Ray Cross was a battle hardened St Kilda backman who could have been part of the 1966 flag side.
A tough, no-frills defender whose career was restricted to 57 games by knee problems, Ray passed away on January 17 aged 84 after a long illness.
His toughness and uncompromising approach were his trademarks which were well-known to his teammates. Kevin 'Cowboy' Neale often told the story of the day he and Barry Breen made their debuts and Cross told the two youngsters that he had their backs and would look after them. At the opening bounce Cowboy heard a thud and turned around to see that Cross had been KO’d by a North Melbourne opponent!
It goes without saying that the rugged Cowboy would soon learn how to look after himself, and not need a protector!
Ray Cross followed a circuitous path to get to St Kilda, originally coming from Omeo and playing for Highett in Federal under-16s then at East Hampton and subsequently Carlton fourths where he was in an under-17 flag side, and then St Kilda fourths for two years.
St Kilda’s senior team fielded probably its greatest defence of all time consisting of Brian Walsh, Verdun Howell, Bud Annand, Eric Guy, Neil Roberts and Jim Guyatt. All six men represented Victoria at various stages and two of them won Brownlow Medals so the chances for a young defender were always going to be limited.
Cross had to serve an apprenticeship and bide his time. He ticked all the boxes with a strong debut season in the under-19s in 1959, and was best and fairest for that team in 1960, then he capped a fine 1961 campaign by being rated by The Age newspaper as best afield in the 1961 Reserves premiership side.
He broke through for a senior debut (as 19th man) in Round 4 of 1962, but could only manage one more appearance as a bench-warmer later in the year. Second placing in the Reserves Best and Fairest for 1962 meant that he was still knocking at the door and the most important occurrence for his future came in the last game of the year when three of the six men in that elite backline – Roberts, Guy and Annand all retired on the same day.
The backline had to be totally recast and Cross grabbed his chance, playing 14 games and earning the trophy for Tenacious Play. That level flowed through to 1964 when he was at the top of his form before being struck down by a knee ligament injury which sidelined him after Round 9.
He had recovered by the opening round of 1965, St Kilda’s historic first game at Moorabbin, but another injury put him out for three weeks. It was a year when he could not gather momentum, with the recurring knee problem in the latter part of the season, but he was clearly rated highly as the Saints rushed him into the side for the 1965 Grand Final in an unexpected role as a defensive forward on Bomber veteran Hugh Mitchell, after the side had earned a spot in the play off with a one-point win in the second semi.
Years later Cross wondered at how the selection decision had been made.
“I’d never been picked in another position apart from half back flank except for that day. I was picked on a half-forward flank changing as a ruck rover. I don’t know why they decided it. They thought that Hughie Mitchell was going to cause damage. But it didn’t worry me. They gave me a game in a Grand Final!”
In 1966, he was appointed captain of the reserves side – often a death knell for senior selection - but strong form warranted a senior return and with four strong games late in the year he had nailed down his place, only to injure the knee yet again in the second last home and away game and miss the rest of the year – including the Grand Final.
He had one more season with the Saints in 1967, playing 15 games, but in eight of those he started on the bench which he found frustrating. At the end of the year he took up an offer from VFA side Dandenong to play there under the coaching of his old teammate Alan Morrow. In the first semi he injured the knee yet again and decided to retire at the age of 27.
Away from the footy field he built a successful career as an electrician - a trade in which he was called upon after a famous siren failure at Moorabbin 1967 against Carlton during a game in which he was playing. The siren couldn’t be heard when the second quarter ended, and the timekeeper tried to use a hand-held bell, but the game continued and Carlton scored a goal to eventually win by five points.
Ray had installed the initial sirens two years earlier and there had never been a problem, but he added two more sirens a few days later and nothing ever went wrong again.
Ray had a full life and trained horses in later years.
Vale Saint Ray.
