| No. 20, 44, 40 | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position | Defensive back | ||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||
| Born | (1934-11-12)November 12, 1934 Terrell, Texas, U.S. | ||||||||
| Died | August 9, 2011(2011-08-09) (aged 76) Shreveport, Louisiana, U.S. | ||||||||
| Height | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | ||||||||
| Weight | 178 lb (81 kg) | ||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||
| High school | Terrell (TX) | ||||||||
| College | Oklahoma | ||||||||
| NFL draft | 1957: 5th round, 50th overall pick | ||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||
| Awards and highlights | |||||||||
| Career NFL/AFL statistics | |||||||||
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James Bedford Harris (November 12, 1934 – August 9, 2011) was an Americanfootballdefensive back in theNational Football League (NFL) for thePhiladelphia Eagles,Los Angeles Rams, andDallas Cowboys. He also was a member of theDallas Texans in theAmerican Football League (AFL). He playedcollege football at theUniversity of Oklahoma.
Harris, who was born inTerrell, Texas and attendedTerrell High School, where he led the football team to state championship in 1953. Although he originally committed toTexas A&M University, to play for head coachBear Bryant, head coachBud Wilkinson convinced him to come to theUniversity of Oklahoma, after getting him a job as aroughneck in the Oklahoma oil fields.
He playedcollege football at theUniversity of Oklahoma, where he was the startingquarterback during much of theOklahoma Sooners' famed 47-game winning streak.
Harris went undefeated after becoming quarterback during the 1954 season, after starter Gene Calame suffered a right collar bone injury. He also was undefeated during the 1955 and 1956 seasons, leading the Sooners tonational championships in both years.[1]
He won all of his 25 starts, finishing with 39 completions out of 80 attempts for 745 yards, 10 passing touchdowns, 254 rushing attempts for 1,237 yards and 11 touchdowns.
In 2013, he was inducted into theOklahoma Sports Hall of Fame.[2]
Harris was selected by thePhiladelphia Eagles in the fifth round (50th overall) of the1957 NFL draft.[3] As a rookie, he was converted into adefensive back. On May 26,1958, he was traded along withoffensive tackleBuck Lansford and a number one draft choice (#2-Dick Bass), to theLos Angeles Rams in exchange forquarterbackNorm Van Brocklin.[4]
In1958, he appeared in 12 games, tallying 4 interceptions. In1960, he was traded to theDallas Cowboys in exchange for a1962 fifth round draft choice (#60-Jim Smith).
On April 14,1960, he was signed as afree agent by theDallas Texans of theAmerican Football League, after spending the previous year coaching at theUniversity of Oklahoma.[5] He was temporarily blocked from joining the Texans until the court settled a suit filed by theDallas Cowboys, to prevent him from playing for any other team.[6] He appeared in 14 games and was mostly a backup player.
In1961, he joined theDallas Cowboys after the court ruled in their favor.[7] He appeared in 11 games with 4 starts and made 2 interceptions. He retired at the end of the year.
Harris was an assistant football coach at theUniversity of Oklahoma in 1959. After football, he co-owned an oil company named Midroc Operating Company. On August 9, 2011, he died oflung cancer.[8]