Whirty: Negro League stalwart Andy Cooper could be immortalized in home state of Texas
From SABR member Ryan Whirty at the Kansas City Star on May 27, 2016, with mention of SABR members Bill Staples Jr. and Raymond Doswell:
If an athlete was a member of the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y., wouldn’t logic dictate that he is also a member of his respective home state’s sports hall of fame?
Well, maybe not, at least in the case of Negro Leagues star pitcher Andy Cooper.
The lefty with pinpoint control and encyclopedic knowledge of hitters enjoyed a career at the top levels of professional African-American baseball, as both a player and manager, for roughly two decades in the 1920s and ’30s. That included roughly 10 years with the famed Kansas City Monarchs, whom he helped lead to multiple league titles and the status one of the greatest dynasties in hardball history.
Upon Cooper’s death 75 years ago, journalist Russ Cowans eulogized the Monarchs great and Texas native.
Read the full article here: http://www.kansascity.com/sports/mlb/kansas-city-royals/article80401892.html
Originally published: May 31, 2016. Last Updated: May 31, 2016.