What years did Wilbur Cooper play?

Wilbur Cooper played in Major League Baseball from 1912 to 1926.

Was Wilbur Cooper a pitcher?

Yes. Wilbur Cooper pitched in the major leagues, recording 216 wins and 1252 strikeouts.

How many home runs did Wilbur Cooper hit?

Wilbur Cooper hit 6 career home runs with 293 hits.

What teams did Wilbur Cooper play for?

Wilbur Cooper played for 3 teams: the Pittsburgh Pirates (1912–1924), the Chicago Cubs (1925–1926), and the Detroit Tigers (1926).

What were Wilbur Cooper's career stats?

In 517 games, Wilbur Cooper went 216-178 with a 2.89 ERA, 1,252 strikeouts, 3,480.0 innings pitched, and 14 saves. At the plate he had 293 hits and 6 home runs.

What position did Wilbur Cooper play?

Wilbur Cooper played primarily as a pitcher, the position where he appeared in the most games.

How tall was Wilbur Cooper and how much did he weigh?

Wilbur Cooper was listed at 5 feet 11 inches and 175 pounds.

What was Wilbur Cooper's career ERA?

Wilbur Cooper finished with a 2.89 career ERA, going 216-178 with 1,252 strikeouts.

How many strikeouts did Wilbur Cooper have?

Wilbur Cooper recorded 1,252 career strikeouts.

Is Wilbur Cooper in the Hall of Fame?

No. Wilbur Cooper has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

Wilbur Cooper

Pitcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1912-1926)

Wilbur Cooper was a pitcher who played in Major League Baseball from 1912 to 1926 for the Pittsburgh Pirates, the Chicago Cubs, and the Detroit Tigers, a span of 15 seasons. Across 517 career appearances, he went 216-178 with a 2.89 ERA and 1,252 strikeouts. He also batted .239 with 6 home runs. His career Pitcher PIV — Baseball Data Hub's era-adjusted measure of pitching impact — is 19422.4.

W (Wins):: Games credited to a pitcher whose team took a lead it never surrendered while he was the pitcher of record.
ERA (Earned Run Average):: Earned runs allowed per nine innings pitched: (ER × 9) ÷ IP. The primary measure of pitching effectiveness.
SO (Strikeouts):: For a batter, times retired on a third strike; for a pitcher, batters retired on a third strike.
WHIP (Walks and Hits per Inning Pitched):: Baserunners allowed per inning: (BB + H) ÷ IP. Under 1.00 is elite.

Data updated October 15, 2026

W–L 216–178

ERA 2.89

WHIP 1.23

SO 1,252

Pitcher PIV 19422.4

Position: Pitcher
Bats / Throws: R / L
Height / Weight: 5'11" / 175 lb
Born: 2/24/1892 in Bearsville, WV, USA
Died: 8/7/1973 in Encino, CA, USA
MLB Debut: 1912-08-29
Last Game: 1926-07-21

Full name: Arley Wilbur Cooper

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Career Pitching Statistics

Wilbur Cooper — Career Pitching Statistics
W	L	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	IP	H	ER	HR	BB	SO	ERA	Pitcher PIV
216	178	517	408	279	35	14	3480.0	3,415	1,119	103	853	1,252	2.89	19422.4

Career ERA 2.89 vs. league average 3.51 across their career seasons — 17.5% better than league average.

