Born in Rydal, Pennsylvania, Harold S. Cross Jr. attended the William Penn Charter School and the University of Pennsylvania.  Prior to joining the Philadelphia Cricket Club, Cross was a member of Huntingdon Valley Country Club where he won the first of five HVCC Club Championships in 1928 at the age of 17.   Cross won the Philadelphia Junior Championship in 1929, GAP’s Patterson Cup in 1935 and the GAP Silver Cross in 1936.

 

Harold served in the Army during World War II from 1941 – 1945 as a First Lieutenant in the 803rd Tank Destroyer Battalion in Germany, fighting in the Battle of the Bulge.  Prior to returning home, Cross spent several months playing golf throughout Europe in the Third Army’s golf team with professionals including Lloyd Mangrum and Tommy Bolt. 

 

Upon returning to Philadelphia, Cross joined the Philadelphia Cricket Club and won his first PCC Club Championship in 1947.  Harold continued to excel as an amateur as a three-time medalist at the Crump Cup, winning the GAP Amateur Championship in 1951 and the GAP Senior Amateur Championship in 1977.  He won his eighteenth and final Club Championship at the Cricket Club in 1981 at the age of 70.

 

Cross decided to remain a lifetime amateur, opting for a career in golf where he rose to Director of Golf Sales for Spalding, rather than competing professionally.  Describing the decision years later, Cross said “I’d watch some of the fellows we had with Spalding – Paul Runyan, Henry Ransom, Bob Goalby, Gene Littler – and I figured out pretty quickly that if I didn’t want to starve, I’d better not turn pro”.

Cross raised his family at the Cricket Club, where his wife Sallie was a five-time Women’s Club Champion and his son Chris won two Club Championships of his own.  Harold and Chris partnered to win the Father & Son Championship together eleven times.

 

In Harold’s honor, PCC established the Harold Cross Invitational in 1992 which draws top amateurs from Pennsylvania and neighboring states.