Robert deLafayette Cox, the outstanding Gophers quarterback better known as Bobby Cox, died Friday of pancreatic cancer at age 69 at his home in Plymouth.

Cox was a self-made man who left home as a teenager and grew up to start his own business.

Fleeing from an impoverished home in Los Angeles, Cox struck out on his own at age 14 and returned to Washington state, where he was born.

In Walla Walla, Wash., he became a skilled high school athlete, receiving all-state recognition in basketball, football and track. His senior year, the basketball team was No. 1 in the state and Cox, at 6 feet, played center.

After high school, he played football for the University of Washington for two years before transferring to Minnesota to play quarterback for the Gophers under coach Murray Warmath.

Before the 1957 season, Cox was named best college quarterback by Sports Illustrated magazine, which published his picture on the cover. The Gophers, however, finished with a disappointing 4-5 record as Cox battled an assortment of injuries.

"I never had anybody who wanted to win more than he did," Warmath said Saturday. "He was willing to pay the price to be successful."

Cox left the University of Minnesota without graduating when he was drafted in the fourth round by the Los Angeles Rams. He didn't make the Rams' final roster cut but later played for the Boston Patriots. He retired from football at age 27 after his third concussion, his family said.

He next tried his hand as a disk jockey and sports announcer before becoming a successful salesman for the Carlson Companies Inc. He went on from there to start his own business: World Travel and Incentives Inc., a $55 million travel management company for corporate clients that he owned from 1975 to 1996.

His most recent business venture was Amigo's Diversity Promotional Products and Printing in St. Paul.

The son of a Mexican mother and Irish father, Cox was fluent in Spanish and proud of his heritage. He was an avid reader and enjoyed travel. He was a high-energy person who could light up a room, said his wife, Terri Cox of Plymouth.

Cox is survived by his wife; two sons, Robert and Christopher; a daughter, Sarah Jane Miller; and one stepdaughter, Kari Ann Shaff, and two grandchildren. Services will be 1 p.m. Tuesday at the Washburn McReavy chapel in Edina.

Robert L Cox