Pro Football Hall of Fame Weekend: Cowboys' New/Old 'Triplets'?

While Jimmy Johnson and Drew Pearson hog the spotlight, Cliff Harris completes the Cowboys-centric festivities in Canton, Ohio

Richie Whitt | Aug 5, 2021

One was on the receiving end of the most famous play in Dallas Cowboys' history.

One authored the most iconic rhetorical question ever shouted in an NFL locker room.

And one is named Cliff Harris.

As the Cowboys kick-off the 2021 NFL season against the Pittsburgh Steelers Thursday night, it will also commence a weekend of festivities drenched in the successful bygone tradition of America's Team.

There will be 1970s receiver Drew Pearson, inducted by the same man who threw him the "Hail Mary" - Roger Staubach. There will be 1990s head coach Jimmy Johnson, inducted by the quarterback who was in San Francisco's Candlestick Park to hear "How 'Bout Them Cowboys?!" - Troy Aikman. And, outshined by his glitzier Dallas inductees but beaming nonetheless, there will be Harris, the "Captain Crash" Cowboy finally barreling through the doors of football immortality.

"It's still unbelievable," Harris says. "To be honored alongside guys I've looked up to my entire life ... I'll be pinching myself all weekend."

Undrafted out of tiny Ouachita Baptist College in Arkansas in 1970, Harris smashed his way into playing time in a Cowboys' secondary that included future Hall of Famers Mel Renfro and Herb Adderly. With a physical, kamikaze style that would get him flagged for every hit in today's kinder, gentler NFL, Harris played in five Super Bowls and six Pro Bowls during his 10-year career. He was named All-Pro four times, and is the last defensive starter from the NFL's 1970s All-Decade Team to be enshrined into the Hall of Fame.

"We hit it off immediately," says 1970 co-rookie and long-time teammate/friend/business partner Charlie Waters, who will induct Harris. "The first night at training camp we went out for beers ... the rest is history."

Harris won a starting job as a rookie, but left late in the season to fulfill a military obligation to the National Guard. In stepped Waters. With those two patrolling the safety spots, the Cowboys' defense ranked in the Top 10 for 10 consecutive seasons and led the NFL en route to winning Super Bowl XII in 1977.

Harris, inducted into the Cowboys' Ring of Honor in 2004, also became Dallas' primary kick returner who averaged an eye-popping 29 yards per return in 1971. In 21 playoff games, he produced six interceptions and four forced fumbles.

The safeties certainly respected head coach Tom Landry, but they also weren't afraid to color outside the lines of his desired discipline. To Landry's chagrin, Waters and Harris rode motorcycles in the offseason and often sat on their helmets on the sidelines during games.

"Cliff just had an infectious personality," Waters said. "And boy did he love to hit. I'm glad he was on my team because he was an old-school head hunter."

Further burying the old "Cowboys bias" trope, the Hall of Fame will add three more Dallas players in a busy weekend that will see 28 new members (nine posthumously) from two classes - 2020 and 2021 - enshrined. (With the additions of Pearson, Harris and Johnson, the Cowboys will have 20 representatives in Canton. The Chicago Bears have the most with 30.)

Like Harris, Pearson long knocked on Canton's fabled doors. The NFL selected 22 first-team players to its 1970s All-Decade Team. Pearson, until now, was the only one not fitted for a gold jacket.

"They broke my heart several times," Pearson admitted. "But to finally get the call. It made my day ... made my life."

Also like Harris, he was an undrafted free agent that wound up starting as a rookie for the Cowboys. One of his era's most clutch receivers, Pearson led the NFL in yards in 1976-77, posted two 1,000-yard seasons and went to three Pro Bowls.

Johnson, known for his fiery demeanor and coiffed hair, followed the legendary Landry in Dallas and stumbled to a 1-15 start in 1989.

But he was NFL Coach of the Year the next season and led the Cowboys to consecutive Super Bowls in 1992-93 before his infamous fallout with owner Jerry Jones. He is one of only six men to win consecutive Super Bowls, joining Vince Lombardi, Don Shula, Chuck Noll, Mike Shanahan and Bill Belichick.

"My time with the Cowboys was obviously very special," said Johnson, who has asked Fox TV sidekick Terry Bradshaw to don him with his gold jacket after Aikman's introductory speech. "What made it so great was all the assistant coaches who worked for me and all the great players who played for me. They’re the reason I’m here."

Delayed a year by COVID, the Class of 2020 will be inducted Saturday night. Harris will be enshrined second; Johnson next to last. Pearson will be inducted first Sunday night to kick-off the Class of 2021 ceremonies.

The induction orders of this weekend's Pro Football Hall of Fame ceremonies:

SATURDAY - CLASS OF 2020

1. Troy Polamalu

2. Cliff Harris

3. Steve Atwater

4. Paul Tagliabue

5. Steve Hutchinson

6. Donnie Shell

7. Isaac Bruce

8. Jimbo Covert

9. Edgerrin James

10. Harold Carmichael

11. Jimmy Johnson

12. Bill Cowher

SUNDAY - CLASS OF 2021

1. Drew Pearson

2. Tom Flores

3. Peyton Manning

4. John Lynch

5. Calvin Johnson

6. Alan Faneca

7. Charles Woodson

Published Aug 5, 2021

RICHIE WHITT