Henry Harold "Cotton" Pippen (April 2, 1911 – February 15, 1981) 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), ...

right-handed

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

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 (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals ha ...

(1936), Philadelphia Athletics (1939), and Detroit Tigers (1939–1940). Pippen was born in

Cisco, Texas Cisco is a city in Eastland County, Texas. The population was 3,899 at the time of the 2010 census. History Cisco, at the intersection of U.S. Highway 183 and Interstate 20 in northwestern Eastland County, traces its history back to 1878 or ...

, 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 one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league ...

. 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 1 ...

in his first professional at bat in the Pacific Coast League. 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 of ...

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 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 {{US-baseball-pitcher-1910s-stub