Kicker Fred Cox, the Minnesota Vikings’ all-time leading scorer and the inventor of the Nerf football, died Wednesday at the age of 80, the team announced.
Cox never missed a game in 15 seasons for the Vikings from 1963-77. He finished his career with 1,365 points and led the Vikings in scoring for 11 consecutive seasons. He was a member of four Vikings teams that went to the Super Bowl, including the 1969 champions.
“The Vikings mourn the loss of Fred Cox, one of our proudest legends and a member of the 50 Greatest Vikings,” the team said in a statement. “A respected teammate and friend, Fred’s football career as the Vikings all-time leading scorer set the stage for a life where he went on to achieve great things in business and in his community. Fred’s positive energy, strength in his faith and passion for life will be missed.”
In 1972, while still playing for the Vikings, Cox came up with the idea of a soft football to prevent leg injuries to kids. He and partner John Mattox, a local entrepreneur, took a mold of a full-sized football and injected it with soft foam rubber material. The result was the Nerf football.
“The weight was right,” Cox told Vikings.com several years ago. “When you threw it, it flew like a football.”
He and Mattox took their sample to Parker Brothers, which had produced the earlier round Nerf balls, and they loved it.
Cox was born on Dec. 11, 1938, in Monongahela, Pennsylvania. He went to Pitt and was drafted as a running back by the Cleveland Browns. Cox shifted to kicking because of a back injury and learned the trade under the legendary Lou Groza. Cox was traded to the Vikings and joined the team in 1963.
“He had a great brain and was a great thinker,” Hall of Fame quarterback Fran Tarkenton told Vikings.com. “He was an intellect that I spent every morning with before we played a game. I spent more time with him than any other player. Fred was a special, special human being who will be missed.”
After football, Cox became a chiropractor and settled in Minnesota.
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