Joffre James "Jeff" Cross (August 28, 1918 – July 23, 1997) was an American
professional baseball infielder
An infielder is a baseball player stationed at one of four defensive "infield" positions on the baseball field.
Standard arrangement of positions
In a game of baseball, two teams of nine players take turns playing offensive and defensive roles. ...
who appeared in 119
games
A game is a structured form of play, usually undertaken for entertainment or fun, and sometimes used as an educational tool. Many games are also considered to be work (such as professional players of spectator sports or games) or art (such ...
over all or parts of four seasons (1942 and 1946–1948) in
Major League Baseball for the
St. Louis Cardinals and
Chicago Cubs
The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as part of the National League (NL) Central division. The club plays its home games at Wrigley Field, which is located ...
. Born in
Tulsa, Oklahoma, he threw and batted right-handed, stood tall and weighed .
Cross played college baseball for the
Oklahoma Sooners. Cross's professional career began in 1938 in the Cardinals'
farm system
In sports, a farm team, farm system, feeder team, feeder club, or nursery club is generally a team or club whose role is to provide experience and training for young players, with an agreement that any successful players can move on to a higher ...
. His first
MLB game came on the last day of the
National League season. He started at
shortstop in the second game of a
doubleheader for the
World Series-bound Cardinals after they had clinched the league
pennant with a victory in the opening game of that day's twin bill. Cross collected one
hit in four
at bats against the Cubs'
Claude Passeau and played
errorless ball in the field, as St. Louis won, 4–1, to increase the Redbirds' final margin to two full games ahead of the
Brooklyn Dodgers
The Brooklyn Dodgers were a Major League Baseball team founded in 1884 as a member of the American Association (19th century), American Association before joining the National League in 1890. They remained in Brooklyn until 1957, after which the ...
. He then served in the
United States Navy during
World War II, missing three baseball seasons (1943–1945). Cross then spent all of the and campaigns on the Cardinals' roster, appearing in an even 100 games as a
utility infielder, starting 14 games at shortstop, eight at
second base, and four at
third base. He
batted only .217 and .102 respectively, and did not play in the
1946 World Series
The 1946 World Series was played in October 1946 between the St. Louis Cardinals (representing the National League) and the Boston Red Sox (representing the American League). This was the Red Sox's first appearance in a World Series since their c ...
, won by the Cardinals in seven games over the
Boston Red Sox. After two appearances as a
pinch runner
In baseball, a pinch runner is a player substituted for the specific purpose of replacing another player on base. The pinch runner may be faster or otherwise more skilled at base-running than the player for whom the pinch runner has been sub ...
with the Cardinals in , his contract was sold to the Cubs, for whom he collected only two hits in 20 at bats through June 8. He spent the balance of the year with the
Double-A Shreveport Sports
The Shreveport Sports were a professional Minor League Baseball team based in Shreveport, Louisiana, in the United States. The Sports fielded a team from 1925 to 1935, 1938 to 1942, 1946 to 1957, and 1959 to 1961. They were affiliated with the ...
before retiring from baseball.
Altogether, Cross was credited with 23 hits (including four
doubles) and ten
runs batted in in the major leagues, batting .162 lifetime.
After his retirement from professional baseball, Cross managed the
Houston Little League team to the
1950 Little League World Series championship.
References
External links
, o
Retrosheet
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cross, Jeff
1918 births
1997 deaths
Chicago Cubs players
Houston Buffaloes players
Major League Baseball infielders
Mobile Shippers players
New Iberia Cardinals players
Oklahoma Sooners baseball players
Rochester Red Wings players
St. Louis Cardinals players
Shreveport Sports players
Baseball players from Tulsa, Oklahoma
United States Navy personnel of World War II