The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1911-04-23

Seventeen years In organized base
ball, twelve Of which were spent in the
big leagues and the other five in the
minors. is the brilliant record of Rich
ard G.. Cooley, affectionately known to
thousands as plain "Dick' Cooley, the
man who will direct the destinies Of the
Salt Lake club in the Union baseball
league for the season of 1911 and pos
sibly lead Salt Lake City into the
Western or the Coast league. Here is
Cooley's big brush record:
st. Louis Nationals, three and one
half years.
Philadelphia Nationals, two and one
half years.
Pittsburg Pirates, one year.
Boston Nationals, four years.
Detroit Americans. one year
Topeka Western association and
league team. five years.
Was Swell Hitter.
Besides being some fielder Cooley was
swell hitter in his halmiest days. In
Spalding's official baseball record, un-
der the legend of t'major league bats
men who have made batting record of
800 or better for four years from 1875
to 1910'-four years after Cooley quit
big league company-Cooley' name is
given place of honor along with the
names of twentythree others. Cooley
made this remarkable polling record
with the ST. Louis Nationals Here is
his batting average for the four years I:
1S95-340.
lS96-301
IS97-327
l89S-317.
This is an average percentage of
little better than 321.
Cooley is n near colonel. Born close
to Louisville in the blue grass state
thirtyseven years ago he early migrat-
ed from Kentucky to Kansas. Like
many other youths that afterwards be-
came baseball stars, he made his start
for big brush company on the town lot.
There were no minor bushes for Cooley.
And after he got into the major leagues
it took no less a parsonage than the
great Tiger, Cyrus Cobb. to get him out.
In 1893. when Cooley jumped over the
minors, from independent and semi pro-
fessional ball, to the majors, he went to
the st. Louis Nationals as utility man.
Most Of the first year he spent in the
outfield. The second year he was given
regular -place-in- the outer garden. He
remained with st. Louis until the mid
die of the season of 1895
Is Traded to Phillies-
Then the Philadelphia Nationals
traded Shortstop Sullivan and "Tuck -
uT0eT, cIdCR OuLIlSlOeT, VINO became
star at the initial sack. for Cooley,
giving q sum of money to boot. and
Cooley PLAYED center field for the Phil
lies with Delehanty and Thompson in
right and left. This was one of the
greatest hitting teams ever got to-
gether.
Cooley remained with the Phillies un-
til the close of 1899, when he was sold
to Pittsburg and went to first base
for the Pirates. In the fall of that year
he was sold to Boston, for which he
played the outfield almost four years.
In 1904 Cooley broke into the ranks
of the American league, going to the
Tigers as outfielder At the close of
the 1905 season he was released, ety.
Cobb supplanting him in the Tigers
outer garden,
Cooley then bought the Topeka fran
chise in what at that time was the
Western association, and ran the team
from the initial sack, At the end of
the second year Topeka went into the
Western league. Cooley won two pen
nants for Topeka in five years, landed
in third place once and fourth place
another time, and finished last in
1910, but there was a reason, He in"
tended to get out of the league and
sold off most of his good players. A
stock company bought the Topeka team
at the end of the 1910 season and Coo
ley came farther west.