‘Just one day’: Former Atlanta Braves pitcher must be signed for one day to get pension

Gary Cooper, a Garden City native, claims he is only one day away from becoming eligible for a pension after playing for the Atlanta Braves in 1980.

Now he’s pleading with his previous team to re-sign him so he may be eligible for a pension he’s been pursuing for over 40 years.

“Just that day would be amazing. “It’d be like being drafted again,” Gary Cooper explained.

For Garden City native Gary Cooper, baseball was everything.

“That’s all we did, we played baseball even in the rain, and it’s Monday through Sunday. We eat and watch baseball. That was our thing growing up. That became my life’s love from that point on.”

Cooper spent several seasons in the minor levels, playing for the AA Savannah Braves at Grayson Stadium.

“I got the chance to play at home for three years, you know that was a beauty.”

Then he received word that the renowned Hank Aaron was calling him up to play for the Atlanta Braves.

“I responded, ‘Man, you nuts.’ He said, ‘Yeah.’ So when I arrived home, my father told me that my mother and father had known before I did.

It was the summer of 1980. The Braves faced the reigning World Series winners, the Pittsburgh Pirates.

“The strange thing is, when I got to Pittsburgh, I wound myself in the incorrect locker room. I ended up in the home team’s locker room. It was just so crazy. As best as I recall, I had been in Memphis, Tennessee, doing AA, and then in Pittsburgh. It was a dream come true.

That night, Cooper made his Major League debut.

“In the bottom of the ninth inning, one of the quickest players in the major leagues came up to bat. They were down two runs, he hit a fly ball, I was in left field, and it bounced over my head, so I had to make a 360 spin, and when I did, I got the ball and threw it to second base, then I threw him out to end the game.”

The Braves’ season ended 42 days and 21 games later, and Cooper was sent back to the minors, unaware that he was only one service day away from qualifying for a pension.

“When they called me up, I did what I was supposed to do and right now today, I can’t understand why I was sent back down.”

To be eligible for a pension from Major League Baseball and the MLB Players Association, players must have spent at least 43 days on an active roster.

Dave Mesrey spent over a year researching Cooper, interviewing baseball historians and industry specialists. According to Mesrey, the pension criteria changed the same year Cooper joined the MLB.

“They changed the minimum from four years to 43 days, so when Gary cooper and anyone who made their debut in major league baseball in 1980 and there after all they needed was 43 days to qualify for the minimum pension, I’m not an expert on pensions but even if coop were to get the third day that would only qualify him for the minimum pension,” Dave Mesrey, a baseball analyst, explained.

Cooper appealed to the MLB and the Players Association twice, but was refused a pension. Now, he hopes to get signed by the Atlanta Braves for one day in order to achieve the qualification.

“Because it has happened.” Mr. Aaron did it back in the day, and the men, including Satchel Paige, never got to play, and the rest is history. You know, why can’t he do the same for me?” Cooper asked.

“It simply makes sense. I’m reminded that the Atlanta Braves signed pitching legend Satchel Paige to a contract to help him reach his pension. It’s only $500 or $600 per month, but for someone in their late 60s, that makes a big difference, and we’re hoping the Braves do the right thing,” said Savannah Mayor Van Johnson.

“Only one day. For the two and a half hours that the game lasts, forget about those 44 years for that day,” Cooper explained.

Thousands of signatures. Not only does the City of Savannah support him, but over 5,000 people and counting have signed a petition.org petition requesting the Braves to sign Cooper again, if only for one day.