Cook attended San Diego High, where he set numerous track and field records and was a member of the school"s 1955 national championship football team He attended the University of Oregon, where he was a member of the Oregon Ducks track and field team
He also twice tied the world record of 6.0 seconds in the 60 yards in 1959 and 1960. That same year Cook earned a second All-America certificate for his fourth-place National Collegiate Athletic Association showing in the 100 yards (96 seconds). Cook graduated from Oregon with a degree in physical education, and later went on to obtain an Master of Arts and Doctor of Philosophy in education from the University of Massachusetts Amherst.
He worked for 30 years in Los Angeles County School districts.
In 2010 Cook was one of five individuals inducted into the University of Oregon Athletics Hall of Fame. In 1982 Cook married Christine Pugh.
Roscoe Cook died on December 30, 2011.
In 1959 at Modesto Junior College Cook tied the world record in the 100 yards at 9.3 seconds, and in the process beat Olympic Champion Bobby Morrow and Ray Norton, who had previously ran a 9.3. In 1959 Cook was the Pacific Coast Conference champion at 100 yards (95 seconds) and 220 yards (210 seconds), and earned named an All-American for the 100 yards at the National Collegiate Athletic Association Championships. In 1961 Cook won the 60-yard dash with a time of 6.1 seconds at the Los Angeles Invitational indoor meet. In addition to his track accomplishments, Cook was a member of the 1959 Oregon Ducks football team
