Irv Cross
Irv Cross was born in Hammond, Indiana, United States on July 27th, 1939 and is the Football Player. At the age of 85, Irv Cross biography, profession, age, height, weight, eye color, hair color, build, measurements, education, career, dating/affair, family, news updates, and networth are available.
At 85 years old, Irv Cross has this physical status:
Irvin Acie Cross (born July 27, 1939) is a retired American football cornerback and sportscaster.
Early life
Cross was born in Hammond, Indiana, as the eighth of 15 children. He played football and basketball as well as being a track star at Hammond High School. He was named Male Athlete of the Year by the New York Times in 1957. He was inducted into the Hammond Sports Hall of Fame.
Personal life
With his second wife Elizabeth, Cross had two daughters from a first marriage and two children. In 2018, he was diagnosed with a mild case of dementia. He suspected that the condition, as well as headaches, neck pain, and backaches, was a result of chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), which was exacerbated by concussions suffered during his playing career. After his death, he arranged for his brain to be donated to the Boston University CTE Center.
Cross died in North Oaks, Minnesota, near his home in Roseville, on February 28, 2021, aged 81. Heart disease (ischemic cardiomyopathy) was the cause of death.
College career
In 1961, Cross earned a Bachelor of Science degree from Northwestern University School of Education and Social Policy, which was the same graduating class as future broadcasting colleague Brent Musburger. He was one of Ara Parseghian's first recruiting class with the Wildcats. Cross, a three-year football letterman from 1958 to 1960, played wide receiver, defensive back, and defensive end for Northwestern. In 1960, he was a team captain and an all-conference pick in the Big Ten. He also excelled on track and was named Male Athlete of the Year as a senior by the university's Male Athlete of the Year.
Professional football career
In the seventh round (98th overall) of the 1961 NFL Draft, the Philadelphia Eagles selected Cross. He was one of the franchise's first African American starters. After starting his third string in 1961, Tom Brookshier's career was launched in the Eagles' starting right corner eight games into the season. Cross sustained multiple concussions this year, prompting his coworkers to call him "Paper Head." Timmy Brown's most serious was in Pittsburgh, where he was unconscious after blocking on a punt return. He spent three nights in a hospital. A major head blow can be lethal if he returns too soon, according to the team doctor. Cross had extra padding built to shield him from injury. "I just tried to keep my head out of the way when making tackles." Well, that's just the way it was. The bulk of the time, they gave you some smelling salts and then you went back in. We didn't know," he recalled in 2018.
Cross had a career-high five interceptions in his second season in 1962. He had two Pro Bowl seasons in 1964 and 1965 before being traded to the Los Angeles Rams for Aaron Martin and Willie Brown in 1966. He returned to the Eagles in 1969 as a player/coach. Cross came from football before the 1970s and became a Eagles coach. He finished his playing career with 22 interceptions, 14 fumble recoveries, eight forced fumbles, and two defensive touchdowns. He was inducted into the Indiana Football Hall of Fame.
Cross did drive-time sports reports on WIBG (now WNTP), before attending weekend sports on KYW-TV. He was Philadelphia's first black person to do television sports reports.