Most footballers have to go through serious levels of pain and discomfort if they’re to carve out a decent career. But it’s highly likely that no Collingwood player has ever had to endure the frustrations and hurdles that burly defender Ian Cooper had to overcome.

‘Strop’, as he was widely and affectionately known, missed the best part of five years of football through a succession of injuries, mostly due to chronically arthritic ankles. But he persevered and persevered and eventually managed to take his tally close to 100 games spread across 12 years.

In that time – and especially in the largely uninterrupted span from 1974-77 – he built a reputation as one of the meanest backmen in the game. Collingwood fans have always loved their tough, battling, no-nonsense defenders, and in Cooper they had a beauty.

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He actually came to Victoria Park as a forward from East Reservoir. He kicked 13 goals from seven games in the under-19s in 1971, and seven from 10 games in the reserves the same year. By 1972 he was a reserves regular (indeed he finished second in the reserves best and fairest), albeit mostly as a defender, and in Round 21 – still only 18 – made it to the bench for what proved to be an unremarkable senior debut against South Melbourne.

A few weeks later, the senior team was hit by a raft of injuries for the first semi-final against St Kilda. Lee Adamson, Ted Potter and Peter McKenna were among those missing, while Ron Wearmouth was suspended. Graeme Dunstan was brought in for his first game to fill McKenna’s shoes, while Cooper was named in defence for his first full game in what was described as a selection ‘bombshell’. Certainly not many had him on their radar as a likely replacement for any of the missing backmen.

Click here to continue reading about Ian 'Strop' Cooper on Collingwood Forever.

Ian Cooper
Games: 93
Goals: 0
Born: 12 June 1954
Recruited from: Reservoir
Debut: Round 21, 1972
Honours: Most Consistent Player 1975