'One of a kind': Auburn baseball, softball to honor 'Helmet Guy'

AUBURN, Ala. – Throughout Opening Weekend on The Plains, Auburn baseball and softball will pay tribute to a super fan best known for his love for Auburn, his booming voice and his choice of headgear.

The Helmet Guy, as Mike Cooper was affectionately known among Auburn fans.  

A 1974 Auburn University industrial design graduate, Cooper passed away last August at the age of 77.

Auburn baseball will honor Cooper by wearing helmet stickers this season featuring Cooper’s initials and his trademark helmet. Fans attending Friday’s season opener against Youngstown State will receive Helmet Guy commemorative mini helmets. 

“One of a kind,” baseball coach Butch Thompson said of Cooper. “We get to begin our season by honoring one of our most faithful fans I’ve ever seen in starting my four decades of college baseball.”

Thompson referenced Cooper during the Auburn Diamond Club’s 25th preseason banquet, calling him a “great friend that loved Auburn baseball and absolutely a difference maker.”

An Auburn Diamond Club member, Cooper annually concluded the preseason banquet by leading attendees in enthusiastic “Let’s Go Auburn!” and “War Eagle!” cheers, like those he led for decades at Plainsman Park and Jane B. Moore Field. 

Cooper’s allegiance to Auburn extended beyond its spring sports.

“Anything that has that AU on it, and at the heart of it, Mike would yell for,” Thompson said. 

Traveling an hour and a half from Clanton, Alabama, with his wife, Nancy, with whom he shared 51 years of marriage, Cooper frequently cheered at both baseball and softball games on the same day when both programs played at home.

“When you have a passionate fanbase, you need big personalities to be a big part and lead it,” softball co-head coach Chris Malveaux said. “When people think about memories at Jane B. Moore Field, they think a lot about what Mike – the “Helmet Guy” – brought to the table.”

The Malveauxes’ first season on the Plains ended up being Cooper’s last one supporting Auburn softball.

“There was never a question when he was in the stadium,” Chris Malveaux said. “You always knew where he was at. You always heard him. You always heard his passion, and It rubbed off on so many people.

“I’m sure the fans were able to feed off of it, but our players appreciated it more than anything. They knew that he was always going to bring energy because he cared about them.”

Auburn’s co-head softball coaches appreciate having known Cooper beyond his raucous cheers.
  
“Talking to him away from the field, you could just see it in his eyes and by how he talked about our program,” Chris Malveaux said. “He would get teary-eyed when he talked about softball or baseball players and how much he loved those kids and wanted those kids to be taken care of. He loved watching them compete and do what they do. It’s almost like the perfect fan.”

Auburn softball will honor Cooper in the War Eagle Classic during Opening Weekend on The Plains with free mini helmets available for fans while supplies last.

“He was always supportive and did everything he could to add to the environment,” Malveaux said. “He was such a big-hearted person. We will definitely miss him at our softball games.”

Associate head baseball coach Gabe Gross shared with Thompson a George Jones’ country music classic “Who’s Gonna Fill Their Shoes?” as a tribute to Mike Cooper’s impact and the void his passing leaves.

“For somebody to get us going, for somebody to stand with us through good and bad, and everywhere in between,” Thompson said. “To love our programs, to fight to get across the street, and to live an hour and a half away, to boot, is pretty impressive.”

“To show up consistently, to be the leader, to help fight to keep our crowd and our players supported and engaged. I’m wondering who’s going to fill those shoes?”

Jeff Shearer is a Senior Writer at AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on X: @jeff_shearer