Cal Cooper
{{short description|American baseball player (1922–1994)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2024}}
{{Infobox baseball biography
| name = Cal Cooper
| image =Cal Cooper.jpg
| position = Pitcher
| birth_date = {{birth date|1922|8|11}}
| birth_place = Great Falls, South Carolina, U.S.
| death_date = {{death date and age|1994|7|4|1922|8|11}}
| death_place = Clinton, South Carolina, U.S.
| bats = Right
| throws = Right
|debutleague = MLB
| debutdate = September 14
| debutyear = 1948
| debutteam = Washington Senators
|finalleague = MLB
| finaldate = September 14
| finalyear = 1948
| finalteam = Washington Senators
|statleague = MLB
| stat1label = Games played
| stat1value = 1
| stat2label = Innings pitched
| stat2value = 1
| stat3label = Earned runs
| stat3value = 5
| teams =
- Washington Senators (1948)
}}
Calvin Asa Cooper (August 11, 1922 – July 4, 1994) was an American Major League Baseball pitcher. Cooper appeared in one game for the Washington Senators. Prior to his major league debut and exit, he attended and played for Newberry College.{{cite web|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/c/coopeca01.shtml|title=Cal Cooper at baseball-reference.com|publisher=Baseball-Reference.com|accessdate=2008-10-21}} Cooper batted and threw right-handed.
Early life
Cooper was born in 1922 in Great Falls, South Carolina, a small town in the north central portion of the state. As a young man, Cooper served in the US Navy during World War II.{{cite web|url=http://www.historicbaseball.com/players/c/cooper_cal.html|publisher=Historicbaseball.com|title=Biography at historicbaseball.com|accessdate=2008-10-21}} After military service, Cooper attended Newberry College, a small Lutheran college in Newberry, South Carolina. At age 26, he was called up from the Triple-A organization of the Washington Senators to play in the majors.
Major League Baseball career
Cooper made his major league debut on September 14, 1948, with the Washington Senators. Cooper competed in one game in {{baseball year|1948}}, wearing uniform number 16. His major league career thus consisted of pitching one inning, in which he surrendered five hits, allowing five runs including a home run, and walked a batter, before recording three outs. Being his only appearance, he ended his career with his lifetime earned run average (ERA) of 45.00.{{cite web|url=http://mlb.mlb.com/stats/historical/individual_stats_player.jsp?c_id=mlb&playerID=112650§ion1=1&statSet1=1§ion2=1§ion3=1&statSet3=1&statSet2=1|title=mlb.com player profile|work=mlb.com|accessdate=2008-10-21}}
After baseball
After his single afternoon in a major league baseball uniform, Cooper returned to South Carolina where he worked as a personnel director at Clinton Mills in the town of Clinton. Cooper died on July 4, 1994, in Clinton, South Carolina. For 28 years prior to his death in 1994, Cooper served as a member of the Laurens County School Board. He is buried at Pinelawn Memory Gardens in Clinton.{{cite web|url=http://www.baseball-almanac.com/players/player.php?p=coopeca01|title=Statistics at baseball-almanac.com|publisher=Baseball-Almanac.com|accessdate=2008-10-21}}
Sources
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Cooper, Cal}}
Category:Newberry Wolves baseball players
Category:Major League Baseball pitchers
Category:Washington Senators (1901–1960) players
Category:20th-century American sportsmen
Category:Baseball players from Laurens County, South Carolina
Category:Baseball players from Chester County, South Carolina