John Thomas Cox (21 December 1877 – 11 November 1955) was an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

international

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

who played for

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, in between spells at

Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside resort in Lancashire, England. Located on the North West England, northwest coast of England, it is the main settlement within the Borough of Blackpool, borough also called Blackpool. The town is by the Irish Sea, betw ...

. He helped Liverpool to two

Football League Championship The English Football League Championship (often referred to as the Championship for short or the Sky Bet Championship for sponsorship purposes) is the highest division of the English Football League (EFL) and second-highest overall in the En ...

Career

Born in

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...

(now

Merseyside Merseyside ( ) is a metropolitan county, metropolitan and ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North West England, with a population of List of ceremonial counties of England, 1.38 million. It encompasses both banks of the Merse ...

), Cox played for South Shore Standard, South Shore, and

before being signed by Liverpool managers

John McKenna John McKenna ( ga, Seán Mac Cionnaoith; 3 January 1855 – 22 March 1936) was an Irish businessman, professional rugby player, and the first manager of the Liverpool Football Club which has since gone on to become one of the most successful ...

and

William Barclay William Barclay may refer to: *William Barclay (jurist) (1546–1608), Scottish jurist *William Barclay (writer) (c. 1570–c. 1630), Scottish writer *William Barclay (painter) (1797–1859), English miniature painter *William Barclay (theologian) ...

in February 1898 for the then-large sum of £150, enabling the

club to announce a loss of "only" £441 for the season, as opposed to over £1,000 for the previous campaign. The winger made his debut on 12 March 1898, in a First Division match against

Notts County Notts County Football Club is a professional association football club based in Nottingham, England. The team participate in the National League (division), National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system. Founded on the 2 ...

Anfield Anfield is a football stadium in Anfield, Liverpool, Merseyside, England, which has a seating capacity of 53,394, making it the seventh largest football stadium in England. It has been the home of Liverpool F.C. since their formation in 1892. ...

in a 2–0 win, which also saw his debut goal for the club. Cox became a regular starter for the Reds on both the left and right flanks, helping them secure their first two

championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this system ...

s, in

1901 Events January * January 1 – The Crown colony, British colonies of New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria (Australia), Victoria and Western Australia Federation of Australia, federate as the Australia, ...

and

1906 Events January–February * January 12 – Persian Constitutional Revolution: A nationalistic coalition of merchants, religious leaders and intellectuals in Persia forces the shah Mozaffar ad-Din Shah Qajar to grant a constitution, ...

. Although the one who predominantly lined up goals for his teammates to take, Cox, himself, had an eye for the mark and scored 81 goals from his 361 starts, an average of one goal every 4.5 games. It was this kind of form that caught the eye of the FA, who selected Cox for the

British Home Championship The British Home Championship * sco, Hame Internaitional Kemp * gd, Farpais lìg eadar-nàiseanta * cy, Pencampwriaeth y Pedair Gwlad, name=lang (historically known as the British International Championship or simply the International Champio ...

match against

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

at The Dell,

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

on 9 March 1901. This match saw England win 3–0, after which he represented England on two further occasions. Cox left Liverpool in 1909, returning to Blackpool, effectively as player-manager. Cox was also a top crown green bowler after his football career finished, he won the game's biggest tournaments, the Talbot and Waterloo in 1925, the first and so far the only person to do so in the same year.

Personal life

Cox's younger brother,

Bill Bill(s) may refer to: Common meanings * Banknote, paper cash (especially in the United States) * Bill (law), a proposed law put before a legislature * Invoice, commercial document issued by a seller to a buyer * Bill, a bird or animal's beak Plac ...

, was also a footballer and died of wounds suffered while serving during the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

Career details

As a player: *Liverpool (1898–1909) – 361 appearances, 81 goals – Football League Championship winner's medal (1901, 1906) *England (1901–1903) – 3 appearances

References

External links

Profile at LFChistory.net
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cox, Jack 1877 births 1955 deaths Blackpool F.C. players Liverpool F.C. players English footballers England international footballers English football managers Blackpool F.C. managers Footballers from Liverpool English Football League players English Football League representative players Association football wingers English Football League managers