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.
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.
[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] Cross suffered numerous concussions that year, prompting his teammates to call him "Paper Head".
[11] He 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.
[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.
[10] 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.
[17] He then was the director of athletics at Macalester College in Saint Paul, Minnesota, for six years until June 2005.
[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.
[21] Cross died on February 28, 2021, aged 81, at a hospice in North Oaks, Minnesota, near his home in Roseville.