For Irv Cross, the eighth of 15 children in an impoverished family in Hammond, Ind., football was a lifeline, a gateway to a Northwestern degree, a pro career and the first full-time sports analyst job on network television for a Black man.
AP 1966
EAGAN, Minn. The Vikings organization is sending condolences to the family of Pro Bowl defensive back and broadcasting pioneer Irv Cross, who passed away Sunday at age 81.
Cross played for the Eagles (1961-65 and 1969) and Rams (1966-68). Cross final season as a player in Philadelphia was marked by a dual role as a defensive backs coach. He remained on the coaching staff in 1970 after hanging up his cleats. Bill Ingraham/AP
CBS hired Cross as an analyst in 1971, and he worked his way up to join the groundbreaking The NFL Today pregame show in 1975, becoming the first Black person to work full-time as a sports analyst on national television.