Cowboys Cliff Harris to Hall of Fame: 'An Incredible Blessing'
Former Dallas Cowboys safety Cliff Harris, a backbone of some of the most historic teams in NFL history, has been elected into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
"Incredible'' and a "blessing'' are some of the words Harris used to describe the feeling upon hearing the Wednesday morning announcement.
Harris won two Super Bowl titles with the Cowboys in the 1971 and 1977 seasons. He also made six Pro Bowls and was a first-team All-Pro four times. How it took this long - and this special "Centennial Class'' - for “Captain Crash'' to get in remains a source of frustration for Cowboys Nation, which now turns its eye toward Drew Pearson, who one could say was the "offensive version of Harris,'' like Cliff an All-Decade player over the course of two decades.
Harris, 71, came to the Cowboys as an undrafted free agent out of Ouachita Baptist University in Arkansas ... one of the franchise's great success stories, as he played his entire career here, retiring in 1979 before seeing himself inducted into the Cowboys Ring of Honor in 2004.
Harris joins the Hall of Fame Class of 2020 with former Cowboys coach Jimmy Johnson, also part of the special class. Here’s a full list of the Centennial Class, who will be joined by the standard five-member inductees from the normal voting process and announced the day prior to the Super Bowl. (*Deceased)
COACHES
Jimmy Johnson – 1989-1993 Dallas Cowboys, 1996-99 Miami Dolphins
Bill Cowher – 1992-2006 Pittsburgh Steelers
CONTRIBUTORS
*Steve Sabol, Administrator/President – 1964-2012 NFL Films
Paul Tagliabue, Commissioner – 1989-2006 National Football League
*George Young, Contributor/General Manager – 1968-1974 Baltimore Colts, 1975-78 Miami Dolphins, 1979-1997 New York Giants, 1998-2001 National Football League
SENIORS
Cliff Harris, S – 1970-79 Dallas Cowboys
Harold Carmichael, WR – 1971-1983 Philadelphia Eagles, 1984 Dallas Cowboys
Jim Covert, T – 1983-1990 Chicago Bears
*Bobby Dillon, S – 1952-59 Green Bay Packers
*Winston Hill, T – 1963-1976 New York Jets, 1977 Los Angeles Rams
*Alex Karras, DT – 1958-1962, 1964-1970 Detroit Lions
Donnie Shell, S – 1974-1987 Pittsburgh Steelers
*Duke Slater, T – 1922 Milwaukee Badgers, 1922-25 Rock Island Independents,1926-1931 Chicago Cardinals
*Mac Speedie, E – 1946-1952 Cleveland Browns [AAFC/NFL]
*Ed Sprinkle, DE/LB/E – 1944-1955 Chicago Bears
