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Jim Fox (ice hockey)

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For other people named Jim Fox, see Jim Fox (disambiguation).
Jim Fox
Born (1960-05-18) May 18, 1960 (age 64)
Coniston, Ontario, Canada
Height 5 ft 8 in (173 cm)
Weight 185 lb (84 kg; 13 st 3 lb)
Position Right wing
Shot Right
Played for Los Angeles Kings
National team  Canada
NHL draft 10th overall, 1980
Los Angeles Kings
Playing career 1980–1989

James Charles Fox (born May 18, 1960) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player who played nine seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Los Angeles Kings. He has been part of the Kings organization for four decades and is currently the Kings' television colour commentator.

Playing career

Fox's road to the NHL started in the Ontario Major Junior Hockey League playing for the Ottawa 67's under head coach Brian Kilrea who, coincidentally, played for Los Angeles during their inaugural season. Fox was a dominant scorer for Ottawa and notched a league-best 166 points in 52 games during the 1979-80 season which convinced Los Angeles to use a first-round selection on Fox at the 1980 NHL Entry Draft held at the Montreal Forum.

Fox was able to use his skill and speed to crack the Los Angeles lineup for the 1980-81 season and finished his rookie campaign with a respectable 18 goals and 42 points for a strong Kings team which finished with a 43-24-13 record under head coach Bob Berry. Fox scored his first NHL goal against Gilles Gilbert of Detroit on October 11, 1980.

Fox played a critical role in the tying goal during the stunning Miracle on Manchester game against Edmonton in the 1982 playoffs, by stripping scoring superstar Wayne Gretzky of the puck in the dying moments of the third period before sending it to defenseman Mark Hardy whose point shot was blocked but pounced on by Steve Bozek who swatted the puck past Oilers goaltender Grant Fuhr to even the score at 5-5 after Los Angeles had trailed 5-0 after two periods.

In 1984–85, his strongest season statistically, Fox managed over a point a game, finishing with 30-53-83 in 79 games. Knee injuries prematurely derailed his career, forcing him to retire at 29 after the realization his knees no longer allowed him to use the darting speed which had been the foundation of his success throughout his career. His final NHL goal was scored in St. Louis on October 21, 1989, against Blues goaltender Greg Millen.

Post-playing career

Soon after his retirement, Fox was hired as the color analyst on the Kings' television broadcasts alongside longtime play-by-play man Bob Miller on Fox Sports West/Prime Ticket.[1] Miller and Fox were together for 27 years, including the Kings' first Stanley Cup Finals run in 1993 and Stanley Cup victories in 2012 and 2014. Since the 2017-2018 NHL season, Fox has worked with play-by-play announcer and Brooklyn native, Alex Faust.[2]

Due to contractual obligations, Miller and Fox were not allowed to air games beyond the first round. However, due to their longstanding popularity in Southern California, the Kings had them recorded their calls of potential Cup-clinching games in 2012 and 2014 for future distribution.[3]

He had the honor of being one of the speakers when Miller was honoured with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2006. On January 25, 2016, Fox was rewarded for distinguished achievement in sports broadcasting and inducted into the Southern California Sports Broadcasters Hall of Fame.

In 2015, Jim Fox became acting League Commissioner of the LA Kings High School Hockey League, a newly formed league focusing on high school player development and competition.[4] The LA Kings High School Hockey League is designed to continue the growth of ice hockey in Southern California and directly connect the sport to local communities and high schools.

A love for wines inspired Fox to study Enology through the University of California, Los Angeles between 2006-2008, as well as Winemaking with the University of California at Davis in 2014. He co-founded Patiné Cellars in 2011, which produces single-vineyard designate pinot noir.[5]

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

    Regular season   Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1975–76 North Bay Trappers OPJHL 44 30 45 75 16 — — — — —
1975–76 Sudbury Wolves OMJHL — — — — — 4 3 3 6 0
1976–77 North Bay Trappers OPJHL 38 44 64 108 4 19 13 25 38 —
1977–78 Ottawa 67's OMJHL 59 44 83 127 12 13 7 14 21 0
1978–79 Ottawa 67's OMJHL 53 37 66 103 4 4 2 1 3 2
1979–80 Ottawa 67's OMJHL 52 65 101 166 30 11 6 14 20 2
1980–81 Los Angeles Kings NHL 71 18 24 42 8 4 0 1 1 0
1981–82 Los Angeles Kings NHL 77 30 38 68 23 9 1 4 5 0
1982–83 Los Angeles Kings NHL 77 28 40 68 8 — — — — —
1983–84 Los Angeles Kings NHL 80 30 42 72 26 — — — — —
1984–85 Los Angeles Kings NHL 79 30 53 83 10 3 0 1 1 0
1985–86 Los Angeles Kings NHL 39 14 17 31 2 — — — — —
1986–87 Los Angeles Kings NHL 76 19 42 61 48 5 3 2 5 0
1987–88 Los Angeles Kings NHL 68 16 35 51 18 1 0 0 0 0
1989–90 Los Angeles Kings NHL 11 1 1 2 0 — — — — —
NHL totals 578 186 293 479 143 22 4 8 12 0

International

Year Team Event   GP G A Pts PIM
1980 Canada WJC 5 3 2 5 0
1986 Canada WC 10 3 2 5 4

References

  1. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2019-02-02. Retrieved 2006-09-30.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  2. ^ "Alex Faust Named New LA Kings TV Play-by-Play Announcer". NHL.com. Retrieved 2019-02-02.
  3. ^ Elliott, Helene (2012-06-05). "Bob Miller, Jim Fox to record Stanley Cup call". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2012-06-17.
  4. ^ "LA Kings High School Hockey League". NHL.com. Retrieved 2019-02-02.
  5. ^ "LA Kings broadcaster blends hockey and wine passions". sports.yahoo.com. Retrieved 2019-02-02.
Preceded by Los Angeles Kings first round draft pick
1980 		Succeeded by
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