Stephen Everett Cox is a former American football

American football

American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...

 punter and placekicker

Placekicker

Placekicker, or simply kicker , is the title of the player in American and Canadian football who is responsible for the kicking duties of field goals, extra points...

. Cox was drafted by the Cleveland Browns

Cleveland Browns

The Cleveland Browns are a professional football team based in Cleveland, Ohio. They are currently members of the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...

 and played for them for four seasons. Cox played four more seasons for the Washington Redskins

Washington Redskins

The Washington Redskins are a professional American football team and members of the East Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team plays at FedExField in Landover, Maryland, while its headquarters and training facility are at Redskin Park in Ashburn,...

. Cox was one of the last straight-ahead style placekickers in the National Football League

National Football League

The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...

.

Though primarily a punter and kickoff specialist, Cox was also used for long field goal attempts. On October 21, 1984, Cox kicked a 60-yard field goal in a game against Cincinnati

Cincinnati Bengals

The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional football team based in Cincinnati, Ohio. They are members of the AFC's North Division in the National Football League . The Bengals began play in 1968 as an expansion team in the American Football League , and joined the NFL in 1970 in the AFL-NFL...

. The kick was the second-longest field goal at the time (behind Tom Dempsey

Tom Dempsey

Thomas Dempsey is a former American football placekicker in the National Football League for the New Orleans Saints , Philadelphia Eagles , Los Angeles Rams , Houston Oilers and Buffalo Bills . He attended high school at San Dieguito High School and played college football at Palomar College...

's record kick), but has since been matched by Morten Andersen

Morten Andersen

Morten Andersen , nicknamed "The Great Dane", is a former National Football League kicker. He holds the distinction of being the all-time leading scorer in NFL history, as well as being the all-time leading scorer for two different teams; the New Orleans Saints, with whom he spent 13 seasons, and...

, Rob Bironas

Rob Bironas

James Robert Douglas "Rob" Bironas is an American football placekicker for the Tennessee Titans of the National Football League. He was signed by the Green Bay Packers as an undrafted free agent in 2002. He played college football at Auburn University and Georgia Southern.Bironas was an All-Pro...

, and Dan Carpenter

Dan Carpenter

Daniel Roy Carpenter is an American football placekicker for the Miami Dolphins of the National Football League...

, and surpassed by Jason Elam

Jason Elam

Jason Elam is a retired American football placekicker. He was drafted by the Denver Broncos in the third round of the 1993 NFL Draft. He played college football at Hawaii....

, Matt Bryant

Matt Bryant

Steven Matt Bryant is an American football placekicker for the Atlanta Falcons of the National Football League. He was signed by the Frankfurt Galaxy as a street free agent in 2002...

, and twice by Sebastian Janikowski

Sebastian Janikowski

Sebastian Janikowski is a left-footed Polish placekicker who plays for the National Football League's Oakland Raiders. He is nicknamed The Polish Cannon because he is considered to have one of the strongest kicking legs in the league, and leads the NFL in kickoffs for touchbacks. He lives in...

. Cox's kick remains one of only seven field goals of 60 yards or more in NFL history and one of only two which was done with the straight-ahead style (the other being Tom Dempsey).

Cox earned a Super Bowl ring

Super Bowl ring

The Super Bowl ring is an award in the National Football League given to the winners of the league's annual championship game, the Super Bowl...

 with the Washington Redskins

Washington Redskins

The Washington Redskins are a professional American football team and members of the East Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team plays at FedExField in Landover, Maryland, while its headquarters and training facility are at Redskin Park in Ashburn,...

 in Super Bowl XXII

Super Bowl XXII

Super Bowl XXII was an American football game played on January 31, 1988 at Jack Murphy Stadium in San Diego, California to decide the National Football League champion following the 1987 regular season...

. Cox punted four times and kicked off seven times for the Redskins.