Duff Gordon "Sir Richard" Cooley (March 29, 1873August 9, 1937) was a

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Mod ...

player whose career spanned 17 seasons, 13 of which were spent in

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), ...

(MLB). Cooley, an

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 cat ...

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 ...

, had a career

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 ...

of .294 in 1,317

games played Games played (GP) is a statistic used in team sports to indicate the total number of games in which a player has participated (in any capacity); the statistic is generally applied irrespective of whatever portion of the game is contested. Basebal ...

. He compiled 849 runs, 1,579 hits, 180 doubles, 102 triples, 26

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...

s, and 557

runs batted in A run batted in (RBI; plural RBIs ) is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if the bat ...

(RBI). In Major League history, he is tied in 148th place for most all-time triples and, his 224 career stolen bases, place him equal 279th on the all-time list. Cooley made his Major League debut at the age of 20, and spent the majority of his career there, but he also appeared in minor league baseball. After breaking his leg with the Tigers in 1905, he was replaced with future Hall of Fame outfielder

Ty Cobb Tyrus Raymond Cobb (December 18, 1886 – July 17, 1961), nicknamed "the Georgia Peach", was an American Major League Baseball (MLB) center fielder. He was born in rural Narrows, Georgia. Cobb spent 22 seasons with the Detroit Tigers, the las ...

. Cooley, nicknamed "Sir Richard" due to his aristocratic manner, was listed as standing and weighing .

Career

Cooley was born on March 29, 1873, in

Leavenworth, Kansas Leavenworth () is the county seat and largest city of Leavenworth County, Kansas, United States and is part of the Kansas City metropolitan area. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 37,351. It is located on the west bank of t ...

. He began his Major League career in 1893, playing for Topeka, Kansas, before playing for the

St. Louis Browns The St. Louis Browns were a Major League Baseball team that originated in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, as the Milwaukee Brewers. A charter member of the American League (AL), the Brewers moved to St. Louis, Missouri, after the 1901 season, where they p ...

of the

National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team s ...

(NL). Although the seventh youngest player in the league during his first season, he batted .346, which remained a career-high. Defensively, Cooley was a

utility player In sports, a utility player is one who can play several positions competently. Sports in which the term is often used include association football, American football, baseball, rugby union, rugby league, softball, ice hockey, and water polo. The ...

, starting at multiple positions for the Cardinals. On September 30 of 1893, Cooley recorded six hits against the Boston Beaneaters. He played for St. Louis in 1894, nearly doubling his

at bat In baseball, an at bat (AB) or time at bat is a batter's turn batting against a pitcher. An at bat is different from a plate appearance. A batter is credited with a plate appearance regardless of what happens during their turn at bat, but a batt ...

s (206) and games played (54). Cooley played more regularly in 1895 and averaged 4.2 at bats per game throughout the season. One of the most successful batters on the team, he had the highest batting average at .342 and led the Cardinals in hits, triples, runs scored and

total bases In baseball statistics, total bases is the number of bases a player gains with hits. It is a weighted sum with values of 1 for a single, 2 for a double, 3 for a triple and 4 for a home run. For example, three singles is three total bases, while ...

. His

slugging Slugging, also known as casual carpooling, is the practice of forming ad hoc, informal carpools for purposes of commuting, essentially a variation of ride-share commuting and hitchhiking. A driver picks up these non-paying passengers (known as ...

(.466) and

on-base plus slugging On-base plus slugging (OPS) is a sabermetric baseball statistic calculated as the sum of a player's on-base percentage and slugging percentage. The ability of a player both to get on base and to hit for power, two important offensive skills, are ...

(.851) percentages remained the highest of his career. His 20 triples and 264 total bases were both the fifth-highest total in a season for the Cardinals franchise from between the years of 1892 when they entered the NL to 1920, which marked the end of the

Dead-ball era In baseball, the dead-ball era was the period from around 1900 to the emergence of Babe Ruth as a power hitter in 1919, when he hit a then-major league record 29 home runs; only three players since 1890 had even hit 20. This era was characterized ...

. At the end of the year, he had played 133 games, two behind Major League leader and teammate, Joe Quinn. Offensively, Cooley tied for seventh in most hits and finished fourth in triples. At the beginning of the 1896 season, Cooley continued to play for the Browns. However, after 40 games in which he had a .307 batting average, he was moved to the

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. Since 2004, the team's home sta ...

in exchange for

Joe Sullivan Michael Joseph O'Sullivan (November 4, 1906 – October 13, 1971) was an American jazz pianist. Sullivan was the ninth child of Irish immigrant parents. He studied classical piano for 12 years and at age 17, he began to play popular music in si ...

Tuck Turner George A. Turner (February 13, 1867 – July 16, 1945) was an American Major League Baseball player for the Philadelphia Phillies and St. Louis Browns. Career Born in West New Brighton, Staten Island, Turner began his baseball career as a paid p ...

, and an unknown sum of money. The Phillies, under manager

Billy Nash William Mitchell Nash (June 24, 1865 – November 15, 1929) was a Major League Baseball third baseman. He played 15 seasons in the majors, from to . He served as player-manager of the Philadelphia Phillies in , and in 1901 he umpired 101 games ...

, finished 62–68, eighth in the NL. Cooley remained with the Phillies in 1897, when he tied with

Fred Tenney Frederick Tenney (November 26, 1871 – July 3, 1952) was an American professional baseball player whose career spanned 20 seasons, 17 of which were spent with the Major League Baseball (MLB) Boston Beaneaters/Doves/Rustlers (1894–1907, 1911) ...

