individuals find one thing they are good at and begin to gain interest in it, leading them to excell. In the case of Dr. James Fox, it was almost as if he was the jack of all trades. There were a lot of steps before Fox began his professional career of becoming a director within the school's teaching program. During his time as a graduate student, Dr. Fox earned a bit of extra money by doing quite a few side jobs. One of the first ways of earning extra income was he and his friend had opened a California Club and was able to regularly arrange different forms of entertainment. By hosting this entertainment, the two were able to charge a fee, making an overall profit. Not to mention, Dr. Fox also worked as a fry cook for one of his local hotels, eventually working his way up to head waiter. One last "side gig" also included him working in the women's gymnasium, at the school he attended. But, it has been since confessed that he did not get much work done. Not for reasons you may think, but rather because Dr. Fox spent an ample amount of time playing Ping Pong.
One thing eventually lead to another though and Dr. Fox found himself serving for the United States Navy. Throughout his time in service, he was able to learn a lot that he could bring back with him to his teaching style. At one point, Dr. Fox had been stationed in Norfolk, Virginia, home to one of the largest Navy bases in the U.S. Here he was able meet his wife, which is discussed in the subsection "Early Life," but soon was separated for a period of time. Dr. Fox served his time by being stationed in a number of locations including Philadelphia and Hawaii. The reason Hawaii was brought up was because while located in Philadelphia, Dr. Fox met Bill Dickey. Bill was a entertainment recruiter for the Navy and had asked Fox if he would ever want to go to Hawaii as a boxing commissioner. Sure enough, Dr. Fox spent time stationed in Pearl Harbor.
Once his time was complete serving his country, Dr. Fox had every intention of to return to Oregon and begin his teaching career. However, as life goes, plans changed and he ended up located back in Virginia, with his wife. He was able to get ahold of a list of about 20 schools looking for Physical Education teachers. Finding its way on the list was Lynchburg College. Dr. Fox had heard of the instution due to being a member of the Disciples church and having a few aquantinces mentioning it to him. Fox then applied for the job, took the offer, and began his position as Assistant Professor of Physical Education and Health in December of 1945. While concluding his first years at the college he was able to recieve his Doctorate Degree, officially making him Dr. Fox.
Due to his well rounded qualities, Dr. Fox not only excelled in the classroom, but also on the sports field. He led teams to many championships across the board. He was known for his coaching abilities in sports like Baseball, Track and Field, Basketball, and many others. Students from his years discuss him being an individual who always put others first and wanted them to succeed at all costs. The strict mindset he had on the feild and court followed him into the classroom, ultimately leading his students to learn a tremendous amount of life lessons. Without his determination and drive felt throughout the Lynchburg College community, who is to say the way in which the institution views academics and athletics would be the same today.