Samuel Miller Cooper Papers

Collection

Identifier: RG 30-398

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

This small collection relates to Samuel M. Cooper’s time as a student and alum at Oberlin College, his first position as a teacher and coach at Bellevue High School in the 1940s, and his involvement in the John W. Heisman Club in the 1980s. The club’s membership is composed of Oberlin College athletic letter winners, and anyone interested in the well being of the Oberlin College athletic program. Included is a photograph of the 1935 Oberlin football team; Cooper earned an athletic letter for his performance as the team captain. The collection does not document Cooper’s career in the Navy, or as a faculty member at Bowling Green University. The file that will most likely interest researchers is the file on the Heisman Club, which includes his presentation speech of a prospective club member.

Dates

Creation: 1935-1991, undated
Other: Date acquired: 2004 July 2

Creator

Cooper, Samuel Miller (Person)

Conditions Governing Access

Unrestricted.

Biographical or Historical Information

Samuel Miller Cooper was born on January 29, 1914 in Toledo, Ohio to parents Marshal James and Mary Miller Cooper. He graduated from Bellevue High School in 1932 and from Oberlin College in 1936. While at Oberlin, Cooper served as football captain and class president, and was a member of the International Sports Students’ Congress that went to the Berlin Olympics of 1936. After receiving a master’s degree from New York University in 1937, he taught and coached at public schools in Bellevue and Sandusky, Ohio.

In 1939, Cooper married Louise C. Stapf, another Oberlin graduate from the Class of 1936. Their only child, Emily Louise Cooper Welty, was born October 14, 1941. During World War II, Cooper was a lieutenant in the US Navy. In 1946, he later joined the faculty at Bowling Green State University where he would remain until his retirement in 1978. “Sam” acted as a successful swim coach from 1946 until 1963, and became the Health and Physical Education Department’s chairman in 1949. In 1955, he earned a doctorate of education from Western Reserve University. His dedication at Bowling Green inspired the University to name their aquatic center after him. Cooper also helped to initiate construction of a skating arena on campus, started intercollegiate soccer, lacrosse, and hockey programs, and coached cross-country and track.

Outside of coaching, Cooper was an active athlete himself. Most notably, he began a skating club at the university through which he met and skated with Olympic gold-medalist skater Scott Hamilton. Even after retirement, Cooper continued to be an active member in his community and lead various organizations. His wife Louise died in 1987; later Cooper married Marilyn Frobose. At age 89, he died on December 12, 2003. He was survived by wife Marilyn Cooper, daughter Emily Welty, sister Evelyn Hutton, and two grandchildren, Chad Cooper Welty and Monica Welty Brown.

Source

Samuel Miller Cooper student file, RG 28 Alumni Records, Oberlin College Archives.

Note written by Emma Larson