The Cox Brothers Baseball Team

Several people have asked about the banner image at the top of all my blog pages. It is a photo of the Cox Brothers baseball team from the late 1920s comprising the sons of Stephen Clark and Mary Francis (York) Cox, and their cousin Lonnie Williams. Stephen (who went by his middle name Clark) and Mary Francis are my great-grandparents. Walter, their first-born, is my grandfather.

Kneeling L-R: Jim (James) Cox, Arthur Cox, Talley (Talton) Cox, Lonnie Williams, Cecil Cox. Standing L-R: Clark Cox, Rufus Cox, Walter Cox, Ivan Cox, Hubert Cox, Bill (Milton) Cox.

My father, Elvin Cox, told me stories about his uncles and how athletically gifted they were. My dad became an outstanding baseball player and credited his uncles for teaching him the game in the pastures on the family farm. The story goes that the Cox brothers team played or scrimmaged Elon College as well as other area “town” teams. Perhaps that’s why the article on the right mistakenly states “most of them having played on Elon College teams.” Only one of the brothers, Cecil, played at Elon.

By 1929, when the picture above was taken, older brothers Walter and Ivan were in their mid-30s and more occupied with running their farms than playing ball. (Ivan is wearing overalls in the pictures and probably was summoned from the field or barn.)

Daughter Michia came along after Walter and Ivan and before the rest of the boys. Michia later married Lonnie Williams, and Lonnie’s sister, Dora, married my Grandpa Walter.

I never knew Grandpa Walter as he died when I was an infant. Milton, who was called Bill, and Jim died a few years before Walter. I do, however, remember some of his brothers, including playing catch with my Uncle Arther when I was little league age. Even though “Ott” (as most called him) was well into his sixties, he threw hard enough to scare me.

Hubert lived down the street from my parents. I can’t attest to his athletic prowess, but the article cites him as being a “slugger.” I remember him as a big, strong man even well in his 70s. According to my dad, Hubert was doing yard work when one of his brothers was passing by. His brother cautioned Hubert the hard work was going to make him “fall over dead,” and sadly he did so later succumbing to a heart attack.

The remaining brothers were the ones that were prominent on area baseball diamonds for more than a decade. Rufus was called “Race Horse” according to my dad, and was big, fast, and a slugger. As a young girl, my wife attended the same church as Rufus and recalls to this day that his hands seemed to her like those of a giant. Folks said he could have played professionally, but that was a risky option for young men needing to make a living in the 1930s depression era. Instead, he worked mill jobs and played on several local semi-pro teams. (Mills often offered jobs to good athletes to play on their sponsored teams).

Talley and Jim (James), the last born of the Cox brothers, were close enough in age to have played together on school teams in the 1920s, and town or mill teams in the 1930s. Box scores from games in the 1930s often included four of the brothers: Arthur, Rufus, Talley, and Jim. Sometimes they were on the same team, and sometimes on opposite sides. Jim was often the catcher for either Arthur or Talley. My cousin Emily Johnson, Cecil’s daughter, says the boys sometimes were paid anywhere from $1 to $5 depending on whether they won or lost.

Rufus Cox, Central Carolina League, 1933

Not to be outdone by his brothers, Cecil was a fine athlete and honor student who was the first family member to attend college, graduating from Elon in 1929. He became an admired school principal and administrator, and was active in the Elon College alumni association. My dad said Cecil was a smart and crafty pitcher (as one might expect from a future scholar).

Several of the brothers also competed in track events and basketball. Jim and Talley were members of the Ramseur team that won the 1931 Randolph County basketball tournament sponsored annually by the County athletic association. Cecil won several local track events and competed in college at Elon.

Front, L-R: Buss Caviness, Ernest Hicks, Roy Lowdermilk, **Jim Cox**, Sapp Johnson. Back, L-R: Principal R.C. White, Bill Wright, Coach Omohundro, **Talley Cox**, Vester Moffitt.

I have clippings from The Asheboro Courier mentioning their play, primarily 1930-1935 when the Cox brothers populated town and mill teams. (Click on any of the images to enlarge):