Albert Cohen, nicknamed "Alta", (December 25, 1908, in

Brooklyn, New York Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

– March 11, 2003, in

Maplewood, New Jersey Maplewood is a township in Essex County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The township is an inner-ring suburban bedroom community of New York City in the New York metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States census, the township's populatio ...

), was a professional baseball player. He attended

South Side High School Southside High School or South Side High School may refer to: *Southside High School (Gadsden, Alabama) *Southside High School (Dallas County, Alabama), a school in the Dallas County Schools system * Southside High School (Batesville, Arkansas) * ...

in New York. He was Jewish. In the minor leagues, he was an All Star with the Triple A

Toledo Mud Hens The Toledo Mud Hens are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Detroit Tigers. They are located in Toledo, Ohio, and play their home games at Fifth Third Field. A Mud Hens team has played in ...

. In 1931 he batted .316–5–47 for the

Hartford Senators The Hartford Senators were a minor league baseball team based in Hartford, Connecticut. They operated in the Connecticut League from 1902–1912, the Eastern Association from 1913–1914, the Eastern League (baseball, 1916-32), Eastern League from ...

, and led the league in walks (87). Cohen made hid major league debut in the second game of the 1931 season, taking over for

pinch hitter In baseball, a pinch hitter is a substitute Batting (baseball), batter. Batters can be substituted at any time while the dead ball (baseball), ball is dead (not in active play); the manager (baseball), manager may use any player who has not yet ...

Ike Boone Isaac Morgan "Ike" Boone (February 17, 1897 – August 1, 1958) was an American professional baseball player. He played eight seasons as a right fielder in Major League Baseball (MLB) between 1922 and 1932 for the New York Giants, Boston Red Sox, ...

. The next day, Cohen was farmed out to Hartford. Cohen was leading the Eastern League in hitting in 1932 with a .409 average in 59 games when the league folded in mid-season. He became a pitcher and had two good years with Toledo (American Association) in 1936–37 with a 29–19 record. He played

outfield The outfield, in cricket, baseball and softball is the area of the field of play further from the batsman or batter than the infield. In association football, the outfield players are positioned outside the goal area. In cricket, baseball and ...

in the majors from 1931 to 1933 with the Brooklyn Robins/Dodgers and

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division and were a charter member of ...

. Cohen's father gave him the name Alta (

Yiddish Yiddish (, or , ''yidish'' or ''idish'', , ; , ''Yidish-Taytsh'', ) is a West Germanic language historically spoken by Ashkenazi Jews. It originated during the 9th century in Central Europe, providing the nascent Ashkenazi community with a ver ...

for "old") as the traditional Jewish trick to fool the angel of death during the

1918 flu epidemic The 1918–1920 influenza pandemic, commonly known by the misnomer Spanish flu or as the Great Influenza epidemic, was an exceptionally deadly global influenza pandemic caused by the H1N1 influenza A virus. The earliest documented case was ...

. In the majors, Alta's teammates called him "Schoolboy." Cohen founded the Altco Products Co. in 1940, with offices throughout the state, and served as president for 44 years before retiring in 1984. He was a member of the board of directors of the

Newark Beth Israel Medical Center Newark Beth Israel Medical Center (NBIMC), previously Newark Beth Israel Hospital, is a 665-bed quaternary care, teaching hospital located in Newark, New Jersey serving the healthcare needs for Newark and the Northern Jersey area. The hospital is ...

and the Daughters of Israel Geriatric Center in West Orange, and a member of the Green Brook Country Club in

North Caldwell North Caldwell is a borough in northwestern Essex County, New Jersey, United States, and a suburb of New York City. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 6,694, an increase of 511 (+8.3%) from the 2010 census count ...

. Also a philanthropist, he was honored in the 1980s by

Hebrew University The Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HUJI; he, הַאוּנִיבֶרְסִיטָה הַעִבְרִית בִּירוּשָׁלַיִם) is a public research university based in Jerusalem, Israel. Co-founded by Albert Einstein and Dr. Chaim Weiz ...

, in New York City. He lived in

Verona Verona ( , ; vec, Verona or ) is a city on the Adige River in Veneto, Northern Italy, Italy, with 258,031 inhabitants. It is one of the seven provincial capitals of the region. It is the largest city Comune, municipality in the region and the ...

and

South Orange South Orange, officially the Township of South Orange Village, is a suburban township in Essex County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the village's population was 16,198, reflecting a decline of 766 (4.5%) fro ...

before moving to

, where he died in his home."Oldest Brooklyn Dodgers' alumnus dies"
''

The San Diego Union-Tribune ''The San Diego Union-Tribune'' is a metropolitan daily newspaper published in San Diego, California, that has run since 1868. Its name derives from a 1992 merger between the two major daily newspapers at the time, ''The San Diego Union'' and ...

'', March 12, 2003. Accessed March 27, 2008.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cohen, Alta 1908 births 2003 deaths Brooklyn Robins players Brooklyn Dodgers players Chattanooga Lookouts players Cincinnati Reds players Crisfield Crabbers players Durham Bulls players Hartford Senators players Jersey City Giants players Jersey City Skeeters players Jewish American baseball players Jewish Major League Baseball players Macon Peaches players Major League Baseball outfielders Minneapolis Millers (baseball) players People from Maplewood, New Jersey Rocky Mount Buccaneers players Baseball players from Brooklyn Toledo Mud Hens players Williamsport Grays players 20th-century American Jews 21st-century American Jews