He was a middle child of a large family,[4] and the eldest of three sons, preceding his brothers Frederick ("Bun") and Alexander ("Bud").

[6] He joined the Kingston Frontenacs' junior hockey team in 1913 and played for two seasons before his career was interrupted by the First World War.

[7][8] Arriving in England in April 1916, Cook was initially promoted to acting Bombardier, but reverted to Gunner so he could serve on the front earlier, and was sent there in July 1916.

[5] The Calgary Tigers of the Western Canada Hockey League (WCHL) attempted to recruit him for the 1922–23 season but failed to sign him.

The Montreal Maroons intended to sign both Cook and his brother Bun to join their team for the 1926–27 NHL season.

[18] He finished as the runner-up to Herb Gardiner of the Montreal Canadiens for the Hart Trophy as the NHL's most valuable player.

[5] The Rangers again qualified for the playoffs, where they defeated the Pittsburgh Pirates, Boston Bruins and Montreal Maroons to win the franchise's first Stanley Cup championship.

The Rangers won the American Division title, and after defeating the Canadians, faced Conacher's Toronto Maple Leafs in the 1932 Stanley Cup Finals.

Cook accepted the Stanley Cup on behalf of his team in November of that year, seven months after the Rangers victory.

[18] In a 7–5 victory over the Maple Leafs on January 29, 1935, the Bread line scored four goals and five assists to reach a combined 1,000 points as a unit over their nine seasons together.

[5][18] Turning to coaching, Cook took over as the manager of the Cleveland Barons in the International-American Hockey League (IAHL) in the 1937–38 season.

His team was able to dress only 10 of 17 players in the deciding game of the Barons' playoff series against the Syracuse Stars.

Cook played a regular shift in the game, but the Barons lost, 3–2, in the fourth overtime period.

[31] The Barons finished fifth overall in the IAHL standings in 1938–39, but defeated the Springfield Indians and Providence Reds to reach the league championship series against the Philadelphia Ramblers.

[33] Cook remained behind the Barons' bench until the conclusion of the 1942–43 American Hockey League (AHL) season.

[34] Cook left the Barons to join the Minneapolis Millers of the United States Hockey League (USHL) in 1947.

[14] He moved on to coach the Denver Falcons, also of the USHL, in 1950–51 then the Saskatoon Quakers of the Pacific Coast Hockey League (PHCL) the following season.

[9] Cook left the Quakers midway through the season when asked by Frank Boucher, general manager of the New York Rangers, to return to the NHL club as its head coach.

And he's my choice as the best right winger hockey ever knew – despite the fact that others disagree and give their votes to Rocket Richard or Gordie Howe.