Pietà Hotspurs | manageryears2 = | managerclubs2 = Mosta | manageryears3 = | managerclubs3 = Gżira United | manageryears4 = | managerclubs4 = Msida | manageryears5 = | managerclubs5 = St. George's | manageryears6 = | managerclubs6 = Pembroke | club-update = | ntupdate = }} '''Ronald Cocks''' (1 August 1943 – 16 May 2017)<ref name="EU">{{cite web|url=https://eu-football.info/_player.php?id=3709 |title=Ronald Cocks |website=EU-Football |accessdate=21 November 2022}}</ref> was a Maltese footballer. He captained Malta's national football team 13 times, including in a match against England at Wembley in 1971.<ref name="MT">{{cite web|url=http://www.maltatoday.com.mt/sports/football/77265/malta_wanderers_icon_ronnie_cocks_passes_away_aged_73#.WRs7bYVOLop|title=Malta, Wanderers icon Ronnie Cocks passes away, aged 73|author=Paul Cocks |date=16 May 2017|accessdate=16 May 2017|work=Malta Today}}<br>- {{cite web|url=http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20170518/football/The-demise-of-a-great-player.648277|title=The demise of a great player| author=Carmel Baldacchino|date=18 May 2017|accessdate=18 May 2017|work=Times of Malta}}</ref>

==Playing career== ===Club=== Cocks played mainly for Gżira United and the Sliema Wanderers, and had a short spell with the Pittsburgh Phantoms in 1967.<ref name="Independent">{{cite web|url=https://www.independent.com.mt/articles/2005-10-04/news/sport-interview-he-won-every-local-football-honour-82007/|title=Sport Interview: He Won every local football honour|newspaper=Independent|date=4 October 2005|access-date=14 January 2024}}</ref> He was named Maltese Player of the Year for the 1965/66 season.<ref name="MT"/>

===International=== Cocks made his debut for Malta in a February 1966 friendly match against Libya and earned a total of 21 caps, scoring 1 goal. His final international was a March 1978 friendly against Tunisia.<ref name="EU"/>

==Managerial career== He also coached several Maltese clubs, amongst them Pietà, Mosta and Gzira. He later worked at the Academy at Luxol.<ref name="Independent"/>

==Personal life== Cocks was married to Marianne and the couple had three children. During his playing career he also worked as a welder and panel-beater at Gasan Group of Companies, at Panta Lesco and again at Gasan. He also had jobs with Bortex Clothing factory and Heidemann and worked as a fitness instructor at two hotels.<ref name="Independent"/>

He died in May 2017.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://timesofmalta.com/articles/view/former-football-malta-captain-ronnie-cocks-passes-away-mfa-expresses.648163|title=Malta football icon Ronnie Cocks dies, aged 73|newspaper=Times of Malta|date=16 May 2017|access-date=14 January 2024}}</ref>

==References== {{reflist}}

==External links== * {{sports links}} * [http://www.nasljerseys.com/Players/C/Cocks.Ronald.htm Ronald Cocks], ''NASL''

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cocks, Ronnie}} Category:1943 births Category:2017 deaths Category:People from Gżira Category:Men's association football forwards Category:Maltese men's footballers Category:Malta men's international footballers Category:Gżira United F.C. players Category:Sliema Wanderers F.C. players Category:Pittsburgh Phantoms (NPSL) players Category:Hamrun Spartans F.C. players Category:Maltese Challenge League players Category:Maltese Premier League players Category:National Professional Soccer League (1967) players Category:Maltese expatriate men's footballers Category:Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States Category:Maltese expatriate sportspeople in the United States Category:Maltese football managers Category:Mosta F.C. managers Category:Gżira United F.C. managers