A native of Atherton, Missouri, Cooper was a solid defensive catcher as well as a strong hitter, making the National League All-Star team every year from 1942 to 1950.

[2] After Leo Durocher became Giants manager in 1948, he began revamping the team to emphasize speed, and Cooper was traded to the Cincinnati Reds on June 13, 1949 for fellow catcher Ray Mueller after starting the year hitting .211.

[1] Cooper holds the distinction of being the last man to come to bat at Boston's Braves Field, flying out to Brooklyn's Andy Pafko.

He also batted .300 over three World Series with the St. Louis Cardinals from 1942 to 1944 as the team won two championships,[15] and ranked tenth in National League history in both games (1,223) and putouts (5,166) behind the plate when he retired.

His elder brother, Mort Cooper, was a National League pitcher and his teammate for the first few years of his career, while his son-in-law, Don Blasingame, also was a major leaguer.

After his playing career, he managed the Indianapolis Indians (1958–59) and Dallas-Fort Worth Rangers (1961) of the Triple-A American Association and was a coach for the 1960 Kansas City Athletics, before leaving the game.