Pope: Cox made long run in majors

Danny Cox had one of those major league debuts that one can only dream about.

The 1977 Warner Robins graduate got the starting nod for the St. Louis Cardinals on Aug. 6, 1983, against the Philadelphia Phillies and their Hall of Fame pitcher, Steve Carlton. While neither hurler figured in the decision, a 1-0 win by the Phillies in 11 innings, Cox showed he was ready for the big leagues. He went 10 innings, allowing no runs on seven hits with eight strikeouts and two walks.

Cox went on to have a better than average major league run, playing for the Cardinals, Phillies, Pittsburgh and Toronto in an 11-season career. He was with St. Louis from 1983-88, with Philadelphia in 1991 and 1992, Pittsburgh also in 1992 (he was in the Pirates’ bullpen when Sid Bream scored the pennant-winning run for Atlanta that season) and finally with Toronto from 1993-95. During his career, he posted a 74-75 record that included 21 complete games and five shutouts. He also registered a very respectable 3.64 career ERA.

He got a good taste of the postseason, playing in three World Series. He was with the Cardinals when they won NL championships in 1985 and 1987 and with the Blue Jays’ 1993 World Series championship team, where they beat the Phillies in six games. Cox started Game 2 and Game 6 in the 1985 World Series against Kansas City but did not figure in the decision in either, but he was the winning pitcher in Game 5 of the 1987 World Series, going 7-1/3 innings in a 4-2 win over Minnesota.

Cox spent just one season at Warner Robins after his father, Vern, moved the family to the International City from Germany following his retirement from the U.S. Air Force. Cox, who played both basketball and baseball for the Demons, said the highlight for him that year, playing for head coach David Carpenter, was pitching a one-hitter against arch-rival Northside.

Cox played just that one season of high school baseball, but he did compete on base teams at Moody Air Force Base in Valdosta and in Germany.

After finishing at Warner Robins, he played junior college baseball for two seasons at Chattahoochee Valley College in Alabama and then his final two years at Troy State. During his senior season at Troy, he was a first-team Division II All America selection after compiling a 13-3 mark and breaking all kind of records for the Trojans. He went on to become a 13th-round draft choice of the Cardinals.

In his first season in professional baseball, playing for Johnson City in the Appalachian Rookie League, he was named league Most Valuable Player. He pitched a no-hitter during that campaign.

Today, Cox and his wife, Nancy, live on a 350-acre farm in Freeburg, Illinois, which is about 30 minutes from St. Louis. They have three children: Kyle (25), Kayleigh (23) and Kamdan (20). Cox, who coached and managed for several seasons in the Pioneer League in the mid 2000s, is still involved in baseball and with the Cardinals. He teaches pitching lessons, mainly in the offseason, and does a weekly radio show. “Danny Cox Outdoors,” that airs on 140 stations in 10 states on the Cardinals’ radio network. He also is heavily involved in charity work with the Armed Forces, the Make a Wish Foundation and the Catch a Dream Foundation, among others.

Contact Bobby Pope at bobbypope428@gmail.com

This story was originally published June 22, 2015 at 5:13 PM with the headline "Pope: Cox made long run in majors ."