Vikes legend Fred Cox takes fans down memory lane

By Mike Schoemer  |   Tuesday, September 16, 2008  |  Comments( 5 )

Minnesota Vikings
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Though the current edition of the Vikings is leaving a lot to be desired for fans, a bit of purple past was on hand in Monticello, Minn., last Friday, when team legend Fred Cox entertained folks at the local senior center.

The 90-minute session included some of Cox's patented anecdotes about life as the Vikings kicker during the glory days of Bud Grant and the Purple People Eaters. Cox also spoke about his life before and after professional football, and gave some commentary on this year's team.

Cox, who is still the franchise's leading scorer with more than 1,350 points, is a Pennsylvania native, but he has strong ties to Wright County. After retiring from football in 1978, he opened a center for chiropractic care in Buffalo, Minn. He still has ties to that area.

"My first year as a full-time chiropractor, I made twice as much money I did my last season in the NFL," he said. "That obviously wouldn't be the case today. But I was glad I had my degree to fall back on."

Cox studied biology at the University of Pittsburgh, and he was one of 14 on his Panthers squad to venture to the pro football ranks (Mike Ditka was also among the 14).

"Mike was the toughest player I ever saw, without a doubt," he said. "No one worked harder. He would get to the end of a game, and they'd have to help him off the field. He left it all out there."

Cox traced his kicking history back to his high school football days in the storied town of Monongehela, Penn. He was a starter on the soccer team, and his speed made him an asset on the football squad.

"The first day, they asked who wanted to kick. I was an eighth-grader on the freshman team, so I followed everyone's lead and raised my hand. Everyone gave it a shot, but I was the guy who was able to kick it the farthest, so I was the kicker," Cox said.

Grant, who was his second coach, wanted a kicker who could tee it off and kick the ball low and directional, so he asked Cox to break from the normal "drive it to the end zone" kick and follow the new style for the Vikes.

"We were the first team to really kick it low and into the corner, so the other team couldn't really run it back," Cox said. "I'd rear back and just drive it. Soon, everyone had a guy who was doing that. Coaches always amazed me. They have that herd mentality, or instinct. You run a play on a coach that goes for big yardage, and the next week they've got that same play in their playbook."

Grant, in fact, asked Cox if he would consider coaching at the end of his football career.

"I told Bud I'd rather starve before I became a football coach," Cox said. "I didn't have the patience for it."

Cox also played for the legendary Norm Van Brocklin in his first years. Cox, who was a former fullback and backed up Bill "Boom Boom" Brown for the club in his early days, said Van Brocklin was the most creative thinker he had ever seen.

"He came up with so many plays," Cox said. "If we could have had Bud as head coach and Norm as an offensive coordinator, we'd have won six Super Bowls, not lost four."

Cox said he admired Grant for the way he had strict control over his team.

"Bud never gave the fiery speech. I remember we played a horrible first half in a regular-season game against the Rams. And instead of going to our unit coaches, which is what we always did, Bud called us in. That was unusual, so we waited to hear what he had to say. He said: 'Guys, I was totally embarrassed by that first half.' And that was it. But it sent a message to every player on that team. He had that much respect from us."

Cox never really expected to play in the NFL, let alone for 15 years.

"Nobody plays that long. Except (Brett) Favre," Cox said.

As a chiropractor, something he used his biology degree from Pitt to become later in life, he never wanted to treat athletes. But one recent Viking took to him.

"Cris (Carter) knew that I had a practice, so when I would come down to see my friend Fred (Zamberletti, the Vikings trainer), he would always stop me for a quick adjustment," Cox said. "He knew exactly what he needed, so it wasn't so bad. Other guys, they think one adjustment to their neck or back and they'll be fine. It doesn't work that way when you've essentially been in a car wreck every Sunday."

Cox said his favorite player to watch from the sideline (and on the field) was Gale Sayers, the former Chicago Bears great.

"He also provided me with my most embarrassing moment. He had a kickoff return where I was playing safety on the play after I kicked it. He came through a hole that I saw. I thought that he might run there, and I had him face to face. I never even touched his jersey. He made some sort of move on me and then he was gone."

Cox said he also loved watching Barry Sanders, because he played the game with respect.

"Bud would have liked him," he said. "If he scored a touchdown, his philosophy was 'Act like you've been there before.' Bud would like that."

As for this year's Vikings?

"They're a playoff team. They're not a Super Bowl team, though. Not with the quarterback (Tarvaris Jackson). But you have to play him."
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About Mike Schoemer

• Currently serving as managing editor of the award-winning Monticello Times after promotion in September of 2007. • Took the helm of the Edina, Minn., community newspaper, The Edina Sun Current in September 2006 in the heart of an election year. • Promoted to the Managing Editor of the ...
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