A Career Captured on a Mitt: A Gift for Coop
Glove Art Commissioned as a Surprise Present for Cecil Cooper
Last year a Painted Glove featuring Cecil Cooper was created for the Milwaukee Brewers Fantasy Camp as a fundraising item, which turned out to be a hit.
That baseball glove art prompted camp friends and former Brewers teammates of Coop's to commission a new painting celebrating his impressive baseball career -- this time as a surprise gift for him.
This gift was given to Cecil Cooper at Milwaukee Brewers Fantasy Camp earlier this month (Feb. 2016) in Arizona.
The glove features depictions of Coop's time on two American League Championship Teams: playing first base with the Boston Red Sox (1971-1976) and up to bat the Brewers (1977-1987).
Centered on the large mitt is the main portrait of him as a Brewer.
Since Coop is a lefty, I chose an appropriate 80's era Rawlings first base mitt, just like the one he told me he used during his career.
All the big stats and honors from Cecil Cooper's career are noted, including his Gold Gloves, All-Star games, Silver Sluggers and RBI Leader years.
Also, researching his 2192 career hits, I found that Coop ranked 112th on the All-Time Hits list at the time of his retirement.
Cecil expressed excitement about the gift from his friends and says it will be displayed proudly at home between his Gold Glove Award and Roberto Clemente Award.
As the artist, it doesn't get much better than knowing that a creation is meaningful to the recipient.
What a thrill to be a part of this gift and to have the opportunity to celebrate Coop's career as a player. Big thanks to David, Bill and Jerry for entrusting me with this commission for their friend.
Sean Kane's baseball glove art is in the collection of the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum along with private and corporate collections across the country.
Inquires about paintings and commissioning glove artworks are welcome. Please contact sean@seankane.com or telephone 519-836-5647.