Irv Cross

❧

Wikipedia

Irv Cross
No. 27
Position:Cornerback
Personal information
Born:(1939-07-27)July 27, 1939
Hammond, Indiana, U.S.
Died:February 28, 2021(2021-02-28) (aged 81)
North Oaks, Minnesota, U.S.
Height:6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Weight:195 lb (88 kg)
Career information
High school:Hammond (Hammond, Indiana)
College:Northwestern
NFL draft:1961: 7th round, 98th pick
AFL draft:1961: 15th round, 118th pick
Career history
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics
Interceptions:22
Interception yards:258
Defensive touchdowns:2
Fumble recoveries:14
Stats at Pro Football Reference

Irvin Acie Cross (July 27, 1939 – February 28, 2021) was an American professional football player and sportscaster. He played cornerback in the National Football League (NFL) and was a two-time Pro Bowl selection with the Philadelphia Eagles. Working with CBS, Cross was the first African-American sports analyst on national television. He was an initial co-host of The NFL Today, which became the pregame show standard for all television networks.

After playing college football for the Northwestern Wildcats, Cross was selected by Philadelphia in the seventh round of the 1961 NFL draft. He played six of his nine NFL seasons with the Eagles. He was traded to the Los Angeles Rams and played there for three seasons before returning to the Eagles and finishing his playing career. While he was playing, Cross was also a radio and TV sports reporter in Philadelphia. He joined CBS in 1971, where he worked until 1994. The Pro Football Hall of Fame awarded him the Pete Rozelle Radio-Television Award in 2009, becoming the first black person to receive the award. He was also an athletic director at Idaho State University and Macalester College.

Early life

Cross was born in Hammond, Indiana, as the eighth of 15 children.[1] He attended Hammond High, where he played football and basketball and was also a track athlete.[2] The Times named him the 1957 Male Athlete of the Year. He was inducted into the Hammond Sports Hall of Fame.[3]

College career

Cross graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree from Northwestern University School of Education and Social Policy in 1961, the same graduating class as future broadcasting colleague Brent Musburger. He was part of Ara Parseghian's first recruiting class with the Wildcats.[4] A three-year football letterman from 1958 through 1960,[5] Cross played wide receiver, defensive back, and defensive end for Northwestern.[6] He was a team captain and an honorable mention All-Conference selection in the Big Ten in 1960.[1][7] He also starred in track and was honored as the university's Male Athlete of the Year as a senior.[4]

Professional football career

Philadelphia Eagles

Cross was selected by the Philadelphia Eagles in the seventh round (98th overall) of the 1961 NFL draft.[5] He was one of the first African-American starters for the franchise.[8] After beginning his rookie year in 1961 as third string,[9] he became the Eagles starting right cornerback eight games into the season after a broken leg ended Tom Brookshier's career.[8] He played in 13 games, starting seven, with two interceptions.[10] The Eagles had a 10–4 record that season, but had losing seasons over the next four years of Cross's Philadelphia career, as a starting cornerback.[11][12]

Cross suffered numerous concussions that year, prompting his teammates to call him "Paper Head". The most severe was in Pittsburgh, when he was unconscious after blocking on a punt return for Timmy Brown. He spent three nights in a hospital.[8] The team doctor said that a major hit to the head could be fatal if he returned too soon. To protect himself, Cross had a helmet with extra padding made. "I just tried to keep my head out of the way while making tackles, but that's just the way it was. Most of the time, they gave you some smelling salts and you went back in. We didn't know", he recalled in 2018.[8][13]

In his second season in 1962, Cross had a career-high five interceptions.[14] He had two interceptions in 1963 and three in 1964, including an interception against the Pittsburgh Steelers that he returned 94 yards for a touchdown. He also had a fumble recovery and 1½ quarterback sacks in 1964.[12][15] He had three more interceptions in 1965, and returned 14 punts and 25 kickoffs that season, with his 26.5 yards per kickoff return the fifth best average in the NFL.[16][17] Cross had consecutive Pro Bowl seasons in 1964 and 1965,[6] before he was traded to the Los Angeles Rams for Aaron Martin and Willie Brown in 1966.[18]

Los Angeles Rams

Cross played in every game for the Rams from 1966 to 1968, starting 40 games at right cornerback over that time.[12] In 1966, he had one interception, which he returned 60 yards for a touchdown against the New York Giants.[19][20] He also returned 12 punts and 12 kickoffs for the Rams that year, with his longest a 67-yard kickoff return against the Vikings in an October 1966 game.[21][19] The 1967 Rams had an 11–1–2 record, winning the NFL's Coastal Division, with the Rams' defense giving up the fewest points of any NFL team that year during the regular season.[22][23] Cross had two interceptions, and returned 17 punts and four kickoffs for the 1967 Rams.[22] The Rams stopped using Cross as a returner in 1968, and he had three interceptions in 14 starts.[24]

