ATLANTA -- When Bobby Cox’s wife, Pam, returned to their suburban Atlanta home for the first time after the Hall of Fame manager had a massive stroke in April 2019, she found a box of signed balls on a table and one ball on the floor that was signed “Bobby Cox #6 HOF 2014.”
The assumption is that was the ball Cox had just finished signing before he had his stroke and valiantly crawled to his neighbor’s house for assistance. This prized possession now belongs to Terry McGuirk, the chairman and CEO of Braves Holdings, LLC.
“You talk about one of my most prized possessions in the world, that's it, and it's in my trophy case,” McGuirk said.
Countless individuals from around the baseball world have been savoring the many great memories Cox created before passing away on Saturday at 84. The beloved leader enjoyed two managerial stints with the Braves (1978-81 and 1990-2010) and also rebuilt the farm system while serving as the team’s general manager from 1985-90.
Cox shared a long friendship and working relationship with McGuirk, who was former Braves owner Ted Turner’s right-hand man going back to 1972 when the media mogul was just developing the idea to beam his UHF channel (later known as WTBS) across the country via satellite dishes.
While Cox was arguably the most influential man in Braves history, Turner was one of the most influential figures in the city of Atlanta’s massive growth. Turner died on Wednesday, three days before Cox.
The two were already destined to be forever linked. Turner hired Cox to be the Braves manager in 1978 and then upon firing him after the 1981 season, when asked who would be a good candidate to hire, he said, “It would be Bobby Cox, if I hadn’t just fired him.” The two reunited when Cox returned to Atlanta after the 1985 season to become the team’s GM.
“Bobby is Braves royalty,” McGuirk said. “I got to be around him virtually for his entire time at the Atlanta Braves.”
While Cox was incredibly successful with the Draft selections, trades and player development that occurred during his time as GM, it was always known his preference was to be back in the dugout. But the loyalty he showed to his players was also shown to Chuck Tanner and Russ Nixon, the men he hired to be Atlanta’s manager.
There was always a feeling Cox would return to the bench once he reshaped the farm system. But he needed a nudge and McGuirk helped provide it at lunch one day, when he sort of facetiously said that Cox was either not a good general manager who is giving these great managers bad players, or he was the greatest GM and the managers could win with the young talent either in the Majors or on the horizon.
“He knew the answer, which was the latter,” McGuirk said. “It was a lot of cajoling and pushing that led Bobby to make that decision. That was the moment the world changed.”
The Braves won the first of 14 consecutive division titles and the first of five NL pennants within an eight-season span in 1991, Cox’s first full season back in the managerial role. His iconic career was highlighted with the 1995 World Series title.
But Cox’s legacy includes much more than the fact that he compiled the fourth-most managerial wins (2,504) and the most ejections (162) in MLB history. Cox was a leader of men. His rules were minimal, but players knew not to cross him. And as long as they got their work in at some point during the morning hours, the afternoons were often free during the first couple weeks of Spring Training.
John Smoltz didn’t think he’d be able to accept Tiger Woods’ invitation to play Augusta National with him one day during Spring Training. But Cox gave the green light, knowing his veteran hurler would miss one day and be back in camp to work the next.
Or, there was the time Smoltz asked Jeff Francoeur to play with him and Woods near the Braves’ former Spring Training complex at Walt Disney World. Francoeur was bummed when he saw his name in the lineup that day. Cox caught wind of the offer. He told Francoeur to get one at-bat and then head to the course.
Francoeur limped a little as he made his way to the dugout after a groundout. Then as he completed his round with Woods and Smoltz, his manager was telling inquisitive reporters that “his ankle was sore.”
“People who played in this organization have said they would kill for Bobby Cox or walk over hot coals for Bobby Cox,” McGuirk said. “He was as good as I’ve ever seen.”