Claude Cooper

Claude William Cooper

• Bats Left, Throws Left
• Height 5' 9", Weight 158 lb.
• School Texas Christian University
• High School Wichita Falls High School
• Debut April 14, 1913
• Final Game June 26, 1917
• Born April 1, 1892 in Troup, TX USA
• Died January 21, 1974 in Plainview, TX USA

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Biographical Information

"The 'BrookFeds' manager (Bill Bradley) predicts that the youngster (Claude Cooper) will be one of the greatest outfield stars within a season..." - Daily Kentucky New Era of May 23, 1914; Cooper would be among the 1915 Federal League leaders in several categories

Claude Cooper was an outfielder who came from TCU and the Texas League. A few years earlier, John McGraw had been hailed as a genius for making pitcher Louis Drucke the first major league player from TCU, since Drucke was an effective pitcher at a young age before he was injured. Cooper was McGraw's second attempt with a Horned Frog, made easy for McGraw because Cooper had had a great season in the Texas League. Cooper hit .300/.382/.433 in his rookie stint of 27 games in 1913 as the Giants won the pennant.

To reward McGraw's faith in him, Claude leapt to the Federal League for better pay, enjoying his only two regular seasons with the Brooklyn Tip-Tops over the next two seasons. He missed more than 40 games his first season with a broken leg. After batting .294/.388/.400 in 153 games in 1915, the league went belly up and Claude returned to the National League, batting .173 for the Philadelphia Phillies in 80 games over the 1916 and 1917 seasons. Interestingly, Cooper hired John Ward, the Hall of Fame two-way player who was also an attorney (and who had been GM of Brooklyn in the Federal League) to sue for unpaid money from one of his seasons. Ward won.

After his major league days, Cooper played for many years in the Pacific Coast League, mostly with the Oakland Oaks.

Related Sites

• Claude Cooper at the SABR Bio Project
• Find-A-Grave Memorial for Claude Cooper