Cloyce Kennedy Box (August 24, 1923 – October 27, 1993) was an American professional
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...
player and businessman. He played five years in the
National Football League
The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...
(NFL) with the
Detroit Lions
The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. The team plays their home game ...
, was a member of NFL championship teams in 1952 and 1953, was selected as a second-team
All-Pro
All-Pro is an honor bestowed upon professional American football players that designates the best player at each position during a given season. All-Pro players are typically selected by press organizations, who select an "All-Pro team," a list t ...
in 1950 and a first-team All-Pro in 1952, and played in the
1951
Events
January
* January 4 – Korean War: Third Battle of Seoul – Chinese and North Korean forces capture Seoul for the second time (having lost the Second Battle of Seoul in September 1950).
* January 9 – The Government of the Uni ...
and
1953 Pro Bowl
The 1953 Pro Bowl was the NFL's third annual all-star game which featured the league's outstanding performers from the 1952 season. The game was played on January 10, 1953, at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in Los Angeles, California in fron ...
games. On December 3, 1950, he set Detroit team records with 12 catches, four touchdown receptions, 24 points, and 302 receiving yards. He later became a successful businessman in the oil and gas business in Texas.
Early life
Box was born in 1923 in
Hamilton, Texas
Hamilton is a city in and the county seat
A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hung ...
.
From 1938 to 1942, he attended Jonesboro High School in
Jonesboro, Texas, where he and his twin brother Boyce Box were both star athletes.
[ He never saw a game of football until he was 18 years old, having played basketball throughout his youth.
]
College career
Box and his brother Boyce attended West Texas A&M University
West Texas A&M University (WTAMU or WT) is a public university in Canyon, Texas, United States. It is the northernmost campus of the Texas A&M University System and accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, Southern Associat ...
on basketball scholarships and helped the Buffaloes win a Border Conference championship in 1943 before being inducted into the United States Marine Corps
The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines or simply the Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for conducting expeditionar ...
. He attained the rank of captain during World War II.[ ] Box also attended Louisiana Tech University
Louisiana Tech University (Louisiana Tech, La. Tech, or simply Tech) is a public university, public research university in Ruston, Louisiana, United States. It is part of the University of Louisiana System and Carnegie Classification of Institu ...
as part of the V-12 Navy College Training Program
The V-12 Navy College Training Program was designed to supplement the force of commissioned officers in the United States Navy during World War II. Between July 1, 1943, and June 30, 1946, more than 125,000 participants were enrolled in 131 colleg ...
. When he returned from the Marine Corps in 1946, the West Texas A&M basketball program slumped, and Box ended up playing college football as a quarterback and halfback for the West Texas A&M Buffaloes football
The West Texas A&M Buffaloes football program is the intercollegiate American football team for the West Texas A&M University located in the U.S. state of Texas. The team competes in Division II and are members of the Lone Star Conference. Th ...
team from 1946 to 1948.
Professional career
Box played professional football at the end
End, END, Ending, or ENDS may refer to:
End Mathematics
*End (category theory)
* End (topology)
* End (graph theory)
* End (group theory) (a subcase of the previous)
* End (endomorphism) Sports and games
*End (gridiron football)
*End, a division ...
and halfback positions in the National Football League
The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...
(NFL) for five seasons with the Detroit Lions
The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. The team plays their home game ...
from 1949 to 1950 and 1952 to 1954.[ As a rookie in 1949, Box appeared in ten games, principally as a halfback. He rushed for 62 yards on 30 carries and caught 15 passes for 276 yards and four touchdowns.][ Box later recalled: "I probably was the worst halfback in the history of the league."][ ]
In 1950, Box's second year in the NFL, Detroit's coaches sought to take advantage of Box's speed and converted him into an end.[ Teaming up with Lions' quarterback ]Bobby Layne
Robert Lawrence Layne (December 19, 1926 – December 1, 1986) was an American professional football player who was a quarterback for 15 seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Texas Longhorns before ...
, Box appeared in 12 games and ranked among the league's leading receivers with 50 receptions (third), 1,009 receiving yards (second), 11 receiving touchdowns (second), 84.1 receiving yards per game (second), and 1,009 yards from scrimmage (second).[ On December 3, 1950, in a game against the ]Baltimore Colts
The Baltimore Colts were a professional American football team that played in Baltimore from 1953 to 1983, when owner Robert Irsay moved the franchise to Indianapolis. The team was named for Baltimore's history of horse breeding and racing. It w ...
, he set Detroit team records with 12 catches, four touchdown receptions, 24 points, and 302 receiving yards.[ His 302 receiving yards against the Colts was the second highest in NFL history at the time and currently ranks fifth in league history. After the 1950 season, Box was selected by the ]Associated Press
The Associated Press (AP) is an American not-for-profit organization, not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City.
Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association, and produces news reports that are dist ...
(AP) as a second-team end on its All-Pro team.
In February 1951, with the Korean War
The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...
ongoing, Box was recalled from inactive reserve status by the United States Marine Corps
The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines or simply the Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for conducting expeditionar ...
. He missed the entire 1951 season due to military service.[ ]
In June 1952, after being discharged from the Marine Corps, Box returned to the Lions.[ Box was the leading receiver on the 1952 Lions team that won the NFL championship. On October 19, 1952, he led a comeback victory over the ]Los Angeles Rams
The Los Angeles Rams are a professional American football team based in the Greater Los Angeles, Greater Los Angeles area. The Rams compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West ...
