The New York Giants badly needed a catcher to replace old Ernie ("Schnozz") Lombardi. Like every other player-hungry boss, the Giants' Horace Stoneham knew where to go: St. Louis, where the Cardinals sat firmly on a large assortment of surplus talent, home from the war, with more coming. Last week Stoneham peeled off $175,000, the fourth largest sum ever paid for a single player, for Catcher Walker Cooper.
The big auction was on. Cooper, who had staged a salary rebellion with Brother Mort before joining the Navy last spring, got No. 1 priority on...
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