Born in 1913 in Mountain View, Arkansas, he played professional baseball in the St. Louis Cardinals organization from 1933 to 1936.

[1] During the 1933 season, he appeared in 41 games for the Springfield (MO) Cardinals and compiled a 17–12 record.

[1] In April 1934, Springfield sold Copeland to the Houston club in the Texas League.

[3] He injured his arm in spring training camp,[4] and appeared in only one game with the Cardinals on April 27, 1935, giving up two hits and allowing one earned run.

1 recruit," and his failure to deliver due to arm trouble was cited by Rickey as the No.