Eric Holsbury Cox OAM (1923 – 4 December 2006) was an Australian

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as rugby league in English-speaking countries and rugby 13/XIII in non-Anglophone Europe, is a contact sport, full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular Rugby league playin ...

coach,

referee A referee is an official, in a variety of sports and competition, responsible for enforcing the rules of the sport, including sportsmanship decisions such as ejection. The official tasked with this job may be known by a variety of other title ...

and administrator.

Career

Cox was born in

Burwood, New South Wales Burwood is a suburb in the Inner West of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is west of the Sydney central business district and is the administrative centre for the Local government in Australia, local government area of Mun ...

in 1923. He joined the

Royal Australian Navy The Royal Australian Navy (RAN) is the navy, naval branch of the Australian Defence Force (ADF). The professional head of the RAN is Chief of Navy (Australia), Chief of Navy (CN) Vice admiral (Australia), Vice Admiral Mark Hammond (admiral), Ma ...

in 1940, serving on HMAS ''Kanimbla'' during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. After the war Cox transferred to the civilian arm of the Navy, working as a public service administrator until his retirement. He maintained a strong interest in Navy Rugby League. After playing football in Lismore,

Brisbane Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...

and

Townsville The City of Townsville is a city on the north-eastern coast of Queensland, Australia. With a population of 201,313 as of 2024, it is the largest settlement in North Queensland and Northern Australia (specifically, the parts of Australia north of ...

, Cox returned to Sydney to coach the

St. George Saint George (;Geʽez: ጊዮርጊስ, , ka, გიორგი, , , died 23 April 303), also George of Lydda, was an early Christian martyr who is venerated as a saint in Christianity. According to holy tradition, he was a soldier in the ...

Presidents Cup team in 1950. He gained his referees certificate in 1951 and went on to referee in district and state competitions. Cox's career in rugby league administration began in 1955 as Secretary of the St George Referees Association. He was subsequently elected as Secretary of the

New South Wales Rugby League The New South Wales Rugby League Ltd (NSWRL) is an Australian rugby league football competition operator in rugby league in New South Wales, New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory and is a member of the Australian Rugby League Co ...

(NSWRL) Referees Association, a position he held from 1963 to 1977. During that time he was appointed manager of the 1966 NSWRL team for its annual series against the

Queensland Rugby League The Queensland Rugby Football League QRL Constitution, 2009: 3 (QRL QRL Constitution, 2009: 2) is the governing body for rugby league in Queensland. It is a member of the Australian Rugby League Commission (ARL Commission) and selects the mem ...

. In 1971, Cox returned to coaching. He coached Alexander Mackie College in the University Cup competition, the team winning the premiership from 1971 to 1974. In 1978, Cox was appointed as the inaugural Director of Referees for the NSWRL, responsible for the appointment of all referees in the state competition. He held that position for five years. Cox then moved to the position of Ground Manager, being responsible for the administration of all on-ground activity including players, officials and television crews. During this time he was noted for running a "tight ship" and nothing untoward happened on his watch, however, he displayed his softer side through actions such as ensuring the game ball was presented to a retiring player. Cox was cited as assisting bad boy John Hopoate to become a referee despite Cox's involvement in Hopoate's banning several months earlier. He also lodged a complaint against South Sydney

cheerleaders Cheerleading is an activity in which the participants (called cheerleaders) cheer for their team as a form of encouragement. It can range from chanting slogans to intense physical activity. It can be performed to motivate sports teams, to ent ...

for wearing too-brief costumes. Cox died on 4 December 2006 from a

stroke Stroke is a medical condition in which poor cerebral circulation, blood flow to a part of the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: brain ischemia, ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and intracranial hemorrhage, hemor ...

and

pneumonia Pneumonia is an Inflammation, inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as Pulmonary alveolus, alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of Cough#Classification, productive or dry cough, ches ...

, the result of

asbestosis Asbestosis is long-term inflammation and pulmonary fibrosis, scarring of the human lung, lungs due to asbestos fibers. Symptoms may include shortness of breath, cough, wheezing, and chest pain, chest tightness. Complications may include lung canc ...

. His wife of fifty-nine years, Colleen, died twelve weeks later. They are survived by their three children, Christopher, David and Julie.

Honours

Cox was awarded the Medal of the

Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an Australian honours and awards system, Australian honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Monarch ...

(OAM) on 10 June 2002 for "service to Rugby League football as a player, referee, coach and administrator". He had earlier been awarded the

Australian Sports Medal The Australian Sports Medal is an award given to recognise achievements in Australian sport to commemorate Australian participation in major sporting events. Original recipients of the award included competitors, coaches, sports scientists, off ...

in 2000 for "lifelong involvement with Rugby League". Other honours awarded to Cox include life memberships of the

(NSWRL) and the NSWRL Referees Association, the

Australian Rugby League The Australian Rugby League Commission Limited (ARL), formerly the Australian Rugby Football League Limited known as the Australian Rugby League is an Australian rugby league football competition operator. It was founded in 1986 as the Australi ...

Referees Association and the St George Referees Association. Bankstown City Council named a local park in Cox's honour. Following the closure of the nearby Revesby Heights Ex-Servicemen's Club, its war memorial was relocated to Cox Reserve. The Australian Navy Rugby League champion team is awarded The Bosun's Cup, named after Cox, who was a

bosun A boatswain ( , ), bo's'n, bos'n, or bosun, also known as a deck boss, or a qualified member of the deck department, or the third hand on a fishing vessel, is the most senior rate of the deck department and is responsible for the components of ...

during World War II.

Obituaries

'The Bosun' will be sadly missed
(

Fox Sports Fox Sports is the brand name for a number of sports channels, broadcast divisions, programming, and other media around the world. The name originates from Fox Broadcasting Company in the United States, which in turn derives its name from Fox Fi ...

)
League legend Eric Cox O.A.M. passes away
(

)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cox, Eric 1923 births People from the Inner West (Sydney) 2006 deaths Australian rugby league referees Australian rugby league coaches Australian rugby league administrators