Walker Cooper facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Walker Cooper |
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| Catcher | |||
| Born: January 8, 1915 Atherton, Missouri, U.S. |
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| Died: April 11, 1991 (aged 76) Scottsdale, Arizona, U.S. |
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| debut | |||
| September 25, 1940, for the St. Louis Cardinals | |||
| Last appearance | |||
| September 20, 1957, for the St. Louis Cardinals | |||
| MLB statistics | |||
| Batting average | .285 | ||
| Home runs | 173 | ||
| Runs batted in | 812 | ||
| Teams | |||
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| Career highlights and awards | |||
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William Walker Cooper (born January 8, 1915 – died April 11, 1991) was an American professional baseball player. He was also a manager for a short time. He played in Major League Baseball as a catcher from 1940 to 1957. He is best known for playing with the St. Louis Cardinals, where he helped them win two World Series championships.
Walker Cooper was chosen for the All-Star team eight times. He was known as one of the best catchers in baseball during the 1940s and early 1950s. His older brother, Mort Cooper, was also a Major League Baseball player who pitched.
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Walker Cooper's Baseball Career
Walker Cooper was born in Atherton, Missouri. He was a very good defensive catcher, meaning he was skilled at catching pitches and preventing runners from scoring. He was also a strong hitter. He was picked for the National League All-Star team every year from 1942 to 1950.
He joined the St. Louis Cardinals in 1940 when he was 25 years old. In 1941, a broken collarbone limited how much he could play. On August 30, 1941, Cooper caught a no-hitter thrown by Lon Warneke. A no-hitter is when a pitcher plays a whole game without any opposing player getting a hit.
In 1942, he batted .281. This means he got a hit almost 28% of the times he tried to hit the ball. He was among the top ten players in the National League for slugging percentage, doubles, and triples. The St. Louis Cardinals won the league championship that year. His brother, Mort Cooper, won the Most Valuable Player Award.
In the 1942 World Series, Walker Cooper batted .286 against the New York Yankees. He hit the winning run in Game 4. In the final Game 5, he scored the winning run on a Whitey Kurowski home run. The Cardinals won their first World Series title in eight years.
Winning More Championships
In 1943, Cooper's batting average went up to a career-high of .318. He was third in the National League for batting average and fifth for RBI. The Cardinals won the league championship again. Cooper was second in the Most Valuable Player Award vote, right after his teammate Stan Musial. In the 1943 World Series, he batted .294, but the Cardinals lost to the Yankees.
In 1944, Cooper's batting average was still high at .317. The Cardinals won their third straight league championship. They played against the St. Louis Browns in the 1944 World Series. Cooper batted .318 in the Series. The Cardinals won another title.
During World War II, Cooper served in the Navy. This meant he only played in four games in 1945. After his service, the New York Giants bought his contract in 1946. This was because of a disagreement about his salary with the Cardinals.
Later Career and Records
Cooper had his best hitting season in 1947. He batted .305 and hit a career-high 35 home runs. He also had 122 RBI. The Giants team set a new record with 221 home runs that year. In 1947, Cooper hit a home run in six games in a row. This tied a record set by George Kelly in 1924.
In 1949, Cooper was traded to the Cincinnati Reds. On July 6, 1949, Cooper made history. He became the only catcher in Major League Baseball to hit 10 or more RBI in a single game. He got 6 hits out of 7 tries, including three home runs. That year, he also led National League catchers in assists.
In 1950, he was traded to the Boston Braves. There, he caught Vern Bickford's no-hitter on August 11. He stayed with the Braves when they moved to Milwaukee in 1953. He batted over .300 in his first two seasons with the team.
Cooper then played for the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1954. After that, he joined the Chicago Cubs as a backup catcher and pinch-hitter until 1955. He returned to the St. Louis Cardinals for his last two seasons, ending his career in 1957. His daughter, Sara, married Cardinals second baseman Don Blasingame. Cooper joked, "You know you are getting too old when your daughter marries one of your teammates."
Walker Cooper's Career Stats
In his eighteen years in Major League Baseball, Walker Cooper played in 1,473 games. He had 1,341 hits in 4,702 times at bat. His career batting average was .285. He also hit 173 home runs and had 812 runs batted in. His slugging percentage was .464.
He was a top catcher, leading National League catchers three times in range factor. He also led twice in caught stealing percentage. His career fielding percentage was .977. When he retired, he was among the top five National League catchers for career batting average, slugging average, home runs, and runs batted in.
He batted .300 in three World Series with the St. Louis Cardinals. The team won two championships during that time. He also set a record by hitting grand slams with five different teams. This record was later tied by Dave Kingman and Dave Winfield.
Managing After Playing
After his playing career, Walker Cooper became a manager. He managed the Indianapolis Indians (1958–59) and the Dallas-Fort Worth Rangers (1961). These were Triple-A teams in the American Association. He was also a coach for the Kansas City Athletics in 1960. After that, he left baseball.
Walker Cooper passed away in Scottsdale, Arizona, at the age of 76.
See also
- List of St. Louis Cardinals coaches
- List of Major League Baseball single-game hits leaders
