James Bedford Harris (November 12, 1934 – August 9, 2011) was an American football

defensive back In gridiron football, defensive backs (DBs), also called the secondary, are the players on the defensive side of the ball who play farthest back from the line of scrimmage. They are distinguished from the other two sets of defensive players, the ...

in the National Football League (NFL) for the Philadelphia Eagles,

Los Angeles Rams The Los Angeles Rams are a professional American football team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Rams compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) West division. The Rams play ...

, and Dallas Cowboys. He also was a member of the

Dallas Texans Dallas Texans may refer to: American football *Dallas Texans (NFL), 1952 team in the National Football League *Dallas Texans (AFL), 1960–1962 team that is now the Kansas City Chiefs * Dallas Texans (arena), 1990–1993 Arena Football League team ...

in the

American Football League The American Football League (AFL) was a major professional American football league that operated for ten seasons from 1960 until 1970, when it merged with the older National Football League (NFL), and became the American Football Conference. ...

(AFL). He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

at the University of Oklahoma.

Early years

Harris, who was born in

Terrell, Texas Terrell is a city in Kaufman County, Texas, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 17,465. Terrell is located about east of Dallas. History Terrell developed as a railroad town, beginning in 1873 with construction here ...

and attended

Terrell High School Terrell High School is a public high school located in the city of Terrell, Texas, USA and newly classified as a 5A school by the UIL. It is a part of the Terrell Independent School District located in northwest Kaufman County. In 2013, the ...

, where he led the football team to state championship in 1953. Although he originally committed to Texas A&M University, to play for head coach

Bear Bryant Paul William "Bear" Bryant (September 11, 1913 – January 26, 1983) was an American college football player and coach. He is considered by many to be one of the greatest college football coaches of all time, and best known as the head coach of ...

, head coach

Bud Wilkinson Charles Burnham "Bud" Wilkinson (April 23, 1916 – February 9, 1994) was an American football player, coach, broadcaster, and politician. He served as the head football coach at the University of Oklahoma from 1947 to 1963, compiling a record of ...

convinced him to come to the University of Oklahoma, after getting him a job as a roughneck in the Oklahoma oil fields. He played

at the University of Oklahoma, where he was the starting quarterback during much of the Oklahoma 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 to

national championships A national championship(s) is the top achievement for any sport or contest within a league of a particular nation or nation state. The title is usually awarded by contests, ranking systems, stature, ability, etc. This determines the best team, indi ...

in both years. 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 the Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame.

Professional career

Philadelphia Eagles

Harris was selected by the Philadelphia Eagles in the fifth round (50th overall) of the

1957 NFL Draft The 1957 National Football League draft had its first four rounds held on November 26, 1956, at the Warwick Hotel in Philadelphia and its final twenty-six rounds on January 31, 1957 at the Bellevue-Stratford Hotel also in Philadelphia. This was ...

. As a rookie, he was converted into a

. On May 26,

1958 Events January * January 1 – The European Economic Community (EEC) comes into being. * January 3 – The West Indies Federation is formed. * January 4 ** Edmund Hillary's Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition completes the third ...

, he was traded along with

offensive tackle Offensive may refer to: * Offensive, the former name of the Dutch political party Socialist Alternative * Offensive (military), an attack * Offensive language ** Fighting words or insulting language, words that by their very utterance inflict inj ...

Buck Lansford Alex John "Buck" Lansford (born November 4, 1933) is an American former football player who was an offensive lineman in the National Football League (NFL) for the Philadelphia Eagles and the Los Angeles Rams. He was named to the Pro Bowl once. La ...

and a number one draft choice (#2-

Dick Bass Richard Lee Bass (March 15, 1937 – February 1, 2006) was an American football running back from who played for the Los Angeles Rams of the National Football League (NFL) from 1960 to 1969. Early life and education Born in Georgetown, Mississi ...

), to the

in exchange for quarterback

Norm Van Brocklin Norman Mack Van Brocklin (March 15, 1926 – May 2, 1983), nicknamed "The Dutchman", was an American football quarterback and coach who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 12 seasons. He spent his first nine seasons with the Los Ang ...

Los Angeles Rams

, he appeared in 12 games, tallying 4 interceptions. In

1960 It is also known as the "Year of Africa" because of major events—particularly the independence of seventeen African nations—that focused global attention on the continent and intensified feelings of Pan-Africanism. Events January * Ja ...

, he was traded to the Dallas Cowboys in exchange for a

1962 Events January * January 1 – Western Samoa becomes independent from New Zealand. * January 3 – Pope John XXIII excommunicates Fidel Castro for preaching communism. * January 8 – Harmelen train disaster: 93 die in the wors ...

fifth round draft choice (#60-Jim Smith).

Dallas Texans

On April 14,

, he was signed as a free agent by the

of the

, after spending the previous year coaching at the University of Oklahoma. He was temporarily blocked from joining the Texans until the court settled a suit filed by the Dallas Cowboys, to prevent him from playing for any other team. He appeared in 14 games and was mostly a backup player.

Dallas Cowboys

1961 Events January * January 3 ** United States President Dwight D. Eisenhower announces that the United States has severed diplomatic and consular relations with Cuba ( Cuba–United States relations are restored in 2015). ** Aero Flight 311 ...

, he joined the Dallas Cowboys after the court ruled in their favor. He appeared in 11 games with 4 starts and made 2 interceptions. He retired at the end of the year.

Personal life

Harris was an assistant football coach at the University of Oklahoma in 1959. After football, he co-owned an oil company named Midroc Operating Company. On August 9, 2011, he died of lung cancer.

References

External links

Jimmy Harris Hall of Fame bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Harris, Jimmy 1934 births 2011 deaths People from Terrell, Texas Players of American football from Texas American football defensive backs American football quarterbacks Oklahoma Sooners football players Philadelphia Eagles players Los Angeles Rams players Dallas Cowboys players Dallas Texans (AFL) players Oklahoma Sooners football coaches American Football League players Deaths from lung cancer Deaths from cancer in Louisiana