Oct. 20, 2010
By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider Taking a walk through the new Simpson Athletics and Academic Center, which houses a spacious athletic training room, Skip Cox is amazed at how far Baylor Athletics has come since his days as a do-it-all trainer and equipment manager in the 1970s.
"I remember a time when the athletic department didn't even have money to buy ice for breaks," said Cox, who will be inducted into the Baylor Athletic Hall of Fame during the Oct. 22-23 Homecoming weekend. "We had to go out and rob the ice machines from the hotels around town. Just things like that. It was a totally different animal back then than it is today. I'm quite envious. I would love to work in a situation like that with a beautiful place like that."
It was a far "different animal" when T.C. "Skip" Cox left his alma mater at North Texas to join new football coach Grant Teaff at Baylor in 1972 as the program's head (and only) trainer and equipment manager.
"Hayden Fry had just come to North Texas, and I was looking to move," Cox said. "And coach Teaff was the selling deal on it, because of his background and character and all that. The coaches weren't looking at Baylor as a stepping stone, like so many coaches do. I thought it was a tremendous opportunity with a group of coaches that could really pick out character and talent."
As the head trainer and equipment manager, Cox supervised a student staff that took care of all the athletic training and injury rehab for every men's and women's sport; ordered, issued and took care of all the equipment responsibilities; and "even custodial and maintenance" for the entire department.
"You met yourself coming to work," Cox said. "My wife (Linda) and I have been married for almost 50 years, but she says we've only been together for about 30 of them, because I gave 20 of them to Baylor."
During his 12-year stint as the head trainer and equipment manager, Cox was part of Southwest Conference championships in football in 1974 and '80 and two other bowl game appearances in 1979 (Peach) and '83 (Bluebonnet).
"I always told my student trainers and managers that we they had to work harder than anybody in the athletic department to gain the respect and set an example for the players," Cox said. "We had a lot of players that were just over-achievers. It was just a great time."
In addition to all of his formal duties, Cox also wore the hats of friend, father figure and confidante to all of the athletes that passed through his training room. Among his favorites were Neal Jeffrey, Steve Beaird, Phillip Kent, Keith Bishop, David Sledge, Frank Ditta, Walter Abercrombie, Alfred Anderson and All-American linebacker Mike Singletary, who was "one of the most complete people I've ever known."
"They were young men away from home for the first time, and they needed a home," Cox said. "That's the reason I always got really close to the players. I always felt like the trainer could be the best liaison a coach could have in getting information back. That's something I always took a lot of pride in."
Cox also took pride in mentoring trainers, dating back to his days at North Texas. His list of former pupils include current Baylor trainers Mike Sims and David Chandler; former Dallas Cowboys trainer Ken Locker; former San Francisco 49ers trainer Hal Wyatt; longtime Euless Trinity trainer Mike Pruitt; Tommy Tacker with Waco Independent School District; and Mike Freer with the Round Rock Express.
"I was very fortunate. I had a lot of people that made me look good," he said.
In his last eight years at Baylor (1984-92), Cox served as an assistant athletic director, handling daily business matters, overseeing the budget and supervising athletic department facilities. One of his last duties was supervising the renovations at Floyd Casey Stadium that included new locker rooms, training room and weight room.
"I was a much better trainer than administrator," said Cox, 68, who's now retired and living on lakeside property at Possum Kingdom Lake, about 75 miles west of Fort Worth. "I enjoyed the administration time, but I didn't like the politics that were played."
Now that he's retired, Cox and his wife, Linda, spend most of their time keeping up with 15 grandchildren. But he is looking forward to coming back for the Hall of Fame banquet.
"My greatest highs and my greatest lows have been right there on the Baylor campus," he said. "And this is a tremendous high for me. It's just unbelievable."
Tickets to the 2010 Baylor Athletic Hall of Fame banquet, which will be held on Friday, Oct. 22, at 7 p.m. in the Ferrell Center, are $45 each ($35 for Baylor letterwinners). Table sponsorships are also available for $450 and corporate sponsorships for $500. Contact the "B" Association's Tammy Hardin at 254-710-3045 or by e-mail at tammy_hardin@baylor.edu.