Season-by-Season Pitching

Pitching Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Wilbur Cooper Stats, Bio & Career Records
Year	Team	Lg	W	L	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	ERA	Lg ERA	Pitcher PIV
1912	PIT	NL	3	0	6	4	3	2	0	38.0	32	7	15	30	1.66	3.36 (+51%)	524.4
1913	PIT	NL	5	3	30	9	3	1	0	93.0	98	34	45	39	3.29	3.07 (-7%)	-469.3
1914	PIT	NL	16	15	40	34	19	0	0	266.2	246	63	79	102	2.13	2.93 (+27%)	646.7
1915	PIT	NL	5	16	38	21	11	1	4	185.2	180	68	52	71	3.30	2.90 (-14%)	-100.5
1916	PIT	NL	12	11	42	23	16	2	2	246.0	189	51	74	111	1.87	2.78 (+33%)	945.2
1917	PIT	NL	17	11	40	34	23	7	1	297.2	276	78	54	99	2.36	2.69 (+12%)	2508.3
1918	PIT	NL	19	14	38	29	26	2	3	273.1	219	64	65	117	2.11	2.83 (+25%)	3448.9
1919	PIT	NL	19	13	35	32	27	4	1	286.2	229	85	74	106	2.67	3.09 (+14%)	-473.0
1920	PIT	NL	24	15	44	37	28	3	2	327.0	307	87	52	114	2.39	3.45 (+31%)	5357.9
1921	PIT	NL	22	14	38	38	29	2	0	327.0	341	118	80	134	3.25	4.02 (+19%)	4293.2
1922	PIT	NL	23	14	41	37	27	4	0	294.2	330	104	61	129	3.18	4.18 (+24%)	4655.8
1923	PIT	NL	17	19	39	38	26	1	0	294.2	331	117	71	77	3.57	4.03 (+11%)	1578.1
1924	PIT	NL	20	14	38	35	25	4	1	268.2	296	98	40	62	3.28	4.13 (+20%)	1784.1
1925	CHN	NL	12	14	32	26	13	0	0	212.1	249	101	61	41	4.28	4.55 (+6%)	-3633.5
1926	CHN	NL	2	1	8	8	3	2	0	55.0	65	27	21	18	4.42	4.11 (-8%)	-1198.2
1926	DET	AL	0	4	8	3	0	0	0	13.2	27	17	9	2	11.20	4.11 (-173%)	-445.5
Career · 16 seasons			216	178	517	408	279	35	14	3,480.0	3,415	1,119	853	1,252	2.89	—	19,422

Lg columns show the league average for that season, with the player's figure as a percentage above or below it. Career totals the seasons listed above.

Career Batting Statistics

Wilbur Cooper — Career Batting Statistics
G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	BB	SO	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS	PIV
521	1,227	111	293	34	17	6	106	12	47	140	.239	.269	.309	.578	-3,128

Career AVG .239 vs. league average .269 across their career seasons — 11.4% below league average.

Career OBP .269 vs. league average .333 across their career seasons — 19.1% below league average.

Career SLG .309 vs. league average .364 across their career seasons — 15.2% below league average.

Career OPS .578 vs. league average .697 across their career seasons — 17.1% below league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Wilbur Cooper Stats, Bio & Career Records
Year	Team	Lg	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	BB	SO	AVG	Lg AVG	Lg OBP	Lg SLG	Lg OPS	PIV
1912	PIT	NL	6	13	0	2	0	0	0	1	0	1	2	.154	—	—	—	—	0.0
1913	PIT	NL	30	26	2	2	0	0	0	1	0	3	9	.077	—	—	—	—	0.0
1914	PIT	NL	40	92	5	19	1	1	0	16	0	2	17	.207	.255 (-19%)	.322 (-31%)	.339 (-29%)	.661 (-30%)	-426.5
1915	PIT	NL	38	60	1	7	1	0	0	3	0	1	5	.117	.250 (-53%)	.318 (-59%)	.332 (-60%)	.651 (-59%)	-524.6
1916	PIT	NL	44	79	4	17	2	0	0	4	0	0	20	.215	.248 (-13%)	.314 (-31%)	.326 (-26%)	.640 (-29%)	-344.5
1917	PIT	NL	41	103	8	21	5	1	0	5	0	6	20	.204	.248 (-18%)	.312 (-21%)	.323 (-16%)	.635 (-18%)	-290.5
1918	PIT	NL	38	95	8	23	2	2	0	5	2	3	6	.242	.255 (-5%)	.318 (-17%)	.326 (-6%)	.645 (-12%)	-191.1
1919	PIT	NL	36	101	9	29	2	2	0	7	5	4	9	.287	.262 (+10%)	.322 (-1%)	.347 (avg)	.670 (avg)	-20.8
1920	PIT	NL	44	113	11	25	1	3	0	2	0	5	19	.221	.271 (-19%)	.331 (-23%)	.363 (-22%)	.694 (-23%)	-418.3
1921	PIT	NL	38	122	11	31	5	2	0	9	0	3	7	.254	.286 (-11%)	.344 (-18%)	.395 (-17%)	.739 (-17%)	-362.8
1922	PIT	NL	41	108	18	29	5	1	4	15	0	6	6	.269	.285 (-6%)	.345 (-11%)	.397 (+12%)	.743 (+1%)	-12.5
1923	PIT	NL	39	107	9	28	3	1	0	10	2	5	8	.262	.282 (-8%)	.344 (-14%)	.390 (-21%)	.734 (-18%)	-317.1
1924	PIT	NL	38	104	11	36	5	2	0	15	2	5	8	.346	.283 (+22%)	.345 (+9%)	.389 (+11%)	.734 (+10%)	164.2
1925	CHN	NL	32	82	12	17	2	1	2	10	0	1	4	.207	.288 (-28%)	.349 (-35%)	.407 (-19%)	.756 (-27%)	-384.1
1926	CHN	NL	8	18	2	7	0	1	0	2	1	2	0	.389	—	—	—	—	0.0
1926	DET	AL	8	4	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
Career · 16 seasons			521	1,227	111	293	34	17	6	106	12	47	140	.239	—	—	—	—	-3,128

