Harry Hooper

Harry Bartholomew Hooper

• Bats Left, Throws Right
• Height 5' 10", Weight 168 lb.
• School Saint Mary's College of California
• High School Saint Mary's College of California
• Debut April 16, 1909
• Final Game October 4, 1925
• Born August 24, 1887 in Bell Station, CA USA
• Died December 18, 1974 in Santa Cruz, CA USA

Inducted into Hall of Fame in 1971

BR page

Biographical Information

1911 M116

Harry Bartholomew Hooper (August 24, 1887 – December 18, 1974) was an outfielder in the early 20th century. Hooper batted left-handed and threw right-handed. He still holds many team records with the Boston Red Sox.

Hooper was born in Bell Station, CA. A graduate in engineering at Saint Mary's College of California, he broke into the majors with the Red Sox in 1909. He was traded to the Chicago White Sox in the 1921 season and finished his career in 1925.

Hooper was known as a top-calibre defensive right fielder and a solid leadoff hitter. Between 1910 and 1915, he teamed with Tris Speaker (CF) and Duffy Lewis (LF) to form one of the finest outfield trios in baseball history.

Over his career, Hooper scored 100 runs or higher three times; batted .300 or higher five times, and stole 20 or more bases nine times. He also finished in the top ten list in triples seven times and in home runs three times.

On May 30, 1913 Hooper became the first player to hit a home run to leadoff both games of a doubleheader, a mark only matched by Rickey Henderson 80 years later. Beside this, Hooper is the only person to be a part of four Red Sox World Series championships: in 1912, 1915, 1916 and 1918. On October 13, 1915, he became the second player to hit two home runs in a single World Series game. Hooper was also the captain of the Red Sox in 1919.

Hooper was a career .281 hitter with 75 home runs, 817 RBI, 1429 runs, 2466 hits, 389 doubles, 160 triples, and 375 stolen bases in 2309 games. He holds the Red Sox franchise records for most triples (130) and stolen bases (300).

Hooper was a player-manager for one season in the minors with the San Francisco Missions of the Pacific Coast League in 1927. He batted .282 in 81 games and led the team to a 86-110 record. He was also the baseball coach at Princeton University in 1931-1932, but his salary was cut back because of the Great Depression, and Hooper returned to California, where he was active in the real estate business. Harry Hooper was selected to the Hall of Fame in 1971. He died in Santa Cruz, CA, at age of 87.

Harry's son John Hooper played in the minor leagues and later became a baseball researcher who was instrumental in the campaign to have his father enshrined in Cooperstown.

Quotes

"The best outfield trio I ever saw? That's easy. (Tris) Speaker, (Duffy) Lewis and Hooper - and the greatest of those was Hooper." Bill Carrigan, former Red Sox manager.

Notable Achievements

• 100 Runs Scored Seasons: 3 (1913, 1922 & 1924)
• Won four World Series with the Boston Red Sox (1912, 1915, 1916 & 1918)
• Baseball Hall of Fame: Class of 1971

Further Reading

• Lawrence Ritter: The Glory of Their Times, The Macmillan Company, New York, 1966, pp. 131-145.
• Dave Newhouse: "The man who put Babe Ruth in the outfield: Hooper convinced Red Sox brass to move the Babe", Baseball Digest, September 1973, pp. 32-34.[1]
• Paul J. Zingg and Elizabeth A. Reed: "Harry Bartholomew Hooper", in David Jones, ed.: Deadball Stars of the American League, SABR, Potomac Books, Inc., Dulles, VA, 2006, pp. 447-450.

Related Sites

• Harry Hooper at the SABR Bio Project

Some or all content from this article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Harry Hooper".