Calvin Asa Cooper (August 11, 1922 – July 4, 1994) was a

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL) ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, who attempts to e ...

. Cooper appeared in one game for the Washington Senators. Prior to his major league debut and exit, he attended and played for

Newberry College Newberry College is a private Lutheran college in Newberry, South Carolina. It has 1,250 students. Accreditation Newberry College is accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) to award ba ...

. Cooper batted and threw right-handed.

Early life

Cooper was born in 1922 in

Great Falls, South Carolina Great Falls is a town in Chester County, South Carolina, United States and is located fourteen miles southwest of Lancaster, South Carolina. The population was 1,979 at the 2010 census. History The Great Falls Depot, Great Falls Downtown Histor ...

, a small town in the north central portion of the state. As a young man, Cooper served in the

US Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

during World War II. After military service, Cooper attended Newberry College, a small

Lutheran Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Cathol ...

college in

Newberry, South Carolina Newberry is a city in Newberry County, South Carolina, United States, in the Piedmont northwest of Columbia. The charter was adopted in 1894. The population was 10,277 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Newberry County; at one time it ...

. 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 , wearing uniform number 16. His major league career thus consisted of pitching one inning, in which he surrendered five

hits Hits or H.I.T.S. may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * '' H.I.T.S.'', 1991 album by New Kids on the Block * ''...Hits'' (Phil Collins album), 1998 * ''Hits'' (compilation series), 1984–2006; 2014 - a British compilation album s ...

, allowing five runs including a

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run is ...

, and walked a batter, before recording three outs. Being his only appearance, he ended his career with his lifetime

earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the numb ...

(ERA) of 45.00.

After baseball

After his single afternoon in a major league

baseball uniform A baseball uniform is a type of uniform worn by baseball players, coaches and managers. Most baseball uniforms have the names and uniform numbers of players who wear them, usually on the backs of the uniforms to distinguish players from each o ...

, Cooper returned to South Carolina where he worked as a personnel director at Clinton Mills in the town of

Clinton Clinton is an English toponymic surname, indicating one's ancestors came from English places called Glympton or Glinton.Hanks, P. & Hodges, F. ''A Dictionary of Surnames''. Oxford University Press, 1988 Clinton has frequently been used as a given ...

. Cooper died on July 4, 1994, in

Clinton, South Carolina Clinton is a city in Laurens County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 8,490 as of the 2010 census. It is part of the Greenville– Mauldin–Easley Metropolitan Statistical Area. Clinton is the home of Presbyterian Coll ...

. 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.

Sources

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cooper, Cal Newberry Wolves baseball players Major League Baseball pitchers Washington Senators (1901–1960) players Baseball players from Laurens County, South Carolina 1922 births 1994 deaths Baseball players from Chester County, South Carolina People from Clinton, South Carolina United States Navy personnel of World War II