Class of 1978

Larry Cross, Apex High School Class of 1978, was a quiet, but highly capable athlete who joins his backfield teammate, Terron Teandor in the Hall of Fame Class of 2025. Larry’s prowess on the gridiron earned him the nickname, “Super” because he raked in more awards than a person could count:  “All-Metro,” “Wake County 2A Player of the Year,” “First- team All-Conference” and he was named the team’s “Best Offensive Player” to name a few. As one newspaper article described Larry as saying, “The real story of the Apex ground game could be a 4.6-second sprinter named Larry Cross, who covered almost as much real estate as a freshman jayvee as the Red Cross.” Not bad for a young man who didn’t start playing football until 8th grade due to his passion for baseball. 

A well-rounded athlete, Larry played basketball for three seasons at Apex and he also played baseball where he won the team’s “Best Hitter” award as a sophomore and where he later became an all-conference player and the baseball team MVP as well.

After Apex, Larry went to play football as a scholarship athlete at Indiana State University and he played there until a concussion ended his career.  After that, Larry joined the Army, serving in Germany.  While in Germany, he became famous for his cooking. 

Looking back, Larry’s High School Coach, Bruce Worley, had this to say about Larry: “Larry was one of the best athletes I had high ever coached at Apex High School. Larry was an outstanding athlete and a real privilege to coach him and his brother. Larry was someone who always gave 100% and always outworked everyone in practice. As a running back, he was just about impossible to tackle one on one. Not only was he a powerful runner, but he was very quick and very fast. Larry was one of those players that you could always count on no matter what the situation was or how difficult it was. Likewise, he could do anything and play anywhere on the baseball field as well.”  

Friends and family would say Larry hasn’t changed much from the humble, loyal, and capable person he was back at Apex High School.  Even with all his accolades, Larry considers his best legacy is his family:  his wife of 42 years, Terry Talbert Cross, and their four children, all college graduates with careers and families of their own and his cooking is still famous among his now seven grandchildren.