1902
Born August 2, 1902
Arkadelphia, AR, USA
Darltie Cooper Marquee
b. August 2, 1902 · Indianapolis ABCs 1923, Harrisburg Giants 1924–1927, Baltimore Black Sox 1926, 1931, New York Lincoln Giants 1926, Hilldale Club 1928–1929, 1932, Homestead Grays 1930, Washington Pilots 1932, Philadelphia Bacharach Giants 1934, Newark Eagles 1940
Darltie Cooper pitched for eleven clubs between 1923 and 1940 and completed 89 of his 125 recorded starts, which in the Negro Leagues was less a distinction than a job description — a club carried few pitchers and expected each of them to finish.
The Harrisburg Giants had him for four seasons in the mid-1920s and the Hilldale Club for three across two spells. Baltimore, the New York Lincoln Giants, the Homestead Grays, the Washington Pilots, the Bacharach Giants and the Newark Eagles fill in the rest.
Born in Arkadelphia, Arkansas in 1902, Cooper compiled a 70-56 record with 399 strikeouts in the surviving record. Cooper was forty-one at his death in February 1944.
Batting, season by season
| Year | Team | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | SB | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1923 | ABC | 54 | 160 | 28 | 36 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 27 | 6 | 0 | 1 | .225 |
| 1924 | HBG | 33 | 67 | 7 | 16 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 9 | 2 | 0 | 1 | .239 |
| 1925 | HBG | 26 | 63 | 7 | 17 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | .270 |
| 1926 | BBS/HBG/NLG | 6 | 14 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 0 | .214 |
| 1927 | HBG | 32 | 85 | 12 | 26 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 10 | 6 | 0 | 0 | .306 |
| 1928* | HIL | 20 | 61 | 4 | 15 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | .246 |
| 1929 | HIL | 32 | 80 | 4 | 18 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 13 | 6 | 0 | 0 | .225 |
| 1930* | HG | 19 | 39 | 4 | 7 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 0 | .179 |
| 1931* | BBS | 19 | 38 | 4 | 11 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 0 | .289 |
| 1932 | HIL/WAP | 7 | 19 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | .158 |
| 1934 | PBG | 11 | 27 | 3 | 11 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .407 |
| 1940 | NE | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 |
| Major leagues | — | 203 | 518 | 65 | 130 | 15 | 9 | 7 | 75 | 25 | 1 | 2 | .251 |
| All seasons | — | 261 | 656 | 77 | 163 | 21 | 11 | 8 | 86 | 27 | 6 | 2 | .248 |
Pitching, season by season
| Year | Team | W | L | G | GS | SV | IP | H | ER | BB | SO | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1923 | ABC | 14 | 4 | 25 | 19 | 1 | 167.0 | 169 | 77 | 41 | 47 | 4.15 |
| 1924 | HBG | 9 | 9 | 21 | 13 | 1 | 126.0 | 123 | 56 | 32 | 48 | 4.00 |
| 1925 | HBG | 8 | 4 | 23 | 14 | 1 | 124.2 | 140 | 68 | 40 | 52 | 4.91 |
| 1926 | BBS/HBG/NLG | 1 | 2 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 23.2 | 28 | 21 | 16 | 6 | 7.99 |
| 1927 | HBG | 15 | 7 | 26 | 18 | 0 | 184.2 | 182 | 53 | 44 | 68 | 2.58 |
| 1928* | HIL | 10 | 5 | 16 | 14 | 0 | 135.1 | 120 | 38 | 43 | 53 | 2.53 |
| 1929 | HIL | 7 | 11 | 24 | 20 | 0 | 155.2 | 193 | 90 | 64 | 68 | 5.20 |
| 1930* | HG | 2 | 3 | 10 | 7 | 0 | 45.1 | 65 | 41 | 18 | 12 | 8.14 |
| 1931* | BBS | 3 | 5 | 12 | 10 | 0 | 65.1 | 84 | 40 | 35 | 30 | 5.51 |
| 1932 | HIL/WAP | 1 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 30.0 | 23 | 12 | 15 | 8 | 3.60 |
| 1934 | PBG | 0 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 28.0 | 27 | 13 | 12 | 7 | 4.18 |
| 1940 | NE | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 5.1 | 7 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 10.13 |
| Major leagues | — | 55 | 43 | 135 | 94 | 3 | 845.0 | 892 | 396 | 268 | 304 | 4.22 |
| All seasons | — | 70 | 56 | 173 | 125 | 3 | 1091.0 | 1161 | 515 | 364 | 399 | 4.25 |
Seasons outside MLB's recognized major leagues appear in All seasons, but not in Major leagues or the leaderboards. For Darltie Cooper, that is 1928–1931. Why totals can differ.
On this day & linked events
1944