Greg Cook
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| Position: | Quarterback | ||||||
| Personal information | |||||||
| Date of birth: | November 20, 1946 | ||||||
| Place of birth: | Dayton, Ohio | ||||||
| Date of death: | January 27, 2012 (aged 65) | ||||||
| Place of death: | Cincinnati, Ohio | ||||||
| Height: | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | ||||||
| Weight: | 220 lb (100 kg) | ||||||
| Career information | |||||||
| College: | Cincinnati | ||||||
| AFL draft: | 1969 / Round: 1 / Pick: 5 | ||||||
| Career history | |||||||
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| Career highlights and awards | |||||||
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| Career NFL statistics | |||||||
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| TD-INT: | 15-11 |
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| Yards: | 1,895 |
| QB rating: | 87.6 |
Gregory Lynn Cook (November 20, 1946 – January 27, 2012) was an American football quarterback.
Cook lived most of his life in Chillicothe, Ohio, where he played baseball, basketball and football at Chillicothe High School.
He played collegiately at the University of Cincinnati, once throwing for 554 yards in a game. He was drafted by the Cincinnati Bengals in the first round of the 1969 NFL/AFL Draft after Bengals coach and founder Paul Brown saw Cook's performance in the Bearcats' come-from-behind, 23–21 victory against Miami University in Bo Schembechler's last game before he left to coach at the University of Michigan. Brown had attended the game, but left when the Miami Redskins' lead reached 21–6. "That quarterback. That's our draft choice," said Brown after seeing film of Cook's rallying performance.
In 1969, the Bengals released John Stofa, the Bengals' starting signal caller for much of the team's inaugural season, and named Cook as the starting quarterback. His season started spectacularly, as he led the Bengals to a 3–0 record. However, in game three versus Kansas City, Cook felt a pop in his right (throwing) shoulder after being tackled by linebacker Jim Lynch and missed the next three games. Possibly due to the limited medical technology at the time, his torn rotator cuff went undiagnosed.
Despite this, Cook went on to pass for 1,854 yards and led the Bengals to wins over the Chiefs and the Oakland Raiders, two of the three best teams in the AFL. His 9.411 yards per pass attempt and 17.5 yard per completion are rookie records that still stand. Cook was UPI's choice for AFL Rookie of the year.
Cook recalled, "I took cortisone shots and played in pain, but the shoulder hadn't started to deteriorate yet, so I could still function. I still had the strength. I felt obligated to finish the season. I'd gotten off to a good start. I didn't want to relinquish that."
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