STATISTICS & HISTORY
Charles “Tarzan” Cooper was a star basketball player at Central High School in Philadelphia. At age 18, he signed to play for the Philadelphia Panthers, a local black team, from where he launched a twenty-one year pro basketball career. In 1929, Cooper joined the New York Rens. When the New York Celtics faded with age in the thirties, the Rens rose to prominence as the most powerful independent team in the country. Simultaneously, Cooper established himself as the the best player of the decade. He possessed physical skills and an intuitiveness for the game that were groundbreaking. He was a natural leader, who always worked hard, and was generous with his advice to help teammates improve their game. In 1939, Cooper led the Rens to first place in the World Pro Championship in Chicago and was named MVP of the tournament. In 1943, as player-coach of the Washington Bears, Cooper won his second pro championship at the Chicago tournament. Cooper outplayed Oshkosh star Leroy Edwards in the finals to lead the Bears to the title. The Celtics’ star Joe Lapchick lauded Cooper as the best center he ever faced in pro basketball. Cooper was elected to the Basketball Hall of Fame as a member of the Rens and again in 1977 as an individual player.
| TARZAN COOPER | Height: | 6:03 | Weight: | 235 | College: | None | |||||
| Charles Theodore Cooper | Born: Aug 30, 1907 | Died: Dec 18, 1980 | Hometown: | Philadelphia, Pa. | |||||||
| REGULAR SEASON RECORD | |||||||||||
| Year | Team | League | GA | FGM | FTM | FTA | PCT. | AST | PTS | AVG | |
| 1925-26 | Philadelphia Panthers | Indep | |||||||||
| 1926-27 | Philadelphia Panthers | Indep | |||||||||
| 1926-27 | Philadelphia Giants | Indep | |||||||||
| 1926-27 | Philadelphia Scholastics | Indep | |||||||||
| 1927-28 | Philadelphia Panthers | Indep | |||||||||
| 1928-29 | New York Rens | Indep | |||||||||
| 1929-30 | New York Rens | Indep | |||||||||
| 1930-31 | New York Rens | Indep | |||||||||
| 1931-32 | New York Rens | Indep | |||||||||
| 1932-33 | New York Rens | Indep | |||||||||
| 1933-34 | New York Rens | Indep | |||||||||
| 1934-35 | New York Rens | Indep | |||||||||
| 1935-36 | New York Rens | Indep | |||||||||
| 1936-37 | New York Rens | Indep | |||||||||
| 1937-38 | New York Rens | Indep | |||||||||
| 1938-39 | New York Rens | Indep | |||||||||
| 1939-40 | New York Rens | Indep | |||||||||
| 1940-41 | New York Rens | Indep | |||||||||
| 1940-41 | Washington Bears | Indep | 17 | 55 | 42 | 152 | 8.9 | ||||
| 1941-42 | Washington Bears | Indep | 25 | 94 | 24 | 212 | 8.5 | ||||
| 1941-42 | Philadelphia Toppers | Indep | |||||||||
| 1942-43 | Washington Bears | Indep | |||||||||
| 1943-44 | Washington Bears | Indep | 25 | 32 | 8 | 72 | 2.9 | ||||
| 1944-45 | Washington Bears | Indep | 18 | 49 | 14 | 112 | 6.2 | ||||
| 1945-46 | Washington Bears | Indep | 27 | 48 | 23 | 119 | 4.4 | ||||
| PLAYOFF RECORD | |||||||||||
| Year | Team | League | GA | FGM | FTM | FTA | PCT. | AST | PTS | AVG | |
| 1938-39 | New York Rens | WBT | 3 | 8 | 5 | 8 | .625 | 21 | 7.0 | ||
| 1939-40 | New York Rens | WBT | 2 | 4 | 0 | 2 | .000 | 8 | 4.0 | ||
| 1940-41 | New York Rens | WBT | 4 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 1.000 | 13 | 3.3 | ||
| 1941-42 | Long Island Grumman Flyers | WBT | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | .750 | 11 | 2.8 | ||
| 1942-43 | Washington Bears | WBT | 3 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 1.000 | 2 | 0.7 | ||
| Major League Totals | 16 | 22 | 11 | 17 | .647 | 55 | 3.4 | ||||