Harry Cross | |
|---|---|
| Born | Harry Edward Cross (1881-09-09)September 9, 1881 |
| Died | April 3, 1946(1946-04-03) (aged 64) New York City |
| Nationality | American |
| Occupation | Sports journalist |
| Years active | 1905–1946 |
| Organization(s) | Waterbury American (1905–1909) The New York Times (1909–1920; 1924–1925) Evening Post (1920–1924) New York Herald Tribune Sunday Magazine (1942–1945) |
| Awards | Honor Rolls of Baseball (1946) |
Harry Edward Cross (September 9, 1881 – April 3, 1946) was an Americansports writer andeditor.[1]
Cross was regarded[2] as one of the most accomplished sports journalist in New York City for more than three decades. He was a specialized expert in writing aboutbaseball,boxing andfootball, and was also an authority in lesser known sports ascurling,figure skating,polo androwing. Exceptinggolf andtennis, he was assigned to cover almost every major event, becoming a familiar figure at thePolo Grounds,Yankee Stadium andMadison Square Garden, as well as at other sports venues.[2]
Born inNew Britain, Connecticut, Cross grew up in nearbyNaugatuck. A distinguished alumnus ofNaugatuck High School, he then graduated fromHarvard College in 1905. He started his sports writing career with theWaterbury American that autumn and for the next four years.[1][2]
Cross joined the sports department ofThe New York Times in 1909, where he remained through 1920. Soon after his arriving in New York, he covered primarily theNew York GiantsMajor League Baseball club, to become one of the firstTimes writers to regularly attendspring training camp, while handling such major assignments as the historic and controversialJack Dempsey–Jess Willard Fight of 1919.[1][3]
Cross became sports editor of theEvening Post in 1920, but returned to theTimes from 1924 through 1926. He then joined the sports staff of theNew York Herald Tribune Sunday Magazine in 1926, where he remained until 1945. He was briefly the sports editor at theTribune in 1927, and exclusively covered baseball from 1942 to 1945.[2]
In between, Cross was president of the New York Chapter of theBaseball Writers' Association of America, being a member of theBaseball Hall of Fame committee from June 1945 until his death in 1946. In addition, he was a long-time member of theFootball Writers Association, serving also as its treasurer.[2][3]
A few months after his death, Harry Cross was one of 12 writers who were honored by the Baseball Hall of Fame on aRoll of Honor in itsClass of 1946.[4]