Walter Tom Cox (1872–1930) was an English

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 as a

goalkeeper In many team sports which involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or intercepting o ...

for various clubs around the turn of the 20th century.

Football career

Cox was born in

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 ...

and started playing for the newly formed Southampton St Mary's club in 1892 as an outfield player. He later converted to a goalkeeper and made his first-team debut when he replaced Jack Barrett in an

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...

match at the Antelope Ground against

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of Letter (alphabet), letters, symbols, etc., especially by Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process invo ...

on 3 November 1894. Cox retained his place for the next cup match against Marlow before being replaced by H. Williamson. Cox made his Southern League debut away to Royal Ordnance on 5 October 1895 before Tom Cain took over as the first-choice 'keeper. Although Cain was preferred for League matches, Cox played in all five

matches, where the club reached the First Round proper for the second consecutive season, going down 3–2 to The Wednesday of the

Football League First Division The Football League First Division was a division of the Football League in England from 1888 until 2004. It was the top division in the English football league system from the season 1888–89 until 1991–92, a century in which the First ...

. Despite conceding three goals, Cox "performed heroically" and as a result won County recognition. Following the arrival of

George Clawley George Clawley (10 April 1875 – 16 July 1920) was an English professional goalkeeper who played for Stoke, Southampton and Tottenham Hotspur in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. He was the goalkeeper for the Spurs side that ...

, Cox moved to

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...

where, after a season playing for Bristol St George in the Birmingham & District League, he returned to the Southern League with Bedminster in May 1898. In October 1899, he moved on to Millwall Athletic and then to

Manchester City Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The tw ...

in May 1900. At Hyde Road, Cox was used as cover for Charlie Williams and made only one league appearance before moving on to

Bury Bury may refer to: *The burial of human remains *-bury, a suffix in English placenames Places England * Bury, Cambridgeshire, a village * Bury, Greater Manchester, a town, historically in Lancashire ** Bury (UK Parliament constituency) (1832–19 ...

. He failed to make any first team appearances at either Bury or his next club

Preston North End Preston North End Football Club, commonly referred to as Preston, North End or PNE, is a professional football club in Preston, Lancashire, England, who currently play in the EFL Championship, the second tier of the English football league syste ...

and finished his career in Scotland with

Dundee Dundee (; sco, Dundee; gd, Dùn Dè or ) is Scotland's fourth-largest city and the 51st-most-populous built-up area in the United Kingdom. The mid-year population estimate for 2016 was , giving Dundee a population density of 2,478/km2 or ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cox, Walter 1872 births Footballers from Southampton 1930 deaths English men's footballers Men's association football goalkeepers Southampton F.C. players Roman Glass St George F.C. players Bedminster F.C. players Millwall F.C. players Manchester City F.C. players Bury F.C. players Preston North End F.C. players Dundee F.C. players English Football League players Southern Football League players