Bulldogs honor the legacy of Jeff Fox

ASHEVILLE, N.C. –The COVID pandemic has claimed more than 800,000 lives in this country. People of all ages and walks of life have succumbed to the deadly virus.

Last March, one victim died after a one-month battle in a San Jose, California hospital. The horrifying news sent shockwaves through UNC Asheville and the U.S. government community.

Jeff Fox, a former Bulldog baseball player who served as a Secret Service member and was charged with protecting both American Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush during an eight-year stint at the White House, could not protect himself from contracting the highly-contagious and deadly COVID-19 disease. He passed away on March 16, 2021.He was 52 years old, survived by his wife Kristina and parents Jerry and Martha Fox.

In speaking with his former coaches and teammates, Fox may have been the most unlikely person to perish from a COVID infection.

"When COVID started, none of us really knew much about it," said Jim Bretz, a 24-year Major League scout (now with the Detroit Tigers) who served as both Jeff's assistant and head baseball coach during his UNC Asheville tenure. "I never would have guessed that such a strong, athletic guy would be sidelined like that. We were just stunned."

Fox was born in England, where his father was stationed at a U.S. military base near London. His family later moved to Taylorsville, N.C. where he grew up in the Blue Ridge Mountains.

An only child, Fox enrolled at UNC Asheville in 1988 and became a four-year starter on the baseball team. Due to his exceptional athleticism and talent, he played multiple positions although mostly catcher and center field.

"Jeff was one of those guys you knew was going to be successful no matter what field he pursued after college," said Steve Pope, who preceded Bretz as the Bulldog's head coach. "As soon as he arrived, I knew he was a winner. He wasn't necessarily a rah-rah guy, but losing really bothered him. It earned him a lot of respect from his teammates and the coaching staff."

Had it not been for a serious knee injury his senior year, Fox could have very well been drafted by a Major League team after graduation. And while that never transpired, it didn't keep "Foxy" from playing every game that final season with the Bulldogs.

"Jeff was a real grinder and scrappy, lunch-pail blue-collar kid," said Bretz. "But he was also extremely talented. I played him every game his senior year despite the bad knee. It would have been worse for him not to be in the lineup. That was just who Jeff was."

As a switch-hitting leadoff man, Fox posted a .292 batting average with 27 doubles, nine triples, eight home runs, 124 runs scored and 26 stolen bases during his college career.

Yet Jeff's value to his team went well beyond statistics. According to Pope, he was "the de facto captain of the team." He also was known as the most entertaining player on the diamond.

"Jeff had a great sense of humor and he never spared his teammates," Pope said with a smile. "He appreciated the fine art of sarcasm. I think he could have made a living as a stand-up comic."

His former teammate and long-time friend Terry Gahagan tells the story about an early-season encounter during Fox's freshman season in Asheville

"I was a junior, Jeff was catching and we were really a bad team," Gahagan said with a chuckle. "We had nine pitchers who were academically ineligible. So, we recruited a 6-9 basketball player named Derrick Worrels to pitch for us. He proceeded to walk the first seven batters."

At that point, Pope went to the mound and made a pitching change. He summoned Gahagan.

"Pope hands me the ball and tells me, 'whatever you do, don't walk this (expletive deleted)," Gahagan said. "I don't care if you give up a grand slam!"

As fate would have it, Gahagan served up a grand slam on his very first pitch.
Soon after the ball sailed over the fence, Fox called time out and ran to the mound. He took a new baseball and stuck it in Gahagan's glove.

"Well, at least you're coachable," said Fox, not missing a beat.

Fox's comic shenanigans also served as a catalyst for team bonding. While he was the most intense player on the field, Jeff also kept the game fun for everybody.

"He would dance and sing like Michael Jackson," Bretz recalled. "And he was good. He could do any accent, too."

Gahagan shared similar anecdotes about his cherished teammate.

"He could do any impression. Remember that country mechanic on the Andy Griffith Show? Well, Jeff had his own version. Any time he saw a car or truck with its hood up, he'd go into his routine. He knew nothing about cars but he would just make up stuff to be funny."

Gahagan also said that Fox could imitate any Major League player to a tee.

"He could do the batting stance of everybody from the 80's and 90's. I remember him doing Dave Parker (Pittsburgh Pirates outfielder) and was just amazed how perfect it was."

Fox graduated from UNC Asheville with a sociology degree in 1992 and became an elite member of the Secret Service two years later.

Gahagan believes he knows why his friend was attracted to such a noble profession.

Jeff loved competition," he said. And when he got the opportunity to be in competition with thousands of other guys, I think he wanted to see if he could win it.

For him, it was a chance to get the winning hit in the bottom of the ninth inning."

And to further illustrate that point, Gahagan said that Fox attempted to pass the Secret Service tests three different times before he passed it. Ironically, he only fell short on the running portion of the exam–by only a matter of seconds–due to the knee he injured while in college.

"Jeff called me after every test," said Bretz. "Finally, he calls and says, 'hey coach, I'm in the Blue Room of the White House. I asked him if my tax dollars were paying for this call. He laughed and said he's going to Japan to guard Bill Clinton. I was one of his first phone calls. That was so typical of who was."

His coaches and teammates all say Fox was fairly tight-lipped about his time in the White House and on the road with two U.S. presidents.

"He didn't really talk about it," said Gahagan. "But every once in a while, he would disappear for three months. Then he would change phones and make sure we all had his new number."

