John Walter Cooney (March 18, 1901 – July 8, 1986) was an American professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

player. He was a

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, ...

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to catch ...

and

first baseman A first baseman, abbreviated 1B, is the player on a baseball or softball team who fields the area nearest first base, the first of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. The first baseman is responsible for the majori ...

, then a longtime coach, in

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 ...

. Listed at (178 cm) and 165 pounds (75 kg), Cooney batted right-handed but threw left-handed. He was born in

Cranston, Rhode Island Cranston, formerly known as Pawtuxet, is a city in Providence County, Rhode Island, United States. The official population of the city in the 2020 United States Census was 82,934, making it the second-largest city in the state. The center of ...

Playing career

In a 20-season career, Cooney played for the

Boston Bees The Boston Braves were a Major League Baseball club that originated in Boston, Massachusetts, and played from 1871 to 1952. Afterwards they moved to Milwaukee (and became the Milwaukee Braves). Then in 1966 they were relocated to Atlanta, whe ...

/ Braves (Braves, 1921–30, 1940–42; Bees, 1938–40) and also with the

Brooklyn Dodgers The Brooklyn Dodgers were a Major League Baseball team founded in 1883 as the Brooklyn Grays. In 1884, it became a member of the American Association as the Brooklyn Atlantics before joining the National League in 1890. They remained in Brook ...

(1935–37, 1943–44) and

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Am ...

(1944), while hitting a .286

batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average is ...

(965-for-3372) with 219 RBI and only two

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the Baseball (ball), ball is hit in such a way that the batting (baseball), batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safe (baseball), safely in one play without any error ( ...

s. He made 159 appearances as a pitcher from 1921 through 1930, all with Boston, winning 34 and losing 44 for a .436

winning percentage In sports, a winning percentage or Copeland score is the fraction of games or matches a team or individual has won. The statistic is commonly used in standings or rankings to compare teams or individuals. It is defined as wins divided by the to ...

with 224

strikeout In baseball or softball, a strikeout (or strike-out) occurs when a batter accumulates three strikes during a time at bat. It means the batter is out, unless the third strike is not caught by the catcher and the batter reaches first base safe ...

s and a 3.72

ERA An era is a span of time. Era or ERA may also refer to: * Era (geology), a subdivision of geologic time * Calendar era Education * Academy of European Law (German: '), an international law school * ERA School, in Melbourne, Australia * E ...

Innings pitched In baseball, the statistic innings pitched (IP) is the number of innings a pitcher has completed, measured by the number of Batter (baseball), batters and baserunners that have been put out while the pitcher is on the Baseball field#Pitcher's mou ...

. According to

Hank Greenberg Henry Benjamin Greenberg (January 1, 1911 – September 4, 1986), nicknamed "Hammerin' Hank", "Hankus Pankus", and "the Hebrew Hammer", was an American professional baseball player and team executive. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB), p ...

's biographer, before Greenberg's very first spring training exhibition game in 1930 when his

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 ...

were set to play the Braves, Cooney felt sympathy towards the 19-year-old then known as Henry, took him aside before the game and promised, "Kid, I'm going to give you one you can hit." He did, and Greenberg did, as the future

Hall of Fame A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or Wiktionary:fame, fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actu ...

slugger launched an impressive homer over the fence. In his second stint in the Majors, after 1935, Cooney concentrated on playing outfield and first base. His two homers were hit in consecutive games in September 1939, when he again played for Boston and was already 38 years old. His best averages as a regular came with the Bees, .318 in 1940 and .319 in 1941. He was listed as a playing coach for Boston's National Leaguers from 1940 to 1942.

Coaching and managerial career

Cooney spent the last two decades of his baseball career as a full-time coach for the Braves in both Boston and Milwaukee (1946–55) and the

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The club plays its ...

(1957–64), retiring after the season. He managed Boston over the last 46 games of the 1949 season when manager

Billy Southworth William Harold Southworth (March 9, 1893 – November 15, 1969) was an American outfielder and manager in Major League Baseball (MLB). As a player in and and from to for five big-league teams, Southworth took part in almost 1,200 games, fell ...

took a leave of absence for health reasons. During his managing tenure, Cooney posted a 20–25 record with one tie (.444).

Personal

Cooney's father

Jimmy Jimmy may refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''Jimmy'' (2008 film), a 2008 Hindi thriller directed by Raj N. Sippy * ''Jimmy'' (1979 film), a 1979 Indian Malayalam film directed by Melattoor Ravi Varma * ''Jimmy'' (2013 f ...

and older brother Jimmy Jr. also were

infielder An infielder is a baseball player stationed at one of four defensive "infield" positions on the baseball field, between first base and third base. Standard arrangement of positions In a game of baseball, two teams of nine players take turns pla ...

s in the Major Leagues. Cooney died in

Sarasota, Florida Sarasota () is a city in and the county seat of Sarasota County, Florida, United States. It is located in Southwest Florida, the southern end of the Tampa Bay area, and north of Fort Myers, Florida, Fort Myers and Punta Gorda, Florida, Punta Gord ...

at age 85.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cooney, Johnny 1901 births 1986 deaths Boston Bees players Boston Braves coaches Boston Braves managers Boston Braves players Brooklyn Dodgers players Chicago White Sox coaches Indianapolis Indians players Jersey City Skeeters players Kansas City Blues (baseball) players Major League Baseball bench coaches Major League Baseball outfielders Major League Baseball pitchers Milwaukee Braves coaches New Haven Indians players New York Yankees players Newark Bears (International League) players Sportspeople from Cranston, Rhode Island Baseball players from Providence County, Rhode Island Toledo Mud Hens players Toronto Maple Leafs (International League) players 20th-century American sportsmen

Playing career

Coaching and managerial career

Personal

See also

References

External links