George Cochran

George Paterson Cochran, sometimes referred to as George Cockram (21 August 1870 – 25 April 1929), was a Scottish football pioneer who played for some of the first Catalan and Basque clubs in history, most notably Athletic Bilbao between 1902 and 1904.

He was one of the most important figures in the amateur beginnings of football in Spain, playing a significant role in promoting football in Catalonia and then Bilbao.

Early life Cochran was born on 21 August 1870 in Bathgate. Together with Reeves and some other pioneers in the city, such as Henry W. Brown, Henry Wood, and the Morris (Jaime and Samuel), they formed Barcelona Football Club in late 1892, and Cochran was crucial in its success. The last example of this was on 8 December 1894, this time with Cochran being the captain of the Reds and Reeves of the Blues, and he scored the third in a 3–1 victory. Torelló's goals were netted by Cochran, Englis and A. Tong. The second match was held in Torelló on 14 April, and according to the chronicles of the time, they disputed this so-called "challenge" as an act of revenge, and this time victory smiled at those from Torelló with a 5–3 win. Remarkably, Cochran netted a hat-trick in the first half to give a 3–0 lead to his side, in an eventual 5–3 victory. However, it is known that many of the players of the Barcelona societies continued to practice football through other societies such as the Barcelona Velocipedistas Society, which used to organize football games and other typically English Sports, but such arrangements also seem to be gone by the end of 1896.

At some point in the late 1890s, Cochran moved to Biscay in the Basque Country, presumably due to work reasons, living in Portugalete for a few years. At the end of 1901, the two most important clubs in the city were Bilbao FC and Athletic Club (now known as Athletic Bilbao), thus sparking a rivalry between the two sides, who played several friendlies against each other at the Hippodrome of Lamiako. Cochran thus participated in what is now regarded as one of the first rivalries in Spanish football, one that helped turn the sport into a mass phenomenon in Bilbao since their duels aroused great interest.

Athletic Club On 24 March 1903, Bilbao FC collapsed and its remaining members were officially absorbed by Athletic Club. Cochran became an Athletic player and remained there until the end of the 1903–04 season, playing only two matches for them, Cochran was at the heart of a 3–2 comeback triumph over Madrid FC (now known as Real Madrid) in the final.

Later life and death Cochran married Josefa Laban, and they had a son in 1914, George. In January 1929, the family moved from Santander to Liverpool with their final destination being Paisley. Just a few months later, however, on 25 April, Cochran died at his home in Paisley, at the age of 58. His mother and son returned to Santander on 6 July of the same year.

Honours Athletic Club Copa del Rey: Winners: 1903, 1904 Runner-up: 1905