[4] Box and his brother Boyce attended West Texas A&M University on basketball scholarships and helped the Buffaloes win a Border Conference championship in 1943 before being inducted into the United States Marine Corps.

[1] On December 3, 1950, in a game against the Baltimore Colts, he set Detroit team records with 12 catches, four touchdown receptions, 24 points, and 302 receiving yards.

[12] In February 1951, with the Korean War ongoing, Box was recalled from inactive reserve status by the United States Marine Corps.

On October 19, 1952, he led a comeback victory over the Los Angeles Rams, with touchdown catches covering 64 and 10 yards.

[17] In the 1952 NFL Championship Game, a 17–7 victory over the Cleveland Browns, Box was used mainly as a decoy but was credited with a key block on Doak Walker's 67-yard touchdown run.

[1] In 1953, the Lions won their second consecutive NFL championship, though Box's receiving statistics declined significantly with only 16 receptions for 403 yards.

[1] He was reportedly "robbed of his blinding speed by a leg injury", though he did manage a career-long 97-yard touchdown reception against the Green Bay Packers on Thanksgiving Day 1953 which would remain a Lions record until 1998.

He began in 1954 as an assistant manager in the Dallas office of the George A. Fuller Company, eventually serving as chairman of the board.

[2][5] Box later partnered with world renowned real estate developer Trammel Crow to form the BoxCrow Cement Company.

The Midlothian plant is currently owned and operated by LafargeHolcim and has since expanded to produce over 2 million tons of cement per year.