LITTLE ROCK — A few years ago, Wayne Harris was named as the greatest player in the history of the Calgary Stampeders of the Canadian Football League.
That had a lot to do with why Harris was among the eight players featured when the Canadian postal service issued stamps to commemorate the Grey Cup.
Harris, who was born in Hampton, earned the nickname “Thumper” when he played at El Dorado High School, where he was a high school All-American.
He kept the nickname as an Arkansas Razorbacks linebacker who was named Southwest Conference Player of the Year. He still holds the record set in 1960 for most tackles in a season with 174. He also had five interceptions that year.
He was an All-American — academic and athletic — who was drafted by the Boston Patriots of the old American Football League but decided he wanted to give the CFL a shot.
For him, it was the right move.
He played 12 years for the Calgary Stampeders (1961-1972), played in three Grey Cups and was MVP in one of those. He was named All-Western Conference 11 times.
He was a unanimous choice for induction into the Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame in 1981.
Harris is a full-time resident of Canada, and after retirement from the CFL, became a physical education teacher and volunteer coach.
Wayne “Thumper” Harris has had a great career, been a great ambassador for his adopted home and his birth state, and now he’s been honored as one of only eight players in the history of the Grey Cup to have his image on a Canadian stamp.
It has become more than just a major fundraiser for UALR athletics, it has become a big social event with one of the biggest silent auctions in the state.
For sports fans, SpectacUALR — which is Thursday night at UALR’s Jack Stephens Center — is more fun than the state fair on free ride day.
Great food, beverages and a live auction where someone always gets some electronic and jewelry bargains.
Plus, it raises money for the UALR athletic department, which runs 15 men’s and women’s sports on a budget of just $9 million.
No need to go into comparisons, but most SEC football programs have bigger budgets than that.
The party starts at 6:30 p.m. and ends when it ends.
The Arkansas Razorbacks had eight sacks against Auburn on Saturday, which made me curious.
Who owns the record for a single game?
Wayne Martin had five against Ole Miss in 1988, and he is the career leader with 251/2, just edging out Henry Ford with 25.
Probably one of the most startling defensive records is total tackles for loss, which is owned by Billy Ray Smith (1979-1982). He had 63, 17 more than Ford, who is second on the list.
When Tyler Wilson and Tevin Mitchel went down in the Louisiana-Monroe game, Wilson, being the quarterback, garnered all the talk.
There is no doubt losing Mitchel has been just as devastating to the defense. He is the best cover cornerback on the team and a good openfield tackler.
He was good enough to start seven games as a freshman last season, and while it hasn’t been revealed when or if he will play again this season, he is back at practice.
The way this season is going, it might be better for him to get a medical redshirt.
Just saying, the loss of middle linebacker Alonzo Highsmith is huge.
He was the leading tackler on the team and led the team in tackles for loss.
This is a defensive unit that has gotten younger by the week, and now it loses a major senior player.
Sports, Pages 21 on 10/10/2012