Cope played third baseman on the Sewanee baseball team.
Coaching career
Cope worked for a short time as a business man in Cartersville before returning to Sewanee to coach in 1909. For many years, he returned to Cartersville during the off-seasons to manage the Cartersville Colts semi-professional men’s baseball team.[3]
Sewanee
Cope has the third-most wins of any Sewanee coach (43), behind Shirley Majors' 93 and John Windham's 45; and has the highest winning percentage of any Sewanee coach who coached for more than 3 seasons. His continuity came after a period in which Sewanee had much talent but six coaches in seven years.[4]
1909
In Cope's first year at head coach he led the Sewanee Tigers to a Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association (SIAA) championship in 1909, beating previous season's champion LSU and handing Vanderbilt its first loss to a Southern team in six years.
Howard
Former Sewanee player Bob Taylor Dobbins assisted Cope at Howard.
Cope was also a very astute golfer, playing in club tournaments during his off-seasons.
Death
Cope died of pneumonia in Birmingham, Alabama, on September 24, 1924, just before the start of Howard's football season.[5]
Legacy
Cope's disciples include:
Bob Taylor Dobbins, played for Sewanee (1913–1915), assistant for Howard (1922–1923)