OTTAWA — Local sports legend Orlis Cox will be named to the Kansas Sports Hall of Fame this fall. The long-time Ottawa High School coach and physical education teacher had a lengthy list of accomplishments. Deb Barker, Franklin County Historical Society, said Cox coached a Cyclone track relay team that beat a team anchored by future Olympic superstar Jessie Owen in a national high school meet in Chicago in 1933.
Cox helped start the Ottawa Recreation Commission and was the first recreation director. Cox defied public opinion and helped integrate the Ottawa public pool, Barker said.
Ottawa’s baseball and softball sports complex is named after Cox.
