Henry Harold "Cotton" Pippen (April 2, 1911 – February 15, 1981) was a American

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

right-handed

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("Pitch (baseball), 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, ...

for three years with

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Centra ...

(1936),

Philadelphia Athletics The Philadelphia Athletics were a Major League Baseball team that played in Philadelphia from 1901 to 1954, when they moved to Kansas City, Missouri, and became the Kansas City Athletics. Following another move in 1967, they became the Oakland ...

(1939), and

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. One of the AL's eight chart ...

(1939–1940). Pippen was born in

Cisco, Texas Cisco is a city in Eastland County, Texas, United States. The population was 3,883 at the 2020 census, and 3,899 at the time of the 2010 census. History Cisco, at the intersection of U.S. Highway 183 and Interstate 20 in northwestern Eastla ...

, where his father was a rancher. He was nicknamed "Cotton" because of the color of his light blond hair and blue eyes. Over three seasons in the Major Leagues, Pippen won 5 games and lost 16 with a career

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 number ...

of 6.38. His 12 losses in 1939 was 10th highest in the

American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is the younger of two sports leagues, leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western L ...

. In 1936, Pippen struck out

Ted Williams Theodore Samuel Williams (August 30, 1918 – July 5, 2002) was an American professional baseball player and manager. He played his entire 19-year Major League Baseball (MLB) career, primarily as a left fielder, for the Boston Red Sox from 193 ...

in his first professional at bat in the

Pacific Coast League The Pacific Coast League (PCL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the Western United States. Along with the International League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A level, which is one grade bel ...

. Pippen's minor league career included stints with the Beatrice Blues in the Nebraska State League (1934–35); Houston in the

Texas League The Texas League is a Minor League Baseball league which has operated in the South Central United States since 1902. It is classified as a Double-A league. Despite the league's name, only its five South Division teams are actually based in the ...

(1936–1938); Sacramento in the Pacific Coast League (1939); the Oakland Oaks in the Pacific Coast League (1945–1946). He won 20 games for Oakland in 1943. Pippen served in the military for two years during World War II. he made a comeback after the war and paid for several pro clubs. In 1951, Pippen was the player-manager for Reno. An Oakland newspaper reported in 1954 that Pippen was "now pitching them over the bar at Oscar's on Lakeshore". Pippen reportedly tended bar at a number of establishments in the Oakland area. He died in 1981 at age 69 at a convalescent home in

Williams, California Williams (formerly Central) is a city in Colusa County, California. The population was 5,643 at the time of the 2010 census, up from 3,670 at the 2000 census. Geography According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area o ...

References

External links

Biography and Photographs

1911 births 1981 deaths St. Louis Cardinals players Philadelphia Athletics players Detroit Tigers players Major League Baseball pitchers Baseball players from Eastland County, Texas Houston Buffaloes players Sacramento Solons players Oakland Oaks (baseball) players Anniston Rams players Chattanooga Lookouts players Portland Beavers players Reno Silver Sox players Texas A&M Aggies baseball players People from Cisco, Texas 20th-century American sportsmen {{US-baseball-pitcher-1910s-stub