Cole Mourns Loss of Leon Cross

Washington, D.C. – Congressman Tom Cole (OK-04) released the following statement after the passing of Leon Cross, who was affiliated with the University of Oklahoma (OU) Athletics for more than 30 years through various positions beginning as a football player in 1957.

"I was deeply saddened to learn of the passing of my friend Leon Cross, the great OU All American of the Bud Wilkinson era," said Cole.

"As a 12-year-old boy who attended OU games with my late father, I watched Leon Cross play with legendary Sooners like Joe Don Looney, Jim Grisham, Monte Deer and other memorable players of the last years of the Bud Wilkinson era. All those players were great, but they all knew that ‘the Old Rugged Cross,' as Leon was known, was greater.

"Many years later, I got to know Leon Cross personally. I never met a finer man or a better representative of the University of Oklahoma and its enduring tradition of excellence on the gridiron.

"Leon Cross, a 1962 All American football player and longtime OU Athletics Department employee, was an outstanding representative for all that is great about Oklahoma football. But more importantly, Leon Cross the man was an amazingly positive example of who and what we can all be if we just try.

"Leon was someone I admired not just as a player, but as a person. He was a role model on how to live one's life. I will miss him very much. I extend my deepest sympathy to his family, his friends and his teammates. We have lost a great Sooner."

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