Return to Eagles

In 1969, Philadelphia Eagles All-Pro offensive tackle Bob Brown demanded a trade. The Rams traded Cross, offensive tackle Joe Carollo, and guard Don Chuy for Brown and cornerback Jim Nettles.[25][26][27] Cross returned to the Eagles and became a player/coach.[8] Cross retired from play before the 1970 season, becoming a coach for the Eagles.[7]

He finished his playing career with 22 interceptions, 14 fumble recoveries, eight forced fumbles, and two defensive touchdowns.[28]

Broadcasting

During his playing career, Cross did drive-time sports reports on WIBG (now WNTP) before doing weekend sports on KYW-TV.[3][8] He was the first black person to do TV sports reports in Philadelphia.[8]

Cross became an analyst and commentator for CBS Sports in 1971, when he became the first African American to work as a sports analyst on national television.[1][8] In 1975, he teamed with Musburger and Phyllis George on The NFL Today and became the first African American to co-anchor a network sports program.[3] The show was the pregame model all networks used thereafter.[29] Previously, pregame shows were less prestigious than their postgame counterparts, which featured all the Sunday highlights.[30] Cross co-hosted The NFL Today from its inception through 1989.[14] In 1990, the network revamped the show after firing Musburger in a contract dispute, ending Cross's run on the show. He returned to being a game analyst.[13]

In addition to his work on CBS's NFL coverage, Cross called NBA basketball, track and field, and gymnastics at various times for the network. He worked as an analyst through the conclusion of the 1991 season.[31] He did not return to network television. "I didn't have an agent, and I didn't search for a TV position as aggressively as I should have", he said in 1996.[13]

Cross was the 2009 recipient of the Pete Rozelle Radio-Television Award – the award, given annually by the Pro Football Hall of Fame, recognizes "long-time exceptional contributions to radio and television in professional football."[14] He was the first black person to receive the award.[28]

Honors

Cross was inducted into the Indiana Football Hall of Fame in 1996.[7]

Personal life and death

Cross served as athletic director at Idaho State University from 1996 to 1998.[32] He then was the director of athletics at Macalester College in Saint Paul, Minnesota, for six years until June 2005.[33] He was the CEO of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Minnesota until May 2010, and returned to football commentary for the Twin Cities' Fox station KMSP-TV.[1]

Cross had two daughters from a first marriage and two children with his second wife Elizabeth.[7][34] He was diagnosed with a mild form of dementia in 2018.[8] He suspected that the condition, along with his headaches, neck pain, and backaches, was a result of chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) caused by hits to the head that he had suffered during his playing career. Cross arranged to have his brain donated to the Boston University CTE Center after his death,[8][13] and it was later confirmed that he had the most severe level of CTE, stage 4.[35] He is one of at least 345 NFL players to be diagnosed after death with this disease.[36]

Cross died on February 28, 2021, aged 81, at a hospice in North Oaks, Minnesota, near his home in Roseville. His cause of death was heart disease (ischemic cardiomyopathy).[13][37]

