Bobby Cox passed away at the age of 84-years-old on Saturday, May 9. The legenary player and manager has a connection to the city that goes back to its Eastern League days.
As a player, Bobby Cox played in two seasons for the New York Yankees in 1968 and ‘69, being plagued by knee injuries before hanging his glove up for a managerial position in New York’s farm system.
Cox would take the top step of the Quigley Stadium dugout in the inaugural season of West Haven Yankees baseball in 1972. West Haven, Connecticut, would just be a mere stop in route to a Cooperstown managerial career for Cox, that would see him win a World Series with the New York Yankees in 1977 as a third base coach and later winning the 1995 World Series as a manager with the Atlanta Braves.
When Cox came into West Haven, the Yankees’ organization had just relocated its Double-AA affiliate from New Hampshire to Connecticut. New York would bring an entirely new coaching staff for the transition, which led to Cox’s promotion from a Single-A Fort Lauderdale. The 31-year-old Cox was one of the youngest managers in the minor leagues and fresh off his rookie season as a manager down in Florida.
1972 would mark the beginning of a championship-winning mentally in the city. This would be just one of four total championship winning seasons for the West Haven ball club before their relocation out of Connecticut entirely after the 1979 season.