Accomplishments: Three-time College Conference of Illinois First Team selection at center (1947-1949); served as captain; anchored offensive line that posted a combined 14-3 record in 1946 and 1947 seasons; started at center in College’s only bowl-game appearance in history, the 1947 Corn Bowl; invited to tryout camps by Chicago Bears and Green Bay Packers; named to North Central College’s All-Century Team in 1998; batted .300 as a senior for baseball team.
Norris Cross ’50 came to North Central College after starting as a four-year letterman in football, basketball and baseball at Bangor High School in Michigan. After graduating high school, he made a brief stop at the Great Lakes Naval Training Center, where he played for the Great Lakes football team coached by Paul Brown. Cross later transferred to the Naval Air Station in Norman, Oklahoma, before being discharged in 1946.
His former high school football coach in Bangor, Evan Gauthier ’38, had roomed with North Central College football coach Herb Heilman ’38. Gauthier placed a call and Cross soon arrived on campus.
Cross was a three-time College Conference of Illinois (CCI) First Team selection in 1947-1949 as the center for the North Central College football team. Cross anchored an offensive line that in the 1946 and 1947 seasons helped lead the Cardinals to a combined 14-3 record. The talented athlete also played linebacker all four years; his teammates elected him MVP in 1948 and 1949.
In 1947 Cross started at center for the Cardinals, who posted a 7-2 record and played in the College’s only bowl game appearance in school history, the Corn Bowl, against Southern Illinois University. Cross was later invited to tryout camps by both the National Football League’s Chicago Bears and Green Bay Packers.
A four-year letterman, “Norrie” played alongside Dick Smith ’48, another member of the 1947 team inducted into the North Central College Athletic Hall of Fame in 2005. Cross served as the Cardinals’ co-captain his junior year and captain his senior year. In 1945 he scored two touchdowns. In 1998, he was named to the College’s All-Century Football Team.
Cross, a two-sport athlete, also played baseball, helping the Cardinals earn a 17-15 record in the CCI. He batted .300 his senior year playing first base and also made several appearances on the pitcher’s mound.
Cross graduated in 1950 with a bachelor’s degree in science and physical education. He coached high school football in Decatur, Michigan, and Rochester, Michigan, posting a 15-2 record in two years at Rochester. After coaching, Cross took a sales position in the corrugated container industry. After working for 15 years he became a sales manager before retiring in 1987. He also worked as a football and basketball referee covering high school and college athletics for 25 years.
Cross remains an avid fisherman, hunter and golfer while staying active in service work.
