PLAYER PROFILE

AL COOPER

STATISTICS & HISTORY

Al Cooper was one of the brightest of pro basketball’s early stars. A handsome and charismatic player, Cooper was a major gate attraction in the early years of the National League. Cooper’s first love in sports was soccer. His father, who had emigrated from England, had introduced his son to the game.  Cooper, a crack striker, achieved his first accolades as an athlete on the soccer pitch. His interest in basketball was sparked by his older brother Fred, who was a major figure in the growth of the game in Trenton, New Jersey. Cooper was a graceful and stylish athlete who quickly adapted to basketball. The sense of teamwork and passing he had developed in soccer proved useful in his early exposure to the court game. Within a single season, Cooper had honed his skills to a level that exceeded any other player in the Trenton area. When the first professional league began play in the fall of 1898, it was quickly apparent that Cooper was the best player in the league. He led the National League in scoring in 1898-99, finished second in 1899-00 and then took first again in 1900-01. His Trenton team won the first two NBL titles in 1898-99 and 1899-00. Cooper’s career went into eclipse when the NBL folded during the 1903-04 season, He remained in Trenton while most of the era’s top players migrated to high-paying jobs with teams in Massachusetts and western Pennsylvania. Cooper’s career was rejuvenated in 1909 when Trenton joined the newly formed Eastern Basketball League. He was less of a scoring threat later in his career, but was still an important member of the 1909-10 and 1911-12 EBL championship teams. He later coached the team for three seasons.

 

AL COOPER Height: 5:11 Weight: 160 College: None
Albert Cooper Born:  Oct 1, 1978 Died:  Sep 9, 1960 Hometown: Trenton, NJ
Brother of Fred Cooper
Father of Al Cooper Jr. REGULAR SEASON RECORD
Year Team League     GA FGM  FTM   FTA  PCT.  AST  PTS AVG
1897-98 Trenton Trentons Indep
1898-99 Trenton NBL 16 47 47 141 8.8
1899-00 Trenton NBL 23 69 75 213 9.3
1900-01 Trenton NBL 27 63 164 290 10.7
1901-02 Trenton NBL 30 54 136 244 8.1
1902-03 Trenton NBL 34 75 346 496 14.6
1903-04 Trenton NBL 11 28 91 147 13.4
1904-05 East Falls PBL 9 21 87 129 14.3
1905-06 Trenton PBL 1 1 0 2 2.0
1906-07 Trenton Indep
1907-08 Trenton Indep
1908-09 Trenton Indep
1909-10 Trenton EBL 28 55 0 110 3.9
1910-11 Trenton EBL 19 26 142 194 10.2
1911-12 Trenton EBL 31 54 12 120 3.9
1912-13 Trenton EBL 35 48 152 12 248 7.1
1913-14 Trenton EBL 8 11 1 1 23 2.9
1914-15 Trenton EBL 6 2 0 0 .000 1 4 0.7
1915-16 Trenton Indep
1916-17 Trenton Indep
1917-18 Trenton Indep
Major League Totals 278 554 1253 2361 8.5

 

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