Bobby Cox first record above .500 since 1974. However, Cox was undone by the 1981 baseball strike when the Braves finished fifth and owner Ted Turner fired him. Asked at a press conference who was on his short list for manager, Turner replied, "It would be Bobby Cox if I hadn't just fired him. We need someone like him around here." The Braves won the National League West division title in 1982 and finished second in both 1983 and 1984 under Cox's successor Joe Torre. Cox finished with a record of 266 wins and 323 losses in the regular season. Cox joined
Bobby Cox (footballer) to three. That same season, Dundee reached a European semi for a second and Cox was part of the squad which faced Leeds United in the Inter-Cities Fair Cup, the forerunner of the U.E.F.A. Cup. Cox didn't play in either leg against the men from Elland Road but he did play in the first two rounds again Dutch side DWS Amsterdam and Royal Liege from Belgium. To have been an established member and skipper of at one stage the best team in the country, it is disappointing to note that Bobby did not receive the full recognition of his country.