Publications

  • Cross, Irv; Brown, Clifton (2017). Bearing the Cross: My Inspiring Journey from Poverty to the NFL and Sports Television. Sports Publishing. ISBN 9781683581178.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Irv Cross, television sports pioneer, dead at 81". StarTribune. February 28, 2021. Retrieved February 28, 2021.
  2. ↑ Rosenthal, Phil. "Irv Cross, the groundbreaking analyst on CBS' 'The NFL Today' by way of Northwestern and Hammond, Ind., dies at 81". orlandosentinel.com. Retrieved March 2, 2021.
  3. 1 2 3 Ross, Doug (November 17, 2015). "Irv Cross". Northwest Indiana Times. Retrieved March 1, 2021.
  4. 1 2 Deardorff, Julie. "Bearing the Cross: Pioneering Broadcaster Pens Memoir," Northwestern University School of Education and Social Policy, Monday, January 15, 2018. Archived July 3, 2019, at the Wayback Machine Retrieved December 11, 2018
  5. 1 2 Northwestern University 2018 Football Media Guide. Archived September 6, 2019, at the Wayback Machine Retrieved December 11, 2018
  6. 1 2 Hunt, Donald (August 11, 2017). "Irv Cross details journey from poverty to football to TV booth". The Philadelphia Tribune. Retrieved March 1, 2021.
  7. 1 2 3 4 "CROSS, IRV". ifca-hof.org. Retrieved July 27, 2025.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Fitzpatrick, Frank (September 3, 2018). "Ex-Eagle Irv Cross tormented by pain but not bitterness". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved February 28, 2021.
  9. ↑ Gehman, Jim (January 21, 2015). "Where Are They Now? CB Irv Cross". PhiladelphiaEagles.com. Archived from the original on April 10, 2017.
  10. ↑ "1961 Philadelphia Eagles Rosters, Stats, Schedule, Team Draftees". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved July 28, 2025.
  11. ↑ "Philadelphia Eagles Team Records, Leaders, and League Ranks". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved July 28, 2025.
  12. 1 2 3 "Irv Cross Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Draft, College". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved July 28, 2025.
  13. 1 2 3 4 5 Sandomir, Richard (March 1, 2021). "Irv Cross, First Black Network TV Sports Analyst, Dies at 81". The New York Times. Retrieved March 1, 2021.
  14. 1 2 3 "IRV CROSS NAMED ROZELLE AWARD WINNER". profootballhof.com. July 7, 2009.
  15. ↑ "Eagles Smash Steeler, 34–10, Irv Cross Runs 94 With 'Stolen' Pass". Courier-Post (Camden, New Jersey). October 26, 1964. p. 27.
  16. ↑ "1965 Philadelphia Eagles Rosters, Stats, Schedule, Team Draftees". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved July 28, 2025.
  17. ↑ "1965 NFL Leaders and Leaderboards". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved July 28, 2025.
  18. ↑ Cross, Irv & Brown, Clifton. Bearing the Cross: My Inspiring Journey from Poverty to the NFL and Sports Television. New York City: Skyhorse Publishing Inc., 2017. Retrieved December 11, 2018
  19. 1 2 "1966 Los Angeles Rams Rosters, Stats, Schedule, Team Draftees". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved July 28, 2025.
  20. ↑ "New York Giants at Los Angeles Rams - November 13th, 1966". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved July 28, 2025.
  21. ↑ "Warwick: Had Perfect Game Plan On Defense, Executed It". The Minneapolis Star. October 17, 1966. p. 37.
  22. 1 2 "1967 Los Angeles Rams Rosters, Stats, Schedule, Team Draftees". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved July 28, 2025.
  23. ↑ "1967 NFL Opposition & Defensive Statistics". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved July 28, 2025.
  24. ↑ "1968 Los Angeles Rams Rosters, Stats, Schedule, Team Draftees". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved July 28, 2025.
  25. ↑ "Brown goes to Los Angeles with Nettles for Three Rams". The Sioux City Journal. May 13, 1969. p. 12.
  26. ↑ "Eagles' Destructive Bob Brown Wants to Be League's Best Offensive Tackle". The Sioux City Journal. August 30, 1966. p. 41.
  27. ↑ "Bob Brown Now A Happy Man". The Free Lance-Star. May 13, 1969. Archived from the original on November 17, 2015. Retrieved June 4, 2010.
  28. 1 2 "Irv Cross, pioneering Black sports analyst, dies at 81". ESPN.com. February 28, 2021. Retrieved March 1, 2021.
  29. ↑ Shapiro, Leonard (September 4, 1992). "CROSS HIM OFF THE LIST, INSERT CBS AS THE LOSER". The Washington Post. Retrieved March 2, 2021.
  30. ↑ Berman, Mark (September 3, 2017). "NFL notes: Browns add former Cave Spring QB Josh Woodrum". The Roanoake Times. Retrieved March 2, 2021.
  31. ↑ Cross him off the list washingtonpost.com September 4, 1992 [dead link]
  32. ↑ "PLUS: COLLEGE FOOTBALL – IDAHO STATE; Irv Cross Dismissed". The New York Times. AP. November 6, 1998.
  33. ↑ "Macalester hires new AD". D3hoops. June 29, 2005.
  34. ↑ Nieto, Mike (August 4, 2009). "Where Are They Now?: Hammond High grad Irv Cross to receive Pete Rozelle Radio-TV Award". The Times of Northwest Indiana. Retrieved April 10, 2017 – via nwi.com.
  35. ↑ "Former NFL star and CBS sports anchor Irv Cross had the brain disease CTE". National Public Radio. February 28, 2023. Retrieved March 26, 2023.
  36. ↑ "Researchers Find CTE in 345 of 376 Former NFL Players Studied". Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine. Retrieved March 26, 2023.
  37. ↑ "Pro Bowl CB and legendary broadcasting pioneer Irv Cross passes away at the age of 81". www.philadelphiaeagles.com. February 28, 2021. Retrieved February 28, 2021.