Coaching legend Jim Fox dead at 84
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By Don Doxsie | Sunday, August 13, 2006 | 4 comment(s)
A Quad-City coaching legend who had a hand in molding the lives of NFL superstars and United States congressmen has passed away.
Jim Fox, who spent more than a quarter-century coaching powerhouse teams in two sports at Davenport Central, succumbed to a lengthy illness Friday at the Kahl Home for the Aged. He was 84.
Fox won five high school state titles in two sports, developed six athletes who played a total of 47 seasons in the National Football League, coached the first black high school wrestling champion in Iowa history and was inducted into at least six Halls of Fame.
After retiring from the Davenport School District in 1984, he turned his talents to helping the athletic fortunes of St. Ambrose University, Davenport.
“Just an awesome man,’’ former NFL MVP Roger Craig said Saturday.
Craig was one of thousands of athletes to be deeply impacted by Fox during his high school career, which stretched from 1948 to 1984.
U.S. Rep. Jim Leach, R-Iowa, who graduated from old Davenport High School in 1960, was coached by Fox in both football and wrestling, and never forgot the lessons he learned. On National Teacher Day earlier this year, he listed Fox as his “most memorable teacher.’’
“Those who were coached by him will never forget his commitment to discipline and fair play,’’ Leach said at that time. “Jim didn’t believe in shortcuts or fancy strategies. He taught people to work hard, to play together, to live by the rules, and respect opponents. His lessons weren’t complicated. But they couldn’t be deeper.”
Funeral services for Fox will be at 10 a.m. Wednesday at St. Anthony’s Catholic Church in Davenport. Visitation will be at Halligan-McCabe-DeVries Funeral Home in Davenport from 4-8 p.m. Tuesday.
Don Doxsie can be contacted at (563) 383-2280 or ddoxsie@qctimes.com.
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