Ex-Hog Harris dies at 77

Linebacker’s big hits left lasting impression

In this Dec. 27, 1960, file photo, Arkansas linebacker Wayne Harris signs autographs outside the dressing room at Rice University in Houston, Arkansas was in the last week of practice for the Cotton Bowl game against Duke. Harris, the former University of Arkansas and Calgary Stampeders linebacker known as "Thumper" for his hard hits, has died. He was 77. The Stampeders confirmed Harris's death Thursday, June 4, 2015. (AP Photo/Ed Kolenovsky, File)

FAYETTEVILLE -- "Thumper" has died.

Wayne Harris, an All-American linebacker for the Arkansas Razorbacks in 1960 and a member of the Razorbacks' All-Century team who earned the nickname "Thumper" for his punishing tackles, died Thursday. He was 77.

The Calgary Stampeders, for whom Harris starred in the Canadian Football League, confirmed his death.

Harris was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2004. He also was a member of the CFL Hall of Fame, the Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame and the UA Hall of Honor.

"Wayne deserved every accolade he ever got," Harold Horton, the former Arkansas player, assistant coach and Razorback Foundation administrator who was Harris' teammate with the Razorbacks, said upon learning of Harris' death. "He was one of the key guys that really helped get the Arkansas football program rolling."

Harris, who Horton said had been battling Alzheimer's disease, helped the Razorbacks win back-to-back Southwest Conference championships in 1959 and 1960 in Frank Broyles' second and third seasons as coach. Harris' 174 tackles in 1960 still stand as Arkansas' single-season record.

"I don't think anybody that's ever played linebacker had more ability than Wayne to make plays all over the field," Broyles said in a 2004 interview with the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. "He weighed 190, but when he tackled you, you thought a 260-pounder had hit you."

Harris picked up his "Thumper" nickname at El Dorado High School.

"During a game my 10th-grade year, I made a hit and one of our assistant coaches said, 'You can hear that thump up in the nickel seats,' " Harris said in a 1994 interview with the Democrat-Gazette. "That's where the 'Thumper' came from, and it just followed me up to Arkansas."

Horton met Harris at the 1957 Arkansas High School All-Star Game, where Harris played for the West team and Horton for the East. The two became friends at Arkansas, although that didn't mean Harris went easy on Horton -- who played running back -- in practice.

"The only time I can ever remember having the wind knocked out of me on the football field was during a scrimmage when Wayne tackled me," Horton said. "He really packed a punch. When we were doing one-on-one tackling drills in practice, everybody was counting guys in line because none of us wanted to go against Wayne."

Horton coached Arkansas' linebackers for nine seasons and had among his players Cliff Powell, who is on the College Football Hall of Fame ballot this year.

"Cliff Powell was a great linebacker, and we've had some great ones at Arkansas, but Wayne Harris is the best linebacker I've ever seen on our campus in my lifetime," Horton said. "He could close so quick on the ball."

Harris' most famous tackle happened his junior season in 1959, when he knocked out SMU quarterback Don Meredith. The Mustangs were in the Spread offense and Meredith faked outside and ran up the middle, where Harris was waiting.

"They hit like this, both going full speed," Broyles said years later, clenching his fists and knocking them together.

Wilson Matthews, who at that time coached Arkansas' linebackers, said of Meredith's condition: "It is hard to see your receivers when your eyeballs are in the back of your head."

Meredith returned to the game, but Arkansas won 17-14 to clinch a share of the Southwest Conference title with