Fred Cox

Fred William Cox (December 11, 1938 – November 20, 2019) was an American professional football player who served as a placekicker for 15 seasons with the Minnesota Vikings of the National Football League. Raised in Monongahela, Pennsylvania, outside Pittsburgh, he grew up in a family that owned and operated a small grocery store, a business still run by his brother's family across four generations.

Cox played college football for the University of Pittsburgh. He was selected by the Cleveland Browns in the eighth round of the 1961 NFL draft and by the New York Titans in the 28th round of the 1961 AFL draft, but never played for either team. He instead spent his entire professional career with the Minnesota Vikings.

Cox is the Vikings' all-time leader in scoring with 1,365 points and in field goals with 282. He was also one of 11 Vikings players to appear in all four of the franchise's Super Bowl appearances during the 1970s.

Beyond football, Cox was the inventor of the Nerf football.