DES MOINES, Iowa — Baseball lovers gathered to honor Eric Cooper, a major league baseball umpire from Des Moines, and support the organizations Cooper worked with throughout his career.

Eric Cooper grew up in Des Moines and attended the Joe Brinkman Umpire School before spending several years in the minor leagues. Cooper eventually became an MLB umpire in 1999 and was behind the plate for three no-hitters, including Mark Buehrle’s two, and the final game of Cal Ripken Jr. He also umpired the 2005 All-Star Game and the 2014 World Series. Cooper died in 2019 due to complications from a surgery.

The Eric Cooper Memorial Bowling Tournament was held at Gameday Lanes in Des Moines by the Iowa Cubs. Sam Bernabe is the president of the Iowa Cubs and was a longtime friend of Cooper. He says the memorial helps honor Eric and the great person he was.

“Eric was a good friend, a close friend who died way to soon and it’s a nice way to provide a legacy for him,” said Bernabe. “A nice way to provide an opportunity for people to spend a few minutes remembering the person and the umpire.”

Though the event honors Cooper and all the good he did it also highlights amazing programs like Umps Care, which he was a lifelong supporter of.

Umps Care was founded in 2006 as a way to provide financial and emotional support to America’s youth and families. The organization provides VIP experiences in youth-based organizations and military families, visits pediatric hospitals, and presents scholarships. So far over $350,000 has been awarded in scholarships and over 10,355 youth have met umpires at games.

Jim Reynolds is the vice president of Umps Care and worked in the major leagues for 24 years. Reynolds and Cooper were close friends, and he thinks Cooper would be so proud of his community supporting the program.

“Eric was a big supporter of Umps Care when he was alive, he would come out and do the hospital visits and those other things,” said Reynolds. “This would be right up his wheelhouse, he would have loved to work with the kids, Eric was a big kid himself, and I think he would’ve loved this program, he was a big community guy. He loved Des Moines, and I think he would be all in.”

Umps Cares also supports a youth program that brings umpiring and baseball to kids and helps them become positive community members. Kids work on the field for an hour and off the field for an hour, some even have the chance to umpire a game. Last year was the first year the event was brought to Des Moines, and over 38 kids from ages 13 to 18 took part in the program.

“24 of them were able to actually work games. It was pretty cool, those 24 kids worked about 1,100 games this season,” said J.P. Richardson who works with Central Iowa Sports and IAUSO and is a guest instructor for Umps Care. “They made some good money and it’s a great program for the youth.”

Adrian Simmons, who partakes in the program, says the memorial brings him closer to a legend and to the sport. The organization has given him a chance to learn more about umpiring and about being a positive force in the community. Simmons says it’s cool to know that someone who was so well respected and worked in the major leagues was from Iowa.

“It’s amazing what the people of Des Moines have done for this tournament in Eric’s honor, in the Cooper family’s honor,” said Jim Reynolds. “They come out every year, it’s amazing how this thing has grown. The impact that it’s having on the community is one of the things I wish we could take to a lot of other communities. This community has gotten behind what we are trying to do here, and they are all in, it’s great to see.”