He was the starting left halfback for the University of Michigan in 1952 and 1953 and set a Big Ten Conference single-game rushing record with 218 yards in October 1952.

He later founded the Kress Corporation, a manufacturer of heavy industrial hauling vehicles, in Brimfield, Illinois.

He scored three touchdowns in the first half of the game and broke the prior record of 216 yards set in 1943 by Bill Daley.

At the time, the Associated Press wrote: "Halfback, Ted Kress, flitting like a frightened phantom, darted to three touchdowns and a new Big Ten rushing record.

[7] Kress also started all nine games at the left halfback position for the 1953 Michigan Wolverines football team.

[19] Kress died in February 2003 at the OSF Saint Francis Medical Center in Peoria, Illinois.