SAVANNAH, Ga. (WTOC/Gray News) – A former Atlanta Braves player is calling on the team to sign him again – for just one day – so he can qualify for a pension he’s been trying to get for more than 40 years.
For 67-year-old Garden City native Gary Cooper, baseball was everything. He spent several seasons playing in the minor leagues with the AA Savannah Braves, WTOC reports.
“That’s all we did, played baseball… That was our thing growing up. From then on, that was the love of my life,” Cooper said. “I got the chance to play at home for three years. That was a beauty.”
Then, in the summer of 1980, he got word the legendary Hank Aaron was calling him up to play for the Atlanta Braves.
“I said, ‘Man, you crazy.’ He said, ‘Yeah.’ So when I got home, my father told me. My mother and father already knew before I did,” Cooper said. “It was a dream come true.”
The Braves were playing the Pittsburgh Pirates, the reigning World Series champions, when Cooper made his major league debut.
“The bottom of the 9th, one of the fastest guys in the major league came up to bat. They were down by two runs. He hit a fly ball. I was playing left field, and I came in. It bounced over my head, so I had to make a 360 [degree] turn. When I did, I grabbed the ball and threw it to second base, and I threw him out to end the game,” Cooper said.
The season ended for the Braves 42 days and 21 games later, and Cooper was eventually sent back to the minors, not knowing he was just one service day short of qualifying for a pension. In order to be eligible for a pension from Major League Baseball and MLB Players Association, players must have 43 days on an active roster.