He was born in Des Moines, Iowa, but moved to Manson early. He began playing at a young age in a billiards parlor owned by his father in Manson, and by the age of 17 was among the best players in the world.^[1]

He won his first world title in 1927 in 18.2 balkline. The popularity of balkline faded in the late 1920s and early 1930s, causing Cochran to switch to three-cushion, in which he won his first world title in 1933. In 1945, Cochran set a new world record (now surpassed) by achieving a game average of 3 (60 points in 20 innings) in a match he won against Willie Hoppe. He retired from serious competition in 1946 due to arthritis, but did make a comeback attempt in 1954.^[2]

He died on July 26, 1960, in Belmont, California.

Cochran was inducted posthumously into the Billiard Congress of America's Hall of Fame in 1967.^[3]

• World 18.2 Balkline Championship (1927, 1934)
• World Three-Cushion Championship (1933, 1935-1936, 1944-1945)

• Photo of Announcement Board 15. April 1945 at Bensinger's Billiard Academy in Chicago.
• Photo of Welker Cochran at the game
• Brunswick Balke Collender Co. Poster, 1934. Featuring Welker Cochran.

• Robert Byrne, Byrne's Wonderful World of Pool and Billiards: A Cornucopia of Instruction, Strategy, Anecdote, and Colorful Characters, 1996