Johnny Cooney from the Chronology

Aug 15, 1949 - Reports of clubhouse troubles trail the Braves all season. Owner Lou Perini prevails on manager Billy Southworth to take a leave of absence. The team will spurt briefly under Johnny Cooney but finishes under .500 in 4th place. Braves players vote Southworth only a half-share of last year's Series earnings but Happy Chandler restores the full share.

Jan 19, 1943 - The Braves release veterans Paul Waner and Johnny Cooney.

Jun 28, 1941 - Players act as umpires after Casey Stengel receives a telegram from umpire Babe Pinelli that he other the two other umps Al Barlick and Lee Ballanfant are fogbound on a nightboat from New York. Stengel picks Johnny Cooney to ump behind the plate while Manager Leo Durocher picks Freddy Fitzsimmons. There are no beefs in the first inning‚ though Boston plates one run‚ and when the regularly assigned umpires finally run on the field just before the second inning‚ the fans greet them with foghorn imitations. Boston wins‚ 3-2.

Jul 7, 1940 - The Bees sting the Dodgers twice by one run‚ dropping Brooklyn out of first place. Manuel Salvo wins the opener‚ 1-0‚ when Johnny Cooney drives home the lone run off Whit Wyatt. Coffman checks the Dodgers in the nitecap‚ 2-1. The Reds‚ 4-3 winners at Chicago‚ take over the NL lead‚ which they will not relinquish.

May 13, 1940 - In a replay of their washed-out game of April 23rd called on account of darkness‚ the Reds and the Cards neglect to inform the league office‚ and no umpires are assigned to Crosley Field. Coach Jimmy Wilson and P Lon Warneke are pressed into service as umpires before umpire Larry Goetz‚ at home in Cincinnati on a day off‚ arrives to officiate. Warneke will later become a full-time umpire‚ while Wilson will return to active duty at the end of the year and star in the WS. Johnny Mize of the St. Louis Cardinals hits 3 HRs‚ and the Reds Bill Werber has 5 hits and collects 4 consecutive doubles in a 14-inning‚ 8-8 tie with the Reds. Werber is the only one to do it in bothe leagues. Mize's is his 3rd 3-homer game‚ breaking the tie for the NL record he shared with George Kelly. After 1910‚ there will be only 5 games this century in which active players umpire: Besides today these are: 1912: Ham Hyatt (Pit-N) and Ed Phelps (Bro-N); 1935: Jocko Conlan (Chi-A); 1941: Johnny Cooney (Bos-N) and Freddie Fitzsimmons (Bro-N); and 1978: Don Leppert (coach‚ Tor-A) and Jerry Zimmerman (coach‚ Min-A). (as noted by historian Wayne McElreavy).

Sep 25, 1939 - Johnny Cooney hits his 2nd homer in two days‚ a third-inning HR off Giants pitcher Bill Lohrman. But the Giants prevail over Boston‚ 6-5. For Cooney‚ it is the 2nd and last homer in what will be a 20-year career.

Sep 24, 1939 - OF Johnny Cooney of the Boston Bees‚ playing at the Polo Grounds‚ hits his first HR after 15 years as P/OF in the majors. The dinger is a two-run shot off Randy Gumbert in game 1 of a Sunday twinbill‚ but the Giants win 5-4. Tomorrow Cooney will repeat the feat. Boston wins game 2‚ 5-3‚ behind George Barnicle's 2nd ML win in 5 days.

Apr 18, 1938 - The Cards release vet Johnny Cooney acquired last October 4 in the Leo Durocher trade. Cooney will sign tomorrow with the Bees.

Oct 4, 1937 - Cincinnati releases 38-year-old Kiki Cuyler. He will sign with Brooklyn. Shortstop Leo Durocher is traded to the Dodgers by the Cardinals for OF Johnny Cooney‚ Joe Stripp‚ Jim Bucher‚ and Roy Henshaw. Cooney‚ who started his ML career as a pitcher in the 1920s‚ led the AA in hitting in 1935 with a .371 average. Durocher will start at shortstop for the next 2 seasons in Brooklyn.

Aug 21, 1937 - In a 6-4 win over the Bees‚ Brooklyn OF Johnny Cooney ties a ML record with 4 extra-base hits: 3 doubles and a triple. Brooklyn manager Burleigh Grimes is thumbed for the 7th time this year.

Jan 26, 1931 - A remarkable story: The Boston Braves release 29-year old pitcher Johnny Cooney, a 14-game winner in 1925 but a sub-par performer over the last four seasons. Cooney insisted he could hit well enough to stay in the majors as a regular outfielder. He will spend the next four seasons in the minors before joining the Brooklyn Dodgers for 13 plate appearances in 1935. However, the following season at 35--an age at which most players of that era were retiring--Cooney wins a starting job in the Brooklyn outfield and goes on to play nine more major league seasons, six of them as a regular. He returns to the Braves in 1939 and hits .319 in 1941 to finish second in the National League batting race to Dodgers centerfielder Pete Reiser.

Sep 18, 1928 - The Braves and Cubs combine to ground into a NL-record 8 double plays between them‚ but the Cubs win the game‚ 8-2 on 17 hits. Sheriff Blake is the winner over Johnny Cooney. Cubs 2B Freddie Maguire is in the middle of 5 DPs and is 4-for-4 at bat.

May 7, 1925 - At Pittsburgh‚ the Pirates SS Glenn Wright pulls off a unassisted triple play at 2B in the 9th‚ grabbing Jim Bottomley's liner‚ stepping on the bag before Johnny Cooney can get back‚ and tagging Hornsby coming down from 1B. But the Cards still win 10-9 after scoring 6 runs in the 8th.

Apr 11, 1925 - In their first match against each other since 1907‚ the visiting Red Sox lose to the Braves‚ 4-3‚ before 12‚000. Johnny Cooney is the winner over Jack Quinn. The match in 2 days is called because of the weather.