Peter Michael Cross (March 28, 1948 – January 2, 1977) was an American

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

player. Cross was drafted in the second round of the

1970 NBA draft The 1970 NBA draft was the 24th annual NBA draft, draft of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The draft was held on March 23, 1970, before the 1970–71 NBA season, 1970–71 season. In this draft, 17 NBA teams took turns selecting amate ...

by the

Seattle SuperSonics The Seattle SuperSonics (commonly shortened to Sonics) were an American professional basketball team based in Seattle. The SuperSonics competed in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Western Division (1967–1970), and ...

. He played for Seattle as well as the

Kansas City-Omaha Kings The Sacramento Kings are an American professional basketball team based in Sacramento, California. The Kings compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference. The Kings are the ...

in the

NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

. He played

college basketball College basketball is basketball that is played by teams of Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. In the Higher education in the United States, United States, colleges and universities are governed by collegiate athle ...

for the

San Francisco Dons The San Francisco Dons is the nickname of the athletic teams at the University of San Francisco (USF). The Dons compete in NCAA Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) as members of the West Coast Conference (WCC), of ...

Career

A 6'9"

center Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentrici ...

, Cross played collegiately for

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

. He was selected by the

in the second round of the

, and the

Kentucky Colonels The Kentucky Colonels were an American professional basketball team based in Louisville, Kentucky. They competed in the American Basketball Association (ABA) from 1967 to 1976. The name is derived from the historic Kentucky Colonels. The Colo ...

in the 1970

American Basketball Association The American Basketball Association (ABA) was a major professional basketball league that operated for nine seasons from 1967 to 1976. The upstart ABA operated in direct competition with the more established National Basketball Association thr ...

draft. Cross played three seasons (1970–1973) in the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

(NBA) as a member of the

and

. His best NBA season was his first, in which he averaged eight points and twelve

rebounds 'Rebound' is a term used in sports to describe the ball (or puck or other object of play) becoming available for possession by either opponent after an attempt to put the ball or puck into the goal has been unsuccessful. Rebounds are generally ...

per game. His 12 rebounds per game in 1970–71 is still the SuperSonics' rookie record. He played for the Iberia Superstars in the

European Professional Basketball League The European Professional Basketball League (EPBL) was a professional basketball league held in Europe in 1975. Despite being played in five European countries (Belgium, Israel, Spain, Switzerland and West Germany) it was for the most part owned ...

in 1975.

Death

On January 2, 1977, Cross was found dead in his home in

Redmond, Washington Redmond is a city in King County, Washington, United States, located east of Seattle. The population was 73,256 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Redmond is best known as the home of Microsoft and Nintendo of America. The city h ...

. His wife, Cynthia Cross, said that he had

epileptic seizure A seizure is a sudden, brief disruption of brain activity caused by abnormal, excessive, or synchronous neuronal firing. Depending on the regions of the brain involved, seizures can lead to changes in movement, sensation, behavior, awareness, o ...

s. He was 28. Cross was posthumously inducted into the University of San Francisco Dons Hall of Fame (1979), and the Kern County Sports Hall of Fame (1993).

Career statistics

NBA

Source

Regular season

References

External links

College statistics
1948 births 1977 deaths 20th-century American sportsmen American expatriate basketball people in Spain American men's basketball players Bakersfield High School alumni Basketball players from Washington (state) Centers (basketball) Deaths from epilepsy Kansas City Kings players Kentucky Colonels draft picks Neurological disease deaths in Washington (state) People with epilepsy Power forwards San Francisco Dons men's basketball players Seattle SuperSonics draft picks Seattle SuperSonics players Sportspeople from Redmond, Washington {{1940s-US-basketball-bio-stub