# Bob Hooper

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{{Short description|Canadian baseball player (1922–1980)}}
{{other people|Robert Hooper}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2024}}
{{Infobox baseball biography
 | name              = Bob Hooper
 | image             = Bob Hooper.jpg
 | position          = [Pitcher](/source/Pitcher)
 | birth_date        = {{Birth date|1922|5|30}}
 | birth_place       = [Leamington, Ontario](/source/Leamington%2C_Ontario) Canada
 | death_date        = {{death date and age|1980|3|17|1922|5|30}}
 | death_place       = [New Brunswick, New Jersey](/source/New_Brunswick%2C_New_Jersey), U.S.
 | bats              = Right
 | throws            = Right
 | debutleague       = MLB
 | debutdate         = April 19
 | debutyear         = 1950
 | debutteam         = Philadelphia Athletics
 | finalleague       = MLB
 | finaldate         = May 14
|finalyear=1955
|finalteam=Cincinnati Redlegs
 | statleague        = MLB
 | stat1label        = [Win–loss record](/source/Win%E2%80%93loss_record_(pitching))
|stat1value=40–41
|stat2label=[Earned run average](/source/Earned_run_average)
|stat2value=4.80
|stat3label=[Strikeout](/source/Strikeout)s
|stat3value=196
 | teams             = 
*[Philadelphia Athletics](/source/Philadelphia_Athletics) ({{baseball year|1950}}–{{baseball year|1952}})
*[Cleveland Indians](/source/Cleveland_Indians) ({{baseball year|1953}}–{{baseball year|1954}})
*[Cincinnati Redlegs](/source/Cincinnati_Redlegs) ({{baseball year|1955}})
}}
'''Robert Nelson Hooper''' (May 30, 1922 – March 17, 1980) was a [Canadian-born](/source/Canada) [pitcher](/source/pitcher) in [Major League Baseball](/source/Major_League_Baseball) from 1950 to 1955. A native of [Leamington, Ontario](/source/Leamington%2C_Ontario), Hooper attended [Montclair State University](/source/Montclair_State_University) in [New Jersey](/source/New_Jersey) and served in the [United States Army Air Forces](/source/United_States_Army_Air_Forces) during World War II before his major-league career. As a player, he threw and batted right-handed, stood {{convert|5|ft|11|in|cm|abbr=on}} tall and weighed {{convert|195|lb|kg}}.

Although he was originally signed by the [New York Giants](/source/New_York_Giants_(NL)), Hooper came to the majors with the [1950 Philadelphia Athletics](/source/1950_Philadelphia_Athletics_season) and promptly won 15 games while losing only 10 for a last-place outfit that won only 52 games all year — Hooper thus accounting for 28.8 percent of all wins for the 1950 A's. In [1951](/source/1951_in_baseball), he won 12 of 22 decisions for a Philadelphia club that improved to 70 victories. Continuing his "against the grain" career, in [1952](/source/1952_in_baseball), with the A's putting up what would be their final over-.500 season in their [Philadelphia](/source/Philadelphia) history, Hooper won only eight games, losing 15. He was traded to the pennant-contending [Cleveland Indians](/source/Cleveland_Indians) that December 19, and became strictly a [relief pitcher](/source/relief_pitcher), appearing in 43 games in [1953](/source/1953_in_baseball) and only 17 contests in [1954](/source/1954_in_baseball). Hooper did not appear in the [1954 World Series](/source/1954_World_Series), which Cleveland lost to the Giants in a four-game sweep. In his final season, Hooper appeared briefly with the [1955](/source/1955_in_baseball) [Cincinnati Redlegs](/source/Cincinnati_Redlegs) and lost his only two decisions. He finished his career with 40 victories, 41 defeats, 25 [saves](/source/save_(baseball)) and an [earned run average](/source/earned_run_average) of 4.80. In 620<small>{{fraction|2|3}}</small> [innings pitched](/source/innings_pitched), he allowed 640 [hits](/source/hit_(baseball)) and 240 [bases on balls](/source/bases_on_balls), with 196 [strikeout](/source/strikeout)s.<ref>{{cite web |title=Bob Hooper |url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/h/hoopebo01.shtml |website=Baseball Reference |publisher=Sports Reference LLC |access-date=June 27, 2022}}</ref>

Although only posting a career .166 [batting average](/source/batting_average_(baseball)) (31-for-187) Hooper hit four [home runs](/source/home_runs). Defensively, he recorded a .970 [fielding percentage](/source/fielding_percentage) which was 14 points higher than the league average at his position.

After Hooper retired as a player, he joined the [Baltimore Orioles](/source/Baltimore_Orioles). That reunited him with [general manager](/source/general_manager_(baseball)) and [field manager](/source/manager_(baseball)) [Paul Richards](/source/Paul_Richards_(baseball)), who tutored Hooper on the 1949 [Buffalo Bisons](/source/Buffalo_Bisons) of the AAA [International League](/source/International_League), where Hooper posted a 19–3 record and proved himself ready for the major leagues. Hooper managed Oriole [farm teams](/source/farm_system) in the low minors from 1957 to 1960. He was a [scout](/source/scout_(sports)) for the [New York Mets](/source/New_York_Mets) in the early 1960s, and became a physical education teacher in the [New Brunswick, New Jersey](/source/New_Brunswick%2C_New_Jersey), public schools, retiring in 1979. Hooper died of a [heart attack](/source/myocardial_infarction) at age 57 the following year in New Brunswick.

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{Baseballstats | br=h/hoopebo01 |brm=hooper001rob}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hooper, Bob}}
Category:1922 births
Category:1980 deaths
Category:Baseball players from New Brunswick, New Jersey
Category:Baseball people from Ontario
Category:Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players
Category:Canadian emigrants to the United States
Category:Cincinnati Redlegs players
Category:Cleveland Indians players
Category:Fort Smith Giants players
Category:Indianapolis Indians players
Category:Jacksonville Tars players
Category:Jersey City Giants players
Category:Lexington Giants players
Category:Major League Baseball pitchers
Category:Major League Baseball players from Canada
Category:20th-century Canadian sportsmen
Category:Montclair State Red Hawks baseball players
Category:New York Mets scouts
Category:Oklahoma City Indians players
Category:Sportspeople from Leamington, Ontario
Category:Philadelphia Athletics players
Category:Phoenix Stars players
Category:Vancouver Mounties players
Category:Wilson Tobs players
Category:United States Army Air Forces personnel of World War II

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Bob Hooper](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_Hooper) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_Hooper?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.