Manager of the Atlanta Braves.
Born in 1941 in Tulsa, Oklahoma, but raised in California's San Joaquin Valley, Cox began his baseball career with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1959. Signed for a $40,000 bonus, Cox spent seven years in the Dodgers' farm system before being traded to the Braves in 1967. Then in 1968, Cox was traded to the New York Yankees, won the third base job, and was named to the Topps Rookie All-Star team. But two years later, Cox's playing career was over due to bad knees.
At the age of 30, Cox became a minor league manager for the Yankees. He managed different Yankee farm teams for the next six years, before being brought back up to the majors as the first base coach for the Yankees, who won the World Series that year (1977). The next year, he took his first major league managerial job with the Atlanta Braves. After four years with Cox as manager, the Braves' record was 266-323.
In 1982, Cox took the reins of the Toronto Blue Jays. He spent four years with the young Blue Jays and each year they showed marked improvement. In 1985, they won the American League East Championship and Cox was named Manager of the year.
But he was lured back to the Braves in '86 as their general manager, mainly developing player personnel for the future. And the future would be his, as he took over as Braves manager on June 22, 1990. The next year, Cox led the Braves from last place to first place, but lost to the Minnesota Twins in the World Series. Cox was named Manager of the Year by the Associated Press making him the second to be so named in both leagues.
In the 90's, the Braves, led by Cox, were the team to beat. They won division titles in each season, except for the strike-shortened 1994 campaign. They also won the National League pennant in '91, '92, '95, and 1996, and in 1995 Cox managed the Braves to their first World Series win.
By the 2000 season, Bobby Cox had become the Braves' winningest manager in the modern era with 1166 wins and 55 wins in the post season. Baseball fans can look for more of the same in the 21st Century.
Editor's note: Bobby Cox retired from managing after the 2010 baseball season.