Andy Fox

**Andrew Roland Fox** (August 11, 1920 - July 25, 2021), also nicknamed **Arfman**, was an American football player, security guard, chimney sweep, author and philosopher. He played as a running back for the Green Bay Badgers for ten seasons. In the middle years of his career, Fox became a two time winner of the Most Improved Player (MIP) Award.

## Early life

Andy was born in Tampa to restaurateur Venus Fox (1883 - 1964) and World War I veteran and entrepreneur Elon Fox (1856 - 1928), who retired from the Marine Corps at the end of the war. He had a big sister, Jasmin (1915 - 1990), a police officer for the Tampa PD, and a Welsh corgi, Butkus. Some sources say that it was Elon's military genes that gave Andy his athletic strength. Elon died when Andy was eight.

Fox was inspired to play football when he discovered that he was born in the year the NFL was created. He tried out for his middle school football team, but he didn't make the cut. Feeling the need to get stronger, he joined the weightlifting club, becoming its vice-president at age 13. He successfully joined his high school football team, becoming captain during his junior/senior year.

In 1938, Fox accepted a full athletic football scholarship from Tampa University. He also studied philosophy.

## Playing career

Fox made himself eligible for the 1942 NFL draft. He was drafted in the second round by the Green Bay Baggers. He joined the team as a running back. In the last play of a 1943 game against the New Enhland Hoodies, he ran the ball up the middle, but was unable to score. The Baggers finished eight in the league.

During Fox's third season in 1945, a natural disaster devastated the home stadium. He organized a volunteer cleanup effort with his team. In his fourth season, to clean up his image in hopes of getting a lucrative endorsement deal from Adidas, Fox started volunteering at a homeless shelter. In 1947, Fox dropped a potential game-winning touchdown pass on the last play against the Indiana Clots. The Baggers finished as runners up in the league. As a result, Fox won his first Most Improved Player award for his improvement from his 1946 season. After Fox's sixth season in 1948, when the Baggers finished as runners up again, he won his second MIP award.

In 1952, after reaching his milestone of ten seasons, Fox was summoned for a doping test by league officials. By an unlucky coincidence, he failed the test. Although he was technically banned from athletic competitions only for five years, this marked the end of his football career, as he found himself unable to play again, even when the ban had expired. Over the years, Fox had made allegations against the NFL that they had treated him unfairly during the tests and that the results were tampered. The conclusion to this idea has not been reached.

## Post-football

### Security job

In 1969, after his first twenty-seven years in the spotlight ended, Fox started looking for a new career. After five application rejections and two political campaign failures, he was hired for the position of security guard for Hamilton and Sons.

In 1975, Fox was almost fired from his job. However, he seduced his supervisor, Ellie, into keeping it. This happened again the next year, and again in 1978, 1979, 1985, and for the final time in 1986. In 1989, he was forced to retire from Hamilton and Sons after twenty years, being "too old" at age 69 to continue guarding.

### Chimney sweeping, graduate school and law school

A year after his retirement from his security guard career, Fox successfully applied for The Diggler Company's 1990 opening for apprentice chimney sweep. He earned a promotion to chimney sweep in 1992. In 2006, his services were terminated, four years before he had the chance to retire, again being considered too old for the job. He enrolled in graduate school to continue his studies in philosophy. Fox completed graduate school in 2008.

Despite having no intentions of becoming a lawyer or judge, Fox decided he should still have some knowledge in law. He attended law school from 2008 to 2011, becoming one the oldest law school graduates at age 91.

## Writing career

In 2011, Fox put pencils and pens to paper and started a new position as writer for Trump Publishing (though he did not write for Donald Trump). His novels included a variety of subjects, both fiction and real life. He told many stories of his past careers, especially his experience in football, sharing how much of an honnor it was to play, even when he was kicked out over the fateful failed drug test.

Fox continued writing for a decade until his death in 2021.

## Personal life and death

Andy married Aretha Fingerwell (1920 - 2000) in 1945. Fingerwell was an architect for King and Handy. The two had met in college, sophomore year. They had six children and eight grandchildren:

Children

- DeShawn (born 1940); teacher at Tampa Public Schools

- Chris (born 1944); grocer for Swagger Grocery

- Marvin (born 1945); mail carrier for The City of Tampa

- Aria (born 1947); receptionist at Onyx Automotives

- Pheobe (born 1950); Junior's Cafe employee

- Robin (born 1959); Dance Instructor for Lincoln Dance Studio

Grandchildren

- Tisha (born 1968); pilot at James Airlines

- David (born 1980); firefighter for Tampa Fire Department

- Virginia (born 1984); marine biologist at The Houston Group

- Tiana (born 1993; adopted in 1994); jewler for Elana Jeweler

- Payton (born 1993)

- Daevon (born 1997)

- Perry (born 1998)

- Ignacio (born 1999)

Fox died of natural causes on July 25, 2021, aged 100. He is survived by his six children, eight grandchildren and nieces and nephews. His gravestone is marked with his two MIP awards.

## Bibliography

*Fame and Shame* (1948)

(2011)

(2012)

(2013)

(2014)

(2015)

(2016)

(2017)

*Fame and Shame: Golden Anniversary Edition* (2018)

(2019)

(2020)

(2021)