, with touchdown catches covering 64 and 10 yards. He led the NFL with 15 receiving touchdowns, ranked second in the league with 90 points scored, and again ranked among the league leaders with 924 receiving yards (fourth), 22.0 yards per reception (fourth), and 924 yards from scrimmage (sixth).[ His yards per reception in 1952 are still the most ever in Lions team history while his 15 touchdowns remained a team record until 2011. In the 1952 NFL Championship Game, a 17–7 victory over the ]Cleveland Browns
The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. The Browns compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team is named after ...
, Box was used mainly as a decoy but was credited with a key block on Doak Walker
Ewell Doak Walker II (January 1, 1927 – September 27, 1998) was an American football player who was a halfback and kicker. He played college football for the SMU Mustangs, winning the Maxwell Award in 1947 and the Heisman Trophy in 1948. H ...
's 67-yard touchdown run. After the 1952 season, Box was selected by the AP as a first-team All Pro player and was selected to play in the 1953 Pro Bowl
The 1953 Pro Bowl was the NFL's third annual all-star game which featured the league's outstanding performers from the 1952 season. The game was played on January 10, 1953, at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in Los Angeles, California in fron ...
.[
In 1953, the Lions won their second consecutive NFL championship, though Box's receiving statistics declined significantly with only 16 receptions for 403 yards.][ He was reportedly "robbed of his blinding speed by a leg injury", though he did manage a career-long 97-yard touchdown reception against the ]Green Bay Packers
The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They ar ...
on Thanksgiving Day 1953 which would remain a Lions record until 1998. In the 1953 NFL Championship Game, he had four receptions for 54 yards.[
In 1954, Box's final year in the NFL, he appeared in 11 games but caught only six passes for 53 yards.][ Over the course of his five years with the Lions, Box totaled 129 receptions for 2,665 yards and 32 touchdowns.][
]
Business career and later life
After retiring from football, Box had a long career in business. He began in 1954 as an assistant manager in the Dallas
Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...
office of the George A. Fuller Company
George A. Fuller (October 21, 1851 – December 14, 1900) was an American architect often credited as being the "inventor" of modern skyscrapers and the modern general contractor, contracting system.
Early life and career
Fuller was born in Te ...
, eventually serving as chairman of the board. Box became president of the Oklahoma Cement Company and president and chairman of OKC Corporation, which later became known as the Box Energy Corporation.[ ][
Box later partnered with world renowned real estate developer Trammel Crow to form the BoxCrow Cement Company. By 1986, BoxCrow had invested $177 million ($420 million in 2020) to construct a modern, 1 million ton per-year ]Portland cement
Portland cement is the most common type of cement in general use around the world as a basic ingredient of concrete, mortar (masonry), mortar, stucco, and non-specialty grout. It was developed from other types of hydraulic lime in England in th ...
production plant in Midlothian, Texas just south of the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex. The Midlothian plant is currently owned and operated by LafargeHolcim
Holcim is a Swiss-based global building materials and aggregates flagship division of the Holcim Group. The original company was merged on 10 July 2015 with Lafarge to form LafargeHolcim as the new company and renamed to Holcim Group in 202 ...
and has since expanded to produce over 2 million tons of cement per year.
Box also served as chairman of the board of regents for West Texas State University
West Texas A&M University (WTAMU or WT) is a public university in Canyon, Texas, United States. It is the northernmost campus of the Texas A&M University System and accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, Southern Associat ...
and the Texas Board of Penal Corrections. Box was also inducted into the West Texas State University Business Hall of Fame. His Cloyce Box Ranch was used as the original Southfork Ranch
Southfork Ranch is a conference and event center in Parker, in the US state of Texas, north of Dallas. It includes the Ewing Mansion, the setting for the television series ''Dallas''. A variety of tours are offered to the location.
History
Th ...
for the mini-series that became the first season of the television series ''Dallas
Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...
''.
In 1982, Box hosted a reunion for his 1952 Lions teammates at the site of Super Bowl XVI. At the time, the 1952 Lions were the last championship team that had not received a ring, so Box presented each of his teammates with championship rings that he paid for personally. That same winter, he established a trust fund for the purpose of helping former NFL players experiencing financial difficulty by contributing $1 million ($2.7 million in 2020) of his own money.
Box and his wife, Fern Virginia Box, had four sons: Don, Gary, Thomas and Douglas. Box later married his second wife Ashley Scott Box. They lived in Frisco, Texas
Frisco is a city in the U.S. state of Texas, located in Collin County, Texas, Collin and Denton County, Texas, Denton counties. It is part of the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex (DFW) and about from both Dallas Love Field and Dallas/Fort Worth In ...
, for more than 30 years. Box died of a heart attack at his home in Frisco in 1993, at the age of 70.[ ] At his funeral, Frank Gifford
Francis Newton Gifford (August 16, 1930 – August 9, 2015) was an American professional football player, actor, and television sports commentator. After a 12-year playing career as a halfback, flanker and safety for the New York Giants of ...
gave Box's eulogy while Kathie Lee Gifford
Kathryn Lee Gifford (Given name, née Epstein; born August 16, 1953) is an American television presenter, singer, songwriter, actress, and author. From 1985 to 2000, she and Regis Philbin hosted the talk show ''Live with Kelly and Mark, Live! wi ...
sang at the service.
NFL career statistics
Regular season
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Box, Cloyce
1923 births
1993 deaths
American football ends
American football halfbacks
Detroit Lions players
Louisiana Tech Bulldogs football players
West Texas A&M Buffaloes basketball players
West Texas A&M Buffaloes football players
Western Conference Pro Bowl players
United States Marine Corps personnel of World War II
United States Marine Corps officers
People from Hamilton, Texas
Players of American football from Frisco, Texas
American men's basketball players
Waco High School alumni
Military personnel from Texas
20th-century American sportsmen