The Cox Tampa Minnows are credited with being the first commercially available wooden lures made in Florida. The lures were made by Grover Cox. His sporting goods business started out by selling bicycles. He later added his Tampa Minnows as can be seen in his Tampa Tribune newspaper ads. His lures were sold out of his Sporting Goods shop in the the late 1910’s through the early 1920’s. In 1922 he stopped making his minnows, but continued to run his sporting goods shop. The Tampa City Directory shows the Cox’s store location moved four times. From 1912 to 1915, it was located at 907 Franklin St. From 1916 to 1921, the store was located at 201 Polk St. and was at 713 Florida Ave. from 1922 to 1926. The final location was 1106 Tampa St. The Tampa Minnow ads show only the Polk Street address. Grover Cox was born in 1884 and died in 1938. The Cox Tampa Minnows are considered to be some of the great lures made by a Tampa Bay area maker.
An Old Photo Postcard Showing Grover Cox, circa 1920
The COX’S TAMPA MINNOW & Wooden Box, circa 1920
The COX’S TAMPA MINNOWS, circa 1920
The COX’S TAMPA MINNOW No-Chin Zaragossa Minnow
The COX’S TAMPA MINNOWS, circa 1920
1915, 1916 & 1917 Tampa Tribune Newspaper Ads
1918, 1919 & 1920 Tampa Tribune Newspaper Ad
1920 & 1921 “The Florida Fisherman” Magazine Ads
1922 Advertisement
COX’S SPORTING GOODS, 1106 Tampa St., 1927
Creek Chub Boxes w/COX’S SPORTING GOODS Labels Applied