Nov 21, 2019 3 min read

Former Minnesota Vikings kicker Fred Cox, a Monongahela native and one of the last straight-on placekickers died Wednesday. He was 80.

Cox’s wife, Bonnie, notified the Vikings’ alumni affairs office of his death. Cox had had been in hospice care at his home in Monticello, northwest of the Twin Cities, because of kidney and heart problems.

“My health is not good, obviously,” Cox told the Pioneer Press on Saturday in an interview at his home. “I have kidneys that don’t work and a heart that doesn’t function, but other than that I’m great.”

Cox was a standout on several conference championship teams and played in several Super Bowls with the Vikings, including Super Bowl IX against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

A standout athlete at Monongahela High School, Cox lettered in football, basketball, baseball and soccer. He was an all-conference running back in football, the leading scorer on the soccer team, which lost only one time in three years and batted at least .300 in every baseball season.

Cox played at Pitt as a running back and kicker. He was drafted in the eighth round in 1961 by the Cleveland Browns but sat out a year and was traded to Minnesota in 1962. He led the Vikings in scoring in 11 of his 13 seasons. He led the NFL in scoring in 1969 and 1970. At one point, he held the league record by scoring in 151 consecutive games. Cox scored 1,365 points in 15 seasons.

When he retired, he was second in NFL history in scoring behind George Blanda – who also played quarterback – and had made 282 field goals.

During his career with the Vikings, Cox became a chiropractor, obtaining his license to practice in 1972.

In the early 1970s, Cox invented the Nerf Football, a foam rubber football that was produced by Parker Brothers and quickly became popular with youths.

Cox was one of 11 Vikings to play in all four of the team’s Super Bowls, all defeats. He kicked in 18 postseason games.

The Vikings called Cox “one of our proudest legends, 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.”

Bud Grant, who coached those Vikings squads, told the team’s website that “Fred was the ultimate team player for us. He took part in all of our scout teams, playing running back or whatever we asked of him. He was a great asset to our team, a true credit to the team and his community. If you saw those games, he always stood right next to me on the sideline because he was such a big part of what we were doing with field position and knew the game so well.”

Cox is survived by Bonnie and four children.