George Cox (23 August 1911 – 30 March 1985) was an English
first-class cricket
First-class cricket, along with List A cricket and Twenty20 cricket, is one of the highest-standard forms of cricket. A first-class match is of three or more days scheduled duration between two sides of eleven players each and is officially adju ...
er who played for
Sussex
Sussex (Help:IPA/English, /ˈsʌsɪks/; from the Old English ''Sūþseaxe''; lit. 'South Saxons'; 'Sussex') is an area within South East England that was historically a kingdom of Sussex, kingdom and, later, a Historic counties of England, ...
. He was also a footballer who played for
Arsenal
An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...
and
Fulham
Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies in a loop on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea, London, Chelsea ...
.
Career
Born in
Warnham
Warnham is a village and civil parish in the Horsham (district), Horsham district of West Sussex, England. The village is centred north-northwest of Horsham, from London, to the west of the A24 road (Great Britain), A24 road. The parish is in ...
,
Sussex
Sussex (Help:IPA/English, /ˈsʌsɪks/; from the Old English ''Sūþseaxe''; lit. 'South Saxons'; 'Sussex') is an area within South East England that was historically a kingdom of Sussex, kingdom and, later, a Historic counties of England, ...
, as a cricketer Cox was primarily an attacking right-handed batsman, also an occasional right-arm medium-pace bowler and in his youth a fine cover fielder. Cox played for Sussex and had a first-class career which started in 1931. He went on to play 455 first-class matches, making 22949 runs at an average of 32.92, that included 50 centuries, with a highest score of 234 not out.
Cox also played
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...
for
Arsenal
An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...
, whom he joined in November 1933. Cox stayed at
Highbury
Highbury is an area of North London, England, in the London Borough of Islington.
Highbury Manor
Highbury was once owned by Ranulf, brother of Ilger, and included all the areas north and east of Canonbury and Holloway Roads.
The manor hou ...
for the following three years, where he played predominantly in the
Football Combination
The Football Combination was a football competition for the reserve teams of English Football League clubs from Southern England, the Midlands and Wales; other clubs from the Midlands and those from the North playing in the Central League (it is ...
. In the Combination, Cox scored 53 times in 75 games for the Gunners. He played seven times for the first team, scoring once for the club.
In the summer of 1936, Cox moved to
Fulham
Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies in a loop on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea, London, Chelsea ...
for a transfer fee of £150. After a sole season with Fulham, Cox then journeyed to
Luton Town
Luton Town Football Club is a professional association football, football club from Luton, Bedfordshire, England. The club currently competes in EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system. Nicknamed "The Hatters", L ...
. It was at the Hatters that his footballing career ended.
He was a cricket coach at Sussex from 1960 to 1964.
Personal life
He was generally known as George Cox junior in order to distinguish him from his father
George Cox senior, who was also a successful player for the same county. He was a notably witty conversationalist
and letter writer. Cox died on 30 March 1985 in
Burgess Hill
Burgess Hill () is a town and civil parish in West Sussex, England, close to the border with East Sussex, on the edge of the South Downs National Park, south of London, north of Brighton and Hove, and northeast of the county town, Chichester. ...
, Sussex.
References
External links
*
''This Cox is a Pippin''by
A. A. Thomson
Arthur Alexander Thomson, (7 April 1894 at Harrogate, Yorkshire – 2 June 1968 near Lord's in London) was an English writer best known for his books on cricket, for which he used the byline A. A. Thomson. He wrote nearly 60 books in all, inclu ...
, 1961
Obituaryfrom ''
Wisden Cricketers' Almanack
''Wisden Cricketers' Almanack'', or simply ''Wisden'', colloquially the Bible of Cricket, is a cricket reference book published annually in the United Kingdom. The description "Bible of cricket" (or variations thereof) has been applied to ''Wi ...
'', 1986 edition
1911 births
1985 deaths
English cricketers
People from Warnham
Sussex cricketers
English cricket coaches
English men's footballers
Men's association football forwards
Arsenal F.C. players
Fulham F.C. players
English Football League players
Royal Air Force cricketers
H. D. G. Leveson Gower's XI cricketers
North v South cricketers
L. C. Stevens' XI cricketers
Cricketers from West Sussex
20th-century English sportsmen
{{England-cricket-bio-1910s-stub