Beyond sharing one story about the president's daughter, Chelsea Clinton, having a penchant to occasionally hide in the White House with friends–Fox found her in the resident bowling alley–Jeff's friends and family know little about his Secret Service adventures.

After his eight-year tenure (1994-2002) ended, Fox continued to serve the country in various capacities. He spent two years as a member of the U.S. Air Marshals, then worked in the Central Intelligence Agency from 2003-2015. He and his wife moved to San Jose in 2015, where he was since employed by the U.S. Defense Department.

Through all these years, there were two constants in Jeff's life: baseball and his former UNC Asheville teammates and coaches.

In fact, the New York Times chronicled Fox's ongoing love affair with the game of baseball in his obituary. He was actively playing competitive hardball on various adult teams, mostly in the Industrial Baseball League in Northern Virginia.

"Gawd he loved the game like few others," said Pope. "He played all-out into his 50's. It's who he was."

In fact, it was baseball and fate that may have led to him testing positive for COVID and his stunning demise. His former teammates were planning a reunion in Blowing Rock, N.C. this past January, but Fox informed them he had made a prior commitment to play in a baseball tournament in Florida and couldn't join them.

"Florida was really a hot COVID state at that time, so I'm 99 percent sure that's where he caught it," Gahagan said. "Kind of ironic."

Also heart-wrenching. Even more so, knowing that Fox was scheduled to receive his vaccination two weeks after that tournament. He would have gotten the shot sooner but he had been traveling with work assignments.

Gahagan will never forget when he learned of Jeff's passing.

"When your phone rings at 5 a.m., you know it's not good news. I still can't believe he's gone."

While he will be missed for many years to come, Fox's teammates and former colleagues certainly are determined to keep his legacy alive.

On June 19, friends and family gathered in center field at the Greenwood Baseball Field on the UNC Asheville campus to honor Fox in a memorial service. His former teammates and coaches signed a Bulldogs baseball jersey No. 6 and presented it to his widow Kristina.

"Besides all of his teammates, what struck me most was seeing dozens of Secret Service and CIA members there," said Pope. "They all flew in to honor Jeff. That said a lot to me."

Pope also said Fox was the glue that kept all the former teammates and coaches connected.

"Over the last 15 to 20 years, Jeff was always the guy to get everybody together. Every time he came home, he made a point of it."

When you became Fox's teammate, you became his teammate for life.

'He was probably the busiest guy among us, yet he was the guy who kept us together," Gahagen said. "Jeff had a sense of family once we got on the field together. Then after we left college, he was still our brother. Jeff Fox was in my life because he made it his priority to be."

Many have mentioned what pride Fox took in giving behind-the-scenes tours of the White House to his UNC Asheville coaches and teammates.

For Pope, he and his family received the tour when his oldest daughter had advanced to a science fair held on the University of Maryland campus.

"Jeff was just beaming when he gave us the tour," said Pope. "He asked us to stop and just stand for 60 seconds because apparently, the president was moving from one area to another in the White House. Then he introduced us to some of the snipers who had just got off duty from the roof. Our two daughters were very impressed. I think Jeff was kind of the Jack Bauer (star of the FOX TV series 24) type, but he always downplayed it."

Gahagen remembers the time he surprised his old teammate on his 50th birthday.

"I drove up to DC for his party," he said. "His wife knew I was coming. The party was catered and there were servers outside. I grabbed one of them and took a photo of us. I texted it to Jeff's phone and in 30 seconds he stormed out of the house to greet me."

That was one of the last times Gahagan would see one of his best friends.

In remembrance and tribute to their fallen teammate, Gahagan and his teammates have established the FOXGAMER6 Foundation. The foundation, whose mission is to raise awareness of baseball and softball and provide equipment in Western North Carolina, will award a baseball scholarship at UNC Asheville each year to an in-state baseball player with the same characteristics and determination exemplified by Fox.

"We also hope to provide financial support for new capital projects for the UNC Asheville baseball program in the future," said Gahagan. "Baseball needs to know about a hero like Jeff Fox."

UNC Asheville Baseball Coach Scott Friedholm plans to honor the memory of Fox by assigning his No. 6 jersey each year to a Bulldog player who exemplifies the values of Jeff–loyalty, self-confidence and dedication. The first recipient will be announced at the team's annual Baseball Night fundraising banquet on Jan. 21, 2022. And thanks to the FOXGAMER6 Foundation, the UNCA baseball program will provide funding for three to five youth players in the area to attend the Bulldogs' summer camp.

"You just couldn't find anybody who didn't like Jeff," Gahagan said. "He was the kind of teammate we all wish we could be. And with him, you got what you saw. He was a small-town kid who never forgot where he came from. He never forgot his teammates or coaches. He was a hard worker, very intense, but he had a very big heart."
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And Gahagan said it was Fox's humility that also made him special.

"He never carried himself like he had one of the elite jobs (Secret Service) in the country. You would never guess in a million years what he did for a living. If you had to guess, you wouldn't get it on the first 100 guesses."

While Jeff Fox's life was cut short by the COVID virus, it was clearly a life well lived–a life of duty, honor and service.

Like any Secret Service agent, Fox would have taken a bullet to protect the American President and the First Family. Judging from his teammates' universal reaction following his tragic death, clearly he would have done the same for them.

Perhaps that says it all.

University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics

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