Pro Football Hall of Fame Weekend

August 5-8 | Canton, Ohio | Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium

LINKS

Hall of Fame Game: Cowboys vs. Steelers | 7 p.m. Thursday | FOX
Gold Jacket Ceremony: 5:00 p.m. Friday | No Broadcast
Class of 2020 Enshrinement: 5:30 p.m. Saturday | ESPN | NFL Network

HARRIS TO THE HALL

Cliff Harris has earned numerous honors in the game of football. He was a two-time All-Conference selection and 1966 Arkansas Intercollegiate Conference champion at Ouachita Baptist. His professional career saw him become a two-time Super Bowl champion, six-time Pro Bowl selection, three-time First Team All-Pro honoree and member of the Ring of Honor for the Dallas Cowboys. He is the namesake of both an award presented to the top defensive player in the country representing small schools and his alma mater's football stadium.

On Saturday, Harris will add the sport's top honor to his long list of accolades when he joins the Pro Football Hall of Fame with the Class of 2020 at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium in Canton, Ohio. The ceremony will be broadcast on both ESPN and NFL Network. Saturday's event begins at 5:30 CT, with Harris scheduled to be the second member of the class honored. 

Ouachita was the only school to offer Harris a scholarship out of Des Arc High School, and he came to Arkadelphia to follow in his father, O.J. "Buddy" Harris' footsteps. Under head coach Buddy Benson, the Tigers won the 1966 AIC title in Harris' freshman season. Harris was named All-AIC in 1968 and 1969, but was not selected in the 1970 NFL Draft.

The Dallas Cowboys invited him to training camp in 1970 and signed him to a free agent contract. That year, he beat out third-round draft pick Charlie Waters to crack the starting lineup and helped Dallas to victory in Super Bowl VI over the Miami Dolphins. In his 10-year NFL career, all with the Cowboys, Harris recorded 29 interceptions, which he returned for 281 yards and a touchdown, recovered 18 fumbles, recorded 3.0 unofficial sacks* and racked up over 2,000 yards in kick and punt returns. 

One of only 13 players to ever play in five Super Bowls, Harris helped Dallas bring home a second Lombardi trophy in 1978. He retired after the 1979 season, and despite being named a finalist for the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2004, he was not selected to the Hall until January 15, 2020, as part of the Centennial class of inductees. As if 40 years wasn't long enough to wait, the 2020 enshrinement ceremony has been postponed until this weekend. The order in which enshrinement speeches will be made is as follows:

1. Harold Carmichael

2. Cliff Harris

3. Edgerrin James

4. Steve Atwater

5. Paul Tagliabue

6. Steve Hutchinson

7. Donnie Shell

8. Isaac Bruce

9. Jimbo Covert

10. Troy Polamalu

11. Jimmy Johnson

12. Bill Cowher

*Sacks recorded prior to 1982 are considered unofficial by NFL records