Walker Cooper

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Walker Cooper
Runs batted in
812
Teams
Career highlights and awards

William Walker Cooper (January 8, 1915 – April 11, 1991) was an American professional baseball player and manager.[1] He played in Major League Baseball as a catcher from 1940 to 1957, most notably as a member of the St. Louis Cardinals with whom he won two World Series championships. An eight-time All-Star, Cooper was known as one of the top catchers in baseball during the 1940s and early 1950s.[2] His elder brother Mort Cooper, also played in Major League Baseball as a pitcher.

Professional career

Cooper with the Cardinals

A native of

Most Valuable Player Award.[5] Batting fifth, he hit .286 in the World Series against the defending champion New York Yankees, driving in the winning run in Game 4 and scoring the winning run on Whitey Kurowski's home run in the ninth inning of the final Game 5; he then picked Joe Gordon off second base with no outs in the bottom of the ninth inning, as the team earned its first title in eight years.[6][7]

In

New York Giants purchased his contract following a salary dispute in January 1946;[11] the sale by the Cardinals for $175,000 ($2,734,300 today) was the highest cash-only deal ever to that time; the transactions of Joe Cronin in 1934 and Dizzy Dean in 1938
were larger deals, but also involved other players.

Cooper enjoyed his most productive season at the plate in

Boston Braves, where he caught Vern Bickford's no-hitter on August 11 of that year.[11][12] He remained with the Braves through their 1953 move to Milwaukee, batting over .300 in his first two seasons with the club.[1] Cooper holds the distinction of being the last man to come to bat at Boston's Braves Field, flying out to Brooklyn's Andy Pafko
.

Cooper signed with the

pinch-hitter through 1955.[11] He then returned to St. Louis to spend his last two seasons as a Cardinal, ending his career in October 1957. After his daughter, Sara (Miss Missouri 1957), married Cardinals second baseman Don Blasingame, he noted, "You know you are getting too old when your daughter marries one of your teammates."[13]

Career statistics

In an eighteen-year major league career, Cooper played in 1,473

slugging average (.464), home runs (173) and runs batted in (812). He also batted .300 over three World Series with the St. Louis Cardinals from 1942 to 1944 as the team won two championships,[15] and ranked tenth in National League history in both games (1,223) and putouts (5,166) behind the plate when he retired. During his career, he set a record by hitting grand slams with five different teams (a mark subsequently tied by Dave Kingman and Dave Winfield). His .464 slugging average then placed him behind only Roy Campanella (.500) and Gabby Hartnett (.489) among players with 1,000 National League games as a catcher, and his 173 HRs and 812 RBI put him behind only Campanella (242, 856), Hartnett (236, 1,179), and Ernie Lombardi (190, 990). His elder brother, Mort Cooper, was a National League pitcher and his teammate for the first few years of his career, while his son-in-law, Don Blasingame
, also was a major leaguer.

Managing career

After his playing career, he

Kansas City Athletics, before leaving the game.[16]

Walker Cooper died in Scottsdale, Arizona at age 76.

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f "Walker Cooper Stats - Baseball-Reference.com". Baseball-Reference.com.
  2. ^ a b c d e Harris, Don (June 1990). Walker Cooper Looks Back on an All-Star Career. Baseball Digest. pp. 69–72. Retrieved February 17, 2010.
  3. ^ "St. Louis Cardinals at Cincinnati Reds Box Score, August 30, 1941 - Baseball-Reference.com". Baseball-Reference.com.
  4. ^ "1942 National League Batting Leaders - Baseball-Reference.com". Baseball-Reference.com.
  5. ^ "1942 Awards Voting - Baseball-Reference.com". Baseball-Reference.com.
  6. ^ "1942 World Series - St. Louis Cardinals over New York Yankees (4-1) - Baseball-Reference.com". Baseball-Reference.com.
  7. ^ "1942 World Series Game 5, St. Louis Cardinals at New York Yankees, October 5, 1942 - Baseball-Reference.com". Baseball-Reference.com.
  8. ^ "1943 National League Batting Leaders - Baseball-Reference.com". Baseball-Reference.com.
  9. ^ "1943 Awards Voting - Baseball-Reference.com". Baseball-Reference.com.
  10. ^ "1944 World Series - St. Louis Cardinals over St. Louis Browns (4-2) - Baseball-Reference.com". Baseball-Reference.com.
  11. ^ a b c d Inc., Baseball Almanac. "Walker Cooper Trades and Transactions by Baseball Almanac". www.baseball-almanac.com. {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  12. ^ "Brooklyn Dodgers at Boston Braves Box Score, August 11, 1950 - Baseball-Reference.com". Baseball-Reference.com.
  13. ^ Hummel, Rick (February 23, 2019). "Carpenter looks forward to having entire spring to prepare". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Retrieved March 12, 2020.
  14. ^ Lewis, Franklin (July 1945). They Don't Want to be Catchers. Baseball Digest. pp. 1–2. Retrieved May 8, 2009.
  15. ^ "Walker Cooper Stats - Baseball-Reference.com". Baseball-Reference.com.
  16. ^ "Walker Cooper Minor Leagues Statistics & History - Baseball-Reference.com". Baseball-Reference.com.
  • Baseball: The Biographical Encyclopedia (2000). Kingston, New York: Total/Sports Illustrated.
    ISBN 1-892129-34-5
    .

External links
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