Described as solid in character off the field as well as on it, Chris Santa Cruz excelled playing linebacker at Hinds and at the next level.
Santa Cruz, a Lillian, Ala. native, was among key contributors on defense for the Hinds Eagles in 1980 and 1981, winning the Eagle Award and Most Valuable player award.
His efforts on the 1980 team were evident, as the Eagles went 6-4 and featured several defensive standouts.
In 1981, he cemented his solid contributions to the Eagle defense by winning the college’s awards and being among three defensive starters named to the South team in the Mississippi Junior College All-Star Game, which Hinds hosted. He and his fellow Eagles helped shut out the North squad, 21-0.
He moved on to East Carolina University, in Greenville, N.C., where he won the Norman Swindell Memorial Award in 1984 for leadership and character.
Today, Santa Cruz is employed by the Baldwin County Board of Education as a school bus diesel mechanic. He is married and has three children.
