Former Vikings kicker and NWHSU alumni Fred Cox has passed away

Vikings kicker Fred Cox is seen in this Wikipedia Commons photo.

Former all-pro kicker Fred Cox, the leading scorer in Vikings history, died Wednesday. He was 80. As a chiropractic alumni of Northwestern Health Sciences University, he also served on the Board of Trustees from 1988-1997.

From Brainerd Dispatch:

Cox had been in hospice care at home in Monticello with heart and kidney issues. He talked about his health last Saturday, Nov. 16, in an interview at his home.

“My health is not good, obviously,” he said. “I have kidneys that don’t work and a heart that doesn’t function, but other than that I’m great.”

“Most people think hospice care, including me, is they send you home and you die the next day. … I don’t know. Whatever that means, I’m not going to be around a long time. I’ll be here until I’m gone, and I’m OK with that. … Nobody’s going to live forever and nobody’s going to live more than I did.”

Cox played with the Vikings from 1963-77 and appeared in four Super Bowls, all of them losses. When he retired, he was second in NFL history in scoring and with 282 field goals.

In 1972, he earned a chiropractic degree from Northwestern Health Sciences University and after retiring from the NFL ran a successful practice for 16 years.

Read the full story from Brainerd Dispatch online here.