Born in Ben Hur, Virginia, and nicknamed "Foots", he was listed as 6 feet 5 inches (1.96 m) tall and 205 pounds (93 kg).

Facing the Pittsburgh Pirates at Crosley Field, he had held the Bucs to two hits and no runs over eight innings, and was nursing a 1–0 lead going into the ninth.

But in the final frame, he surrendered four hits and two runs, and when the Reds could not respond in their half of the ninth, Cress was tagged with the loss, his only MLB decision.

[4] Cress then worked in three early-season games in 1949 and pitched two scoreless innings coming of the Reds' bullpen before returning to the minors for the rest of his career.

After his pitching career, Cress resided in Baton Rouge, LA, working as an electrician, and became a scout for the St. Louis Cardinals, Houston Astros, and San Francisco Giants.