Bob Hooper
Bob Hooper | |
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Pitcher | |
Born: Leamington, Ontario Canada | May 30, 1922|
Died: March 17, 1980 New Brunswick, New Jersey | (aged 57)|
Batted: Right Threw: Right | |
MLB debut | |
April 19, 1950, for the Philadelphia Athletics | |
Last MLB appearance | |
May 14, 1955, for the Cincinnati Redlegs | |
MLB statistics | |
Win–loss record | 40–41 |
Earned run average | 4.80 |
Strikeouts | 196 |
Innings pitched | 6202⁄3 |
Teams | |
Robert Nelson Hooper (May 30, 1922 – March 17, 1980) was a Canadian-born pitcher in Major League Baseball from 1950 to 1955. A native of Leamington, Ontario, Hooper attended Montclair State University in New Jersey and served in the United States Army Air Forces during World War II prior to his major-league career. As a player, he threw and batted right-handed, stood 5'11" (180 cm) tall and weighed 195 pounds (88 kg).
Although he was originally signed by the New York Giants, Hooper came to the majors with the 1950 Philadelphia Athletics, and promptly won 15 games while losing only 10 for a last-place outfit that won only 52 games all year — Hooper thus accounting for 28.8 percent of all wins for the 1950 A's. In 1951, he won 12 of 22 decisions for a Philadelphia club that improved to 70 victories. Continuing his "against the grain" career, in 1952, with the A's putting up what would be their final over-.500 season in their Philadelphia history, Hooper won only eight games, losing 15. He was traded to the pennant-contending Cleveland Indians that December 19, and became strictly a relief pitcher, appearing in 43 games in 1953 and only 17 contests in 1954. Hooper did not appear in the 1954 World Series, which Cleveland lost to the Giants in a four-game sweep. In his final season, Hooper appeared briefly with the 1955 Cincinnati Redlegs and lost his only two decisions. He finished his career with 40 victories, 41 defeats, 25 saves and an earned run average of 4.80. In 6202⁄3 innings pitched, he allowed 640 hits and 240 bases on balls, with 196 strikeouts.
After Hooper retired as a player, he joined the Baltimore Orioles. That reunited him with general manager and field manager Paul Richards, who tutored Hooper on the 1949 Buffalo Bisons of the AAA International League, where Hooper posted a 19–3 record and proved himself ready for the major leagues. Hooper managed Oriole farm teams in the low minors from 1957 to 1960. He was a scout for the New York Mets in the early 1960s, and became a physical education teacher in the New Brunswick, New Jersey, public schools, retiring in 1979. Bob Hooper died of a heart attack at age 57 the following year in New Brunswick.
External links
- Career statistics and player information from Baseball Reference
- Obituary, from The Dead Ball Era
- 1922 births
- 1980 deaths
- Baseball people from Ontario
- Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players
- Canadian emigrants to the United States
- Caribbean Series players
- Cincinnati Redlegs players
- Cleveland Indians players
- Fort Smith Giants players
- Indianapolis Indians players
- Jacksonville Tars players
- Jersey City Giants players
- Lexington Giants players
- Major League Baseball pitchers
- Major League Baseball players from Canada
- Montclair State Red Hawks baseball players
- New York Mets scouts
- Oklahoma City Indians players
- People from Leamington, Ontario
- Philadelphia Athletics players
- Phoenix Stars players
- Sportspeople from New Brunswick, New Jersey
- Vancouver Mounties players
- Wilson Tobs players