Harry Hooper (1971)


Date of Birth: 8/24/1887
Date of Death: 12/18/1974
Birthplace: Bell Station, California
College: St. Mary's College of California

Harry Hooper started his professional baseball career in the minor leagues in 1907. He was a pitcher in the California State League in 1907 and 1908. He signed with the Boston Red Sox in November, 1908.

Boston Red Sox

After more than a season in the minors, Hooper joined the Red Sox in 1909. He batted .282 with 72 hits and 15 stolen bases in 81 games in his first season with the team. The following year, his first full season in the major leagues, he batted .267 with 156 hits, 10 triples, and a career high 40 stolen bases in a career high 155 games. He played well defensively in 1910, leading all AL right fielders in putouts with 214.

In 1911, Hooper had a good season with a .311 batting average and 163 hits, 20 doubles, and 38 stolen bases. He again led AL right fielders in putouts with 181. He continued to lead them in putouts in 1912 (223), 1913 (233), 1914 (230), 1915 (255), 1916 (266), 1918 (221), and 1920 (253).

Hooper struggled offensively in 1912, batting just .242 in 147 games. His batting average went up to .288 in 1913, when he had 169 hits, 29 doubles, and 26 stolen bases in 148 games.

Hooper's batting average dropped to .258 in 1914, and it went even lower in 1915 to .235. Although he had difficulty getting hits that season, he managed to get on base with a career high 89 walks in 149 games.

Hooper continued to have up and down seasons offensively from 1916 through 1919. He batted .271 with 156 hits, 20 doubles, and 27 stolen bases in 151 games in 1916. The following season, he batted .256 with 143 hits, 21 doubles, and 21 stolen bases in 151 games. He played in fewer games in 1918 (126 games) and 1919 (128 games). He finished the 1918 season with 137 hits, 26 doubles, 13 triples, 24 stolen bases, and a .289 batting average. The following season, he batted .267 with 131 hits, 25 doubles, and 23 stolen bases.

Hooper had a strong season in 1920, batting .312 in 139 games. He had 167 hits, 30 doubles, a career high 17 triples, and 53 RBIs. He walked 88 times and struck out 27 times.

Chicago White Sox

The Red Sox traded Hooper to the Chicago White Sox on March 4, 1921. He had a strong first season with Chicago, batting .327 in 108 games. He finished the 1921 season with 137 hits, 26 doubles, and 58 RBIs.

In 1922, Hooper had career highs in hits (183) and doubles (35). He batted .304 with 80 RBIs in 152 games. For the tenth time in his career, he led AL right fielders in putouts with 289. The following season, he batted .288 with 166 hits, 32 doubles, and 65 RBIs in 145 games.

Hooper had a career high batting average of .328 in 1924. He finished the season with 156 hits, 27 doubles, 62 RBIs, and 16 stolen bases in 130 games. The next season, he batted .265 in 127 games. He had 117 hits, 23 doubles, and 55 RBIs. He retired after the 1925 season.

Career Statistics

Statistics for Hooper in 17 seasons (1909-1925) in the major leagues include:

  • 8 seasons with over 150 hits, with a high of 183 in 1922
  • 3 seasons with 30 or more doubles, with a high of 35 in1922
  • 9 seasons with 10 or more triples, with a high of 17 in 1920
  • 9 seasons with over 20 stolen bases, with a high of 40 in 1910
  • 5 seasons with a batting average over .300, with highs of .327 in 1921 and .328 in 1924

Career batting statistics for Hooper include:

  • 2,309 games played
  • 2,466 hits
  • 389 doubles
  • 160 triples
  • 375 stolen bases
  • .281 batting average
  • .368 on-base percentage
  • .755 OPS

Career fielding statistics for Hooper as a right fielder include:

  • 2,183 games played
  • 3,799 putouts
  • 142 errors
  • .967 fielding percentage

Postseason statistics for Hooper include:

  • 4 postseasons
  • 24 games played
  • 92 at-bats
  • 27 hits
  • 3 doubles
  • 2 triples
  • 2 home runs
  • 3 stolen bases
  • 11 strikeouts to 11 walks
  • .293 batting average

Post Playing Career

After retiring as a major league player, Hooper was a player-manager in the Pacific Coast League in 1927. He spent two years as a coach at Princeton University in the 1930s.

Sources for Information
Wikipedia - Harry Hooper
ESPN - Harry Hooper
Baseball Reference - Harry Hooper

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