George Van Haltren George Edward Martin Van Haltren (March 30, 1866 – October 1, 1945) was an American center fielder in Major League Baseball. In his 17-year career, lasting from 1887 through 1903, he played for the Chicago White Stockings (1870–89), Chicago Wh ...

, and

Gene DeMontreville Eugene Napoleon DeMontreville (March 10, 1873 – February 18, 1935) was an American professional baseball second baseman and shortstop. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Pittsburgh Pirates, Washington Senators, Baltimore Oriole ...

for the MLB lead in at-bats. Cooley led his team in runs scored and stolen bases, and finished third, behind

Ed Delahanty Edward James Delahanty (October 30, 1867 – July 2, 1903), nicknamed "Big Ed", was an American professional baseball player, who spent his Major League Baseball (MLB) playing career with the Philadelphia Quakers, Cleveland Infants, Philadelph ...

and

Nap Lajoie Napoléon "Nap" Lajoie (; September 5, 1874 – February 7, 1959), also known as Larry Lajoie and nicknamed "The Frenchman", was an American professional baseball second baseman and player-manager. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for t ...

, in hits. The following two seasons, playing for Philadelphia, he hit .312 in 1898 and .276 in 1899, before he was purchased by the

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Founded as part of the American Associati ...

for US$1,000 in April 1900. In his only season with the Pirates, Cooley recorded a batting average of .201, the worst of his career. He also compiled 30 runs, 50 hits, and 22 RBI. After being purchased by the

Boston Beaneaters Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- most po ...

in 1901, Cooley made his minor-league debut for the Syracuse Stars of

Syracuse, New York Syracuse ( ) is a City (New York), city in and the county seat of Onondaga County, New York, Onondaga County, New York, United States. It is the fifth-most populous city in the state of New York following New York City, Buffalo, New York, Buffa ...

. After recording a team-high in batting average and slugging percentage, Cooley was promoted to the Major League Beaneaters. Next season, under manager

Al Buckenberger Albert C. Buckenberger (January 31, 1861 – July 1, 1917) was an American manager in Major League Baseball. Early life Buckenberger was born in Detroit, Michigan, and began his career as an infielder, and then manager for minor league teams in t ...

, Cooley played in 135 games, more than double the previous year for the Beaneaters. He finished the year eighth in the NL in both hits and

, and third in doubles. Cooley remained with the Beaneaters for the following two seasons, hitting .289 in 1903. On June 20, 1904, Cooley

hit for the cycle In baseball, hitting for the cycle is the accomplishment of one batter who hits a single, a double, a triple, and a home run in the same game. Collecting the hits in that order is known as a "natural cycle". Cycles are rare in Major League B ...

(a single, double, triple, and home run in the same game), becoming the second Beaneater to do so. Cooley finished the 1904 season with six total errors, five in the outfield and one at first base. Cooley's 70 RBIs were eighth most in the NL. After the season, in October 1904, he was selected off the Beaneater's waivers by the

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 of the American League (AL) Central division. One of the AL's eight charter franchises, the club was f ...

. In his final Major League season, Cooley played in 97 games before breaking his leg, which led to

, a future inductee to the

National Baseball Hall of Fame The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is a history museum and hall of fame in Cooperstown, New York, operated by private interests. It serves as the central point of the history of baseball in the United States and displays baseball-r ...

taking his place as

center fielder A center fielder, abbreviated CF, is the outfielder in baseball who plays defense in center field – the baseball and softball fielding position between left field and right field. In the numbering system used to record defensive plays, the c ...

for the rest of the season. He was sold to the Beaneaters following the 1905 season, but decided to retire instead.

After MLB

Following his retirement from baseball, Cooley moved to

Dallas Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...

and began to work as a salesman. In his final years, he battled alcoholism, which partially contributed to his death from

heat stroke Heat stroke or heatstroke, also known as sun stroke, is a severe heat illness that results in a body temperature greater than , along with red skin, headache, dizziness, and confusion. Sweating is generally present in exertional heatstroke, ...

in Dallas on August 9, 1937. By then, he and his wife Louise were divorced and he left no children. Cooley was buried in

Grove Hill Memorial Park Grove may refer to: * Grove (nature), a small group of trees Places England * Grove, Buckinghamshire, a village * Grove, Dorset * Grove, Herefordshire * Grove, Kent *Grove, Nottinghamshire, a village *Grove, Oxfordshire, a village and civil ...

in Dallas.

Notes

* Porter, David L. (2000) states Cooley was traded to the Pirates for

Tully Sparks Thomas Frank "Tully" Sparks (December 12, 1874 – July 15, 1937), was a former professional baseball player who played pitcher in the Major Leagues from 1897 to 1910. Sparks played for the Philadelphia Phillies, Pittsburgh Pirates, Milwaukee B ...

and

Heinie Reitz Henry Peter Reitz (June 29, 1867 – November 10, 1914), nicknamed "Heinie", was an American second baseman in Major League Baseball who played for the Baltimore Orioles, Washington Senators, and Pittsburgh Pirates. He was born in Chicago. Car ...

in February 1900.

References

General * Specific

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cooley, Duff 1873 births 1937 deaths Major League Baseball outfielders St. Louis Browns (NL) players Philadelphia Phillies players Pittsburgh Pirates players Boston Beaneaters players Detroit Tigers players Baseball players from Kansas Sportspeople from Leavenworth, Kansas 19th-century baseball players Major League Baseball left fielders Major League Baseball center fielders Major League Baseball first basemen Syracuse Stars (minor league baseball) players Topeka White Sox players Louisville Colonels (minor league) managers Louisville Colonels (minor league) players Topeka Jayhawks players Topeka Kaw-nees players Deaths from hyperthermia Alcohol-related deaths in Texas

Career

After MLB

See also

Notes

References

External links