lit a candle 11h agoNever followed the White Sox closely, but Cooper's work with that 2005 pitching staff got written up everywhere at the time and it held up. Four starters going deep into games like that doesn't happen by accident. Credit where it's due.
Their story
Donald James Cooper, the longtime Chicago White Sox pitching coach who helped deliver the 2005 World Series title, died on 22 September 2026 at his home in Brentwood, Tennessee. He was 70. His family announced the death on social media, writing that he had left Earth to be with his…
Donald James Cooper, the longtime Chicago White Sox pitching coach who helped deliver the 2005 World Series title, died on 22 September 2026 at his home in Brentwood, Tennessee. He was 70. His family announced the death on social media, writing that he had left Earth to be with his Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, and that they believed he had passed peacefully. The White Sox confirmed the news and sent condolences to his family, friends and fans.
Born on 15 January 1956 in New York City, Cooper attended Monsignor McClancy Memorial High School in Queens, where he helped the Crusaders to three straight City Championship appearances and earned All-City honors as a senior in 1974. He played baseball and basketball on scholarship at the New York Institute of Technology, was East Coast Athletic Conference Player of the Year in 1978, and later entered both schools' athletic halls of fame. The New York Yankees drafted him in the 17th round in 1978. After the 1980 season the Minnesota Twins selected him in the Rule 5 draft. He reached the majors with Minnesota in 1981, later pitched for the Toronto Blue Jays and returned to the Yankees, finishing with a 1-6 record and 5.27 ERA in 44 major-league games.
His lasting mark came as a teacher. Hired by the White Sox in 1988 as pitching coach for Class-A South Bend, he climbed through Sarasota, Birmingham and Nashville and served as minor-league pitching coordinator before becoming the major-league pitching coach on 22 July 2002. He held that post for 18 seasons under Jerry Manuel, Ozzie Guillen, Robin Ventura and Rick Renteria. In 2005 his staff posted a 3.61 ERA and, in the American League Championship Series, threw four consecutive complete games, a feat no team had matched since the 1928 Yankees. Under his watch Mark Buehrle and Philip Humber pitched perfect games and Lucas Giolito threw a no-hitter. Eleven White Sox pitchers became All-Stars during his tenure. He briefly managed the club for the final two games of 2011 after Guillen's departure.
On 12 October 2020 the White Sox parted ways with Cooper and Renteria after an early playoff exit. At his departure he was the last remaining member of the 2005 championship staff still with the organization. Colleagues remembered a coach who learned Spanish to work with Cuban pitchers, who credited mentor Sammy Ellis, and who told the Chicago Sun-Times that he loved helping young people achieve the dreams they were dreaming about. He is survived by his wife, Ruby. Funeral arrangements were to be announced by the family.
Biography adapted from Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Don_Cooper ; SABR BioProject (Phil Angelo) https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/don-cooper/ ; Sox On 35th (23 Sep 2026) https://www.soxon35th.com/former-white-sox-pi.
In their own words
“I love being part of young people's lives helping them achieve the dreams they're dreaming about. That's what I'm into.”
“My career wouldn't have been the same without Don Cooper. Coop was one of a kind and taught me so much about pitchers, pitching, and their mindset.”
“When I started (as pitching coach) my goal was to help the team win a world championship. That was always my goal.”
Photos
3by People Forever
Chicago White Sox pitching coach Don Cooper at Camden Yards, Baltimore, 9 August 2011
by People Forever
Don Cooper as a pitcher with the 1980 Nashville Sounds
by People Forever
That staff was something else, Buehrle, Garland, Contreras, Garcia. Cooper got the best out of all of them.