Dallas Cowboys Hall-of-Famer Cliff Harris: 'The Key is To Never Quit'
A "slim chance'' at football immortality? The way Cliff Harris tells it, he started his NFL career with a slim chance at an NFL career.
“The odds of me playing in the NFL, much less me standing here tonight, were incredibly long,'' said Harris as a part of his Sunday into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio.
Harris came out of Ouachita Baptist University but somehow worked his way into becaming a legend.
“We were the Doomsday Defense,'' he reminded the audience.
The Cowboys’ hard-hitting safety of the 1970s, Harris finished his career with two Super Bowls with Dallas in 1971 and 1977. He also qualified for six Pro Bowls and earned four first-team All-Pro honors.
The standout tackler and cover man for the Cowboys from 1970-79 was inducted as part of the centennial class. Also enshrined this weekend are two other Cowboys legends, Harris teammate Drew Pearson - like Harris a member of the NFL's All-Decade Team of the '70's, adding to the oddity of the two stars' long wait for Canton - and the coach of the '90's Super Bowl teams, Jimmy Johnson.
Harris went from a small NAIA school star to becoming an undrafted rookie who started from the outset in Dallas, right along side the likes of "Mr. Cowboy'' Bob Lilly and other icons-to-be.
Among other obstacles to Harris' success - or maybe reasons for his success - he began his NFL career while also serving in the National Guard, meaning he sometimes was required to report for duty during the week before getting to rejoin his teammates for games.
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“The odds of me playing in the NFL, much less me standing here tonight, were incredibly long,'' Harris said on-stage, while wearing his gold jacket and standing alongside his bust. "I may be the only one who knows how truly slim that chance was, but if I could make it, anyone can achieve their goals. The key is to never quit.”
