Page 18 - 1975 BoSox

ONCE DESCRIBED BY BASEBALL Digest as the “Rodney Danger eld of baseball,” Cecil Cooper was a great player
who didn’t get the respect he deserved.1 An intro- verted Texan, Cecil Cooper remained in the shadows for much of his 17-year playing career. e left- handed rst baseman spent his major-league years with Boston and Milwaukee from 1971 to 1987, ap- pearing in two World Series. “Coooop!”— as his fans would cheer when he stepped up to the plate — was a lifetime .298 hitter, two-time Gold Glove Winner, and ve-time All-Star.
Cecil Cooper was born on December 20, 1949, in Brenham, Texas, a city of 13,000 located 70 miles northwest of Houston. Raised in nearby Independence, Cooper was the youngest of 13 children — seven boys and six girls. Cooper’s mother, Ocie, died when he was just 10. His ball-playing father, Roy, worked with a nearby Department of Public Works. A left-hander who grew to 6-feet-2, Cecil was taught baseball by his brothers John, Sylvester, and Jessie. John and Sylvester later played with the barnstorming Indianapolis Clowns.2 John was a pitcher while Sylvester was a catcher who, according to Cecil, once caught Satchel Paige. According to the 1980 Sports Illustrated story, Cecil’s father, Roy, also played in the Negro Leagues.
Cooper followed his brothers, playing ball for three years at the all-black Pickard High School, and trans- ferring his senior year to the integrated
Brenham High School. At Pickard High,
he won two state championships under coach Henry Rogers. Intending to go to college after his graduation, Cecil was spotted by Boston Red Sox scout Dave Philley and was drafted by Boston in the sixth round of the 1968 amateur draft. He opted to take courses at Blinn Junior College and Prairie View A&M during
the o season. St. Louis took Cooper in the Rule 5 draft in November 1970, but returned Cooper to the Red Sox on April 5, 1971. He spent ve seasons in the minor leagues (in Jamestown, Greenville, Danville, Winston-Salem, Louisville, and Pawtucket), hitting a combined .327 with 45 home runs and 298 RBIs.
Called up from Double-A Pawtucket after batting .343, Cooper made his major-league debut with the Red Sox on September 8, 1971, pinch-hitting for Roger Moret and grounding to second against Yankees pitcher Jack Aker. He got his rst hit three days later, a pinch single o the Tigers’ Joe Coleman. He hit .310 in 42 at-bats that month.
It was thought that Cooper had a shot at the starting job in 1972, but just before the start of the season, the Red Sox acquired Danny Cater from the Yankees and sent Cooper to Triple-A Louisville. Another ne campaign in the minors produced a .315 average, thanks to a league-leading 162 hits, Cooper returned to Boston in September, but got just 17 at-bats during the tight pennant race that saw the Red Sox fall a half- game short.
Despite Cater’s shortcomings, Cooper again failed to stick with the Red Sox in 1973, as the team elected to move Carl Yastrzemski back to rst base. Cecil was sent to Pawtucket, now the Triple-A a liate, where he hit .293 with 15 home runs. is time he was recalled before the rosters expanded, rst playing on August
24 and playing nearly full-time the rest of the season. In 30 games and 101 at-bats, Cooper hit .238 with his rst three major- league home runs. His rst round-tripper was struck on September 7 at Fenway Park o the Tigers’ Bob Miller.
In 1974 Cooper was the team’s Opening Day rst baseman, hitting third in the lineup. New manager Darrell Johnson
Cecil Cooper
by eric Aron
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