Jay C. Upchurch
8/9/2011, 12:58 PM
SHREVEPORT — Former University of Oklahoma star Jimmy Harris has passed away at age 76 after a lengthy battle with lung cancer. Harris led the Sooners to a 25-0 mark as a starting quarterback, which encompassed the 1955 and '56 national championship seasons.
Harris was a significant cog in the Sooners record 47-game winning streak under legendary coach Bud Wilkinson, and later played a handful of seasons in the NFL as a defensive back with Philadelphia, Los Angeles and Dallas.
Harris, then a sophomore, took over as the OU quarterback mid-season in 1954.
"Surely one of the great players to ever play at the University of Oklahoma," Jay Wilkinson, son of legendary OU coach Bud Wilkinson told The Oklahoman. "He and my dad had a very strong bond. I was in junior high at the time he was playing. Certainly, he was my role model. Just such a dynamic, complete player. Strong and tough. He was such a key part of that great, great tradition."
Read more: http://newsok.com/legendary-ou-quarterback-jimmy-harris-dies/article/3593001#ixzz1UYTP8IFl
From staff and wire reports
Harris was a significant cog in the Sooners record 47-game winning streak under legendary coach Bud Wilkinson, and later played a handful of seasons in the NFL as a defensive back with Philadelphia, Los Angeles and Dallas.
Harris, then a sophomore, took over as the OU quarterback mid-season in 1954.
"Surely one of the great players to ever play at the University of Oklahoma," Jay Wilkinson, son of legendary OU coach Bud Wilkinson told The Oklahoman. "He and my dad had a very strong bond. I was in junior high at the time he was playing. Certainly, he was my role model. Just such a dynamic, complete player. Strong and tough. He was such a key part of that great, great tradition."
Read more: http://newsok.com/legendary-ou-quarterback-jimmy-harris-dies/article/3593001#ixzz1UYTP8IFl
From staff and wire reports