Much has been documented in recent days about the celebrated political, teaching and business career of former Finance Minister Eugene Cox who passed away last Friday. But sports historian Warrington (Soup) Zuill remembers the 75-year-old statesman for the impact he made while representing West End Rovers in the late 1940s and 1950s.

Cox was a dominant force in the heart of the Rovers defence where he held down the centre-half position for several years before making the bold move upfield to join the attack of the senior side.

In his heyday, Cox was recognised for his ability to read the game, for his tough tackling and his distribution of the ball to midfielders and forwards.

"He was a good, solid player, there is no doubt about that," recalled Zuill. "He played his entire career with the Rovers but there was an occasion when he tried to join the Pembroke Juniors, the top team on the Island at the time. But the attempt was short-lived because at the time there was no way that any outside player could break into their ranks ? not even somebody as talented as Cox.

"But he went back to the Rovers (without joining Juniors) and was to lead them to many great achievements, the most memorable being the 1949-50 season when Rovers scored a stunning 2-0 victory over Pembroke Juniors in the Bermuda Football League Knockout final for the Dr. King Trophy at the Sports Arena on St. John's Road, a game that saw both goals coming from Ronald (Chum) Morrissey."

Of that epic encounter, Zuill chuckled when he recalled the presentation of the trophy and awards. League officials were left in an embarrassing position after discovering that all the medals had been inscribed with the name of Pembroke Juniors ? having taken for granted that the heavily-favoured city team would score an easy victory.

"Yes, it really was funny, the Rovers were the underdogs and even their fans didn't expect them to come away with any success but things backfired," said Zuill.

"They went on anyway and presented the medals to the winning team, but as you can imagine they couldn't keep them and had to give them back to get the problem corrected in due course.

"I can recall that team so vividly, it was B.Bascome, D.Goodchild, E.Simons, D.Simmons, R.Morrissey, E.Cox, B.Trott, E.Brangman, D.Bean, G.Burcher (capt) and A.Darrell."

Zuill regarded Cox as a battler on the field, not one to let the opponents get the upper hand during a fifty-fifty opportunity and always determined to use every ounce of effort while attempting to win the ball.

Zuill recalled occasions when English ships were in port at Dockyard, providing formidable opponents for the likes of West End Rovers with Cox and other prominent players always anxious to test the visitors' mettle.

"There were many great encounters with the foreigners often recognising the abilities of the Rovers' players, Cox at times in particular being identified as one of the players they most admired," added Zuill.

"Some of them, and many of us locals, put him in the category of Bobby Charlton because of his upright style and general stature on the field of play, always one to be in firm charge.

"He was simply a dynamo on the field, an individual who came and made a vast contribution to soccer before leaving the sport to further his studies abroad. Indeed, his is a sad loss to the sporting community and the entire Island."