| Date of birth: | December 11, 1938 |
| Place of birth: | Monongahela, Pennsylvania |
| Career information | |
|---|---|
| Position(s): | Placekicker |
| College: | Pittsburgh |
| NFL Draft: | 1961 / Round: 8 / Pick 110 (By the Cleveland Browns) |
| Organizations | |
| As player: | |
| 1963-1977 | Minnesota Vikings |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| Pro Bowls: | 1970 |
| Playing stats at DatabaseFootball.com | |
Frederick William Cox is a former National Football League kicker who played for the Minnesota Vikings throughout his career (1963–1977). Fred was raised in Monongahela, PA, where his family owned a grocery store. He taught PA History at Charleroi High School in 1967.
Contents |
He played college football at Pittsburgh and was drafted by the Cleveland Browns in the 8th round of the 1961 NFL Draft and the New York Titans in the 28th round of the AFL Draft that same year, but never played for either team.
He is the Vikings all-time leader in scoring (1,365 points) and field goals (282). He is also one of 10 Vikings to play in all four of their Super Bowls in the 1970s. He led the NFL in scoring in 1969 with 121 points and again in 1970 with 125 and was named First Team All-Pro both years. He was also named NFC First Team All-Pro in 1971 with 91 points scored. In 1970, he was the NFC kicker in the Pro Bowl game. Cox was also the Vikings punter in his rookie season with a 38.7 yards per kick average on 70 attempts.[1]
Cox was first married to Elayne Darrall Cox. Their four children are Darryl Cox, Susan Cox Biasco, Fred A.Cox, and Kim Ok-soon. He is currently married to Bonnie Hope Cox.
He is also the inventor of the nerf football, he came up with the idea while still playing for the Vikings.[2] However the creators of the nerf materials are Robert Witt and colleagues.