Harden Cooper was an American football

American football

American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...

 coach

Coach (sport)

In sports, a coach is an individual involved in the direction, instruction and training of the operations of a sports team or of individual sportspeople.-Staff:...

 and player who served as an assistant for several college programs, and was the head coach of Brazosport High School

Brazosport High School

Brazosport High School is a secondary school located at the intersection of Brazosport Boulevard and West 2nd Street in Freeport, Texas. It handles grades nine through twelve and is part of the Brazosport Independent School District....

 in Freeport, Texas

Freeport, Texas

Freeport is a city in Brazoria County, Texas within the Houston–Sugar Land–Baytown metropolitan area and is situated in Southeast Texas. As of the 2000 U.S...

 where he led the team to the 1965 state AAAA semifinals. In high school, Cooper played for Mineola High School

Mineola High School (Texas)

Mineola High School is school located in Mineola, Texas. The school is a part of the Mineola Independent School District. The school includes grades 9 through 12, serving most of the city of Mineola. The school is run by Principal Ricky Stephens...

, and then played for Kilgore College

Kilgore College

Kilgore College is a community college located in Kilgore, Texas. It has an annual enrollment of more than 5000 students.The school was established in 1935 at the height of the East Texas oil boom...

. He later transferred to Tulsa

Tulsa Golden Hurricane football

The University of Tulsa's Golden Hurricane football team represents Tulsa in Conference USA. Tulsa is currently coached by first-year head coach Bill Blankenship. The football team was coached by Todd Graham until he accepted the head coaching job at Pittsburgh....

, and was drafted by the Chicago Cardinals

Arizona Cardinals

The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in Glendale, Arizona, a suburb of Phoenix. They are currently members of the Western Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...

 in the thirteenth round of the 1947 NFL Draft

1947 NFL Draft

The 1947 National Football League Draft was held on December 16, 1946.The National Football League in this draft made the first overall pick a bonus pick determined by lottery. The Chicago Bears won the first lottery...

. Instead of a professional playing career, he opted to become a coach. He later served as lines coach for Houston

Houston Cougars football

The Houston Cougars football program is an NCAA Division I FBS football team that represents the University of Houston. The team is commonly referred to as "Houston" or "UH" . The UH football program is currently a member of the Conference USA intercollegiate athletic conference, and is coached by...

 and defensive line coach for Baylor

Baylor Bears football

The Baylor Bears football team represents Baylor University in Division I FBS college football. They are a member of the Big 12 Conference. The team plays its home games at Floyd Casey Stadium in Waco, Texas.-History:...

before finishing his coaching career as a high school head coach. He died in 1990.