We talk to former San Francisco 49ers offensive lineman, Randy Cross.
Former 49ers owner Eddie DeBartolo went into the Pro Football Hall of Fame and I got the chance to chat with one of “his guys”, offensive lineman Randy Cross.
The 12-year veteran out of UCLA discussed his former boss, the hall of fame game fiasco, the current state of the 49ers and so much more.
Hammond: Earlier this month, your friend and former 49ers owner Eddie DeBartolo was put into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, what memories do you have of him? Any special stories that stand out?
Cross: You know I know the average person probably snickers at it but it was about being treated like family and I’m not sure there’s too many people who could say that about their owners. He treated us the best, he expected the best and you’ve heard about it, it was Super Bowl or bust. There’s a reason Bill Walsh said what he said, he didn’t think in that kind of an atmosphere a coach could last more than 10 years. It makes you marvel at a guy like Jeff Fisher that have lasted the length of time that they have.
What really differentiated Eddie and Bill is they did it, they pulled it off and Eddie didn’t stop demanding it when Bill left and they still did it a couple of more times. Did he take care of us? Yeah, did they have salary cap issues because of some of the stuff he did? I don’t think the NFL will ever admit that but that was an NFL back then that wasn’t ripe with billionaires, and families owned teams and they had to counteract what the Eddie DeBartolo’s and Jerry Joneses were doing. They had to do everything they could to make their team successful.
Hammond: In DeBartolo’s speech, he got a lot of love from fellow Hall of Famers on stage when he discussed the treatment of former players. I’m sure you agree with those sentiments.
Cross: Oh yeah, what he basically said they don’t stop being family after they retire. You can’t treat them as family and then don’t when they’re done playing, you know they’re part of you forever and that responsibility—in a perfect world, the league was run like it currently is then it would be true. That speaks to the uniqueness of Eddie that Eddie would say that. I’m sure all of the Hall of Famers agreed with it. I’m sure in separate ownership suites and in certain cities around the league weren’t giving him a standing ovation.”
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