By: Natiece Ford
In the early 1960s, Ralph Cooper and a group of friends decided to try their hand at football. Before tryouts could truly begin, the Worthing Junior High School football coach pulled the group aside and asked, “What do you all see out there?” The group replied, “A lot of guys trying out for the football team.” The coach responded, “No, a lot of great guys are trying out for the football team.”
This marked the beginning of Ralph Cooper’s journey in sports writing, as he eventually became the historian for the team. However, this was not the first time he heard he would excel in the industry. As a young boy in Jewett, Texas, a rural area, he spent time with his grandmother, who often listened to the farm report. On one occasion, while they listened together, Cooper’s grandmother told him, “You can do that.” Although he did not heed her words at the time, the seed was planted for what would make Ralph Cooper a living legend.
On April 9, 1968, Cooper at- tended the funeral of Dr. Mar- tin Luther King Jr. with his uncle, Rev. Benny Wilson. At that time, there was only one airport in Houston, and due to the nature of the event, all flights to Atlanta were booked. Unable to find anyone to ride with him, Cooper, despite his mother’s hesitation, decided to travel east through formidable southern territory with his un- cle. At 19, he was juggling two full-time jobs while attending school. During the funeral procession, he met four sisters whose father was a professor at Morehouse College. After learning that Cooper was not involved in the NAACP or SNCC, the eldest sister told him, “You aren’t doing nothing,” implying that his lack of involvement in civil rights organizations meant he was not in the fight. Her comment stuck with him.
Back in Houston, while reading the Forward Times newspaper, Cooper noticed a small article advertising the paper’s need for writers. After three rounds of tough inter- views, he was hired in 1969— not for sports, but to cover the municipal courts, which he described as life-changing. When asked why it was life- changing, he recounted a particular story. Although he frequently interviewed rapists and murderers, this story was different. One Sunday, Cooper received a call from a Houston police detective asking if he would like to interview a group of men accused of rap- ing women in the area. The conditions of the interview were unusual: Cooper was locked inside the holding cell alongside the suspects, tasked with interviewing them one by one. The men, aged 16 to 22, were described as nice- looking, and one even had a family with kids. All of them admitted to committing the crime, and the story became a front-page feature for the For- ward Times. Unbeknownst to him, Cooper’s tapes were subpoenaed, resulting in sentences ranging from 10 to 20 years for the men.
Eventually, Cooper was given the opportunity to write the stories he wanted—those about sports. At the time, few were interested in covering the Astros and their Black players or middle schools. When asked about the chal- lenges he faced as a reporter, Cooper noted that the news industry was dominated by white males, with the few women in journalism also being white. He experienced trouble obtaining press passes and was even referred to as the janitor in the press box, reflecting the racism prevalent in the media during the late 1960s and early 1970s.
Cooper traveled the world covering Muhammad Ali in Houston and George Foreman for their fight in Africa. He wrote for
the Forward Times, The Informer, The Houston De- fender, The Voice of Hope, and Muhammad Speaks, with articles and photos appearing in Ebony and Jet magazines. Cooper advises young writers to be passionate about what they do and to recognize their ability to help those without a voice share their stories. From Monday to Friday, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., you can find Ralph Cooper on KCOH Radio 1230 AM, KCOH The Source Internet, Simple Radio App, and Ralph Coo- per Facebook Live. He also appears as a guest on the Devin Wade Show on Saturday mornings on 90.9 FM.
