Having started his professional career at Bristol City in 1983, and tasting regular senior football after signing for Wrexham in the 1984-85 season, Hooper was signed by newly appointed Liverpool player-manager Kenny Dalglish for the 1985-86 season. His debut for Liverpool came in the 1986 FA Charity Shield as a substitute for Bruce Grobbelaar. He was at Anfield for eight years, during which time the club won six major trophies, but his first team opportunities were limited by the presence of Grobbelaar, his only real opportunities of first team football coming in 1988–89 when Grobbelaar missed 17 league games through illness, but when Grobbelaar recovered Hooper was back in the reserves. The arrival of David James in 1992 made his first team chances look even slimmer.