Don Cox works on a story while at the Lincoln Memorial courtesy of the Reno Gazette Journal, photo by David B. Parker
Irene Adeline Milanez (@MilanezIrene) – Executive Editor of The Spear
Don Cox, sportswriter and San Jose State School of Journalism alumnus, died Monday in Sparks, Nevada. He was 76.
He battled with cancer for over a year, according to the Reno Gazette Journal.
As a former sportswriter for Reno Gazette Journal, Cox was a longtime advocate of The Spear and SJSU.
“My objective is to support The Spear as it grows and matures,” said Don Cox in an email to The Spear adviser Dona Nichols and director of the SJSU School of Journalism and Mass Communications, Phylis West.
He read The Spear habitually and often offered his advice as well as financial support to further develop the publication.
His experience in the realm of both sports writing and breaking news offered a valuable resource to student sportswriters.
“He’s been an avid supporter since I’ve been here, but he really became involved in 2016-2017 when The Spear launched,” said West.
He established the Don Cox scholarship, which provides a $2,000 scholarship to members of The Spear staff.
The scholarship played an important role in incentivizing students within The Spear to expand their roles and broaden their horizons .
“I’m super grateful to have something to honor kids who really put their total semester on the line,” said Thomas Christian, former co-executive editor of The Spear and recipient of the Don Cox scholarship.
Christian recalled his few, but memorable, hour-long phone calls with Cox this past fall semester.
He made students feel included in the San Jose State alumni base and at ease with his comedic antics.
Cox was well known for inspiring budding journalists throughout his lifetime.
“He helped elevate anywhere he was, including younger writers who would come on,” said Warren Lerude, former publisher of the Reno Evening Gazette.
No Nonsense Reporting
When asked to describe Cox, two words repeated consistently with all who knew him.
Old school.
“I don’t think that I could ever remember him even using a tape recorder, he just loved having that notebook in his back pocket,” said Guy Clifton, a former colleague from the Reno Gazette Journal.
Cox reminded Clifton of sportswriters from the ’30s he heard about growing up, like Red Smith.
He refused shying away from asking difficult questions.
Cox mastered the art of brevity while still writing entertainingly and informatively.
“He used an economy of words to get his point across so that he didn’t have to flower anything up,” said Clifton.
He embodied a no-frills reporting style, an approach his colleagues wanted to emulate.
Brightening the Newsroom
He was well known for his sense of humor.
The newsroom was home to Cox talking shop and reminiscing on old memories.
“Even if he was in a bad mood, he’d always know the funniest thing to say and the perfect story to tell,” said Clifton.
Cox’s legacy lives on in the fond memories of his colleagues.
“He had a great sense of humor. He was very assertive, he was a precise writer. He wrote with grace,” said Lerude.
This preciseness and grace translated to his guidance with student writers.
“He was really a great resource for the last magazine that we put out,” said Christian.
Longtime Love for SJSU
Cox was a former SJSU alumnus in the class of ‘68 before his start in professional journalism in Nevada.
“He was a student under the founder of the journalism program Dwight Bentel,” said Ralph Nichols, SJSU journalism professor and former colleague of Cox.
The same Dwight Bentel that the journalism building is named after.
This was also the same year SJSU alumni Tommie Smith and John Carlos protested at the ‘68 Olympics.
Cox’s love for SJSU and journalism continued after his time there as he became a well known benefactor of the school.
“I know that place [San Jose State University] meant a lot to him,” said Clifton.
Cox served in the U.S. Air Force and had requested burial in the Veterans Cemetery in Fernley, Nevada.