Lg columns show the league average for that season, with the player's figure as a percentage above or below it. Career totals the seasons listed above.

Game Log & Splits

View full game log (1038 games) →

Per-game data from Retrosheet (regular season, through 2025).

Batting — Home / Away

Wilbur Cooper — Batting — Home / Away
Split	G	AB	R	H	HR	RBI	AVG
Home	275	586	63	145	2	43	.247
Away	246	642	48	147	4	60	.229

Pitching — Home / Away

Wilbur Cooper — Pitching — Home / Away
Split	G	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	ERA
Home	273	1799.1	1742	554	407	648	2.77
Away	244	1678.2	1673	574	444	618	3.08

Last 10 Games — Batting

Wilbur Cooper — Last 10 Games — Batting
Date	Tm	Opp	Res	AB	H	RBI	BB
1926-07-21	DET	MIN	L	0	0	0	0
1926-07-21	DET	MIN	W	0	0	0	0
1926-07-16	DET	NYY	L	0	0	0	0
1926-07-03	DET	CLE	L	1	0	0	0
1926-06-28	DET	CLE	L	1	0	1	0
1926-06-20	DET	PHA	W	0	0	0	0
1926-06-15	DET	BOS	W	0	0	0	0
1926-06-11	DET	NYY	L	2	0	0	0
1926-05-30	CHC	STL	L	3	1	0	0
1926-05-23	CHC	BSN	W	1	0	0	1

Last 10 Games — Pitching

Wilbur Cooper — Last 10 Games — Pitching
Date	Tm	Opp	Dec	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR
1926-07-21	DET	MIN	—	1.0	0	0	0	1	0	0
1926-07-21	DET	MIN	—	0.2	1	0	0	0	0	0
1926-07-16	DET	NYY	L	0.1	2	2	2	0	0	0
1926-07-03	DET	CLE	L	2.1	7	5	4	1	0	0
1926-06-28	DET	CLE	L	5.1	6	5	5	3	1	0
1926-06-20	DET	PHA	—	0.0	1	0	0	0	0	0
1926-06-15	DET	BOS	—	0.0	0	0	0	1	0	0
1926-06-11	DET	NYY	L	4.0	10	6	6	3	1	0
1926-05-30	CHC	STL	L	9.0	12	5	5	2	3	1
1926-05-23	CHC	BSN	—	5.0	10	6	5	1	3	0

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Wilbur Cooper — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position	G	GS	PO	A	E	DP
OF	2	0	0	0	1	0
P	517	0	102	785	41	27

Season-by-Season Fielding

Wilbur Cooper — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year	Team	Pos	G	PO	A	E	DP
1912	PIT	P	6	0	8	0	0
1913	PIT	P	30	0	18	2	1
1914	PIT	P	40	12	72	8	2
1915	PIT	P	38	6	58	6	0
1916	PIT	OF	1	0	0	0	0
1916	PIT	P	42	15	58	5	2
1917	PIT	OF	1	0	0	1	0
1917	PIT	P	40	11	71	3	4
1918	PIT	P	38	4	68	0	0
1919	PIT	P	35	4	63	5	0
1920	PIT	P	44	11	75	1	2
1921	PIT	P	38	10	68	3	4
1922	PIT	P	41	7	55	0	5
1923	PIT	P	39	11	63	2	2
1924	PIT	P	38	6	51	4	4
1925	CHN	P	32	4	42	1	1
1926	CHN	P	8	1	11	1	0
1926	DET	P	8	0	4	0	0

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Wilbur Cooper Stats, Bio & Career Records
Position	Games
Pitcher	517
Left Field	1
Right Field	1

Awards & Honors

Wilbur Cooper — Awards & Honors
Year	Award	Notes
1924	Baseball Magazine All-Star	P3
1922	Baseball Magazine All-Star	P1
1921	Baseball Magazine All-Star	P3
1920	Baseball Magazine All-Star	P3
1917	Baseball Magazine All-Star	P2

Most Similar Players

Career comps based on counting + rate stats and primary position. Score is relative — closest peer anchors at ~98%.

Career Spans

Wilbur Cooper (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

Wilbur Cooper: the record in brief

Wilbur Cooper played a first major league game on August 29, 1912 and a last one on July 21, 1926. The team column moves through the Pittsburgh Pirates (1912 to 1924), the Chicago Cubs (1925 through 1926), and the Detroit Tigers (1926). At 5 feet, 11 inches and 175 pounds, Cooper is listed as a pitcher. The bio says Cooper batted right-handed and threw left-handed. Cooper was born on February 24, 1892, in Bearsville, WV, USA. Cooper died on August 7, 1973, in Encino, CA, USA. Cooper's full given name, per the bio, is Arley Wilbur Cooper.

Cooper pitched in 517 games, starting 408, and finished with a 216-178 record and 2.89 ERA. The totals include 1,252 strikeouts, 279 complete games, 35 shutouts, and 14 saves. The leagues Cooper pitched in allowed 3.51 earned runs per nine over those seasons, so the career ERA was 17.5% better than average. The best win total was 24, in 1920. The strikeout high was 134 in 1921.

Frequently Asked Questions about Wilbur Cooper

What years did Wilbur Cooper play?: Wilbur Cooper played in Major League Baseball from 1912 to 1926.
Was Wilbur Cooper a pitcher?: Yes. Wilbur Cooper pitched in the major leagues, recording 216 wins and 1252 strikeouts.
How many home runs did Wilbur Cooper hit?: Wilbur Cooper hit 6 career home runs with 293 hits.
What teams did Wilbur Cooper play for?: Wilbur Cooper played for 3 teams: the Pittsburgh Pirates (1912–1924), the Chicago Cubs (1925–1926), and the Detroit Tigers (1926).
What were Wilbur Cooper's career stats?: In 517 games, Wilbur Cooper went 216-178 with a 2.89 ERA, 1,252 strikeouts, 3,480.0 innings pitched, and 14 saves. At the plate he had 293 hits and 6 home runs.
What position did Wilbur Cooper play?: Wilbur Cooper played primarily as a pitcher, the position where he appeared in the most games.
How tall was Wilbur Cooper and how much did he weigh?: Wilbur Cooper was listed at 5 feet 11 inches and 175 pounds.
What was Wilbur Cooper's career ERA?: Wilbur Cooper finished with a 2.89 career ERA, going 216-178 with 1,252 strikeouts.
How many strikeouts did Wilbur Cooper have?: Wilbur Cooper recorded 1,252 career strikeouts.
Is Wilbur Cooper in the Hall of Fame?: No. Wilbur Cooper has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.