Hailing Harris at banquet

Ex-Cowboys football star honored by Fellowship of Christian Athletes

When former Ouachita Baptist University football player Cliff Harris retired from the Dallas Cowboys in the early '80s, he must have thought whatever honors were coming from press or fans would surely come then or never at all. Boy, was he wrong. This last year has brought a wave of Cliff Harris nostalgia.

On May 1, the Fellowship of Christian Athletes in Central Arkansas continued the encomium with a banquet at Immanuel Baptist Church and flew in National Championship Coach Gene Stallings to give the keynote address.

Stallings fell right into line.

"He's a rookie," for the Dallas Cowboys in 1971, Stallings began. "You know how hard it is to be a starter on a good football team as a rookie? It's practically unheard of. Not only is Cliff Harris a starter, he was an all-pro. You know how big a deal that is? I don't think you understand how big a deal it is when you talk about, he was the best safety in all [of] pro football. Cliff was all-pro four years. Played in five Super Bowls. He played 10 years, five of those he was in the Super Bowl."

Stallings recalled a game against the Washington Redskins where there were several lead changes. Eventually, Dallas pulled out the win.

"I go up to the players' dressing room, and there's two great players, Charlie Waters and Cliff Harris, and I can see Cliff trying to take his gear off. If you've never been in a pro locker room when the game's over, these guys are worn out. Cliff is trying to take his gear off, he looks over at Charlie, he says, 'Hey Charlie, what was the score of that game?' Didn't even know the score of that game."

The FCA is a Christian ministry among athletes, and Stallings pointed out that the oldest chapter among major college football programs was at his former coach and mentor Paul "Bear" Bryant's University of Alabama.

"I'm coaching Texas A&M. I get a call from Coach Bryant. [He said], 'You know what's the worst thing that ever happened to the football program at the University of Alabama since I been there?' I said, 'No, what's that, coach?' He said, 'It's the FCA. All we want to do is love on each other. ... we won't hit nobody. It's killing our team!' Three or four weeks later, I get a telephone call from Coach Bryant. [He said], 'You know what's the greatest thing that ever happened to the football program at the University of Alabama since I been there?' I said, 'No, what's that, coach?' He said, 'It's the FCA. It's given us some oneness. It's given us some closeness. I just wish that they'd had some kind of program like that when I was growing up.'"

-- Story and photos by Bobby Ampezzan

High Profile on 05/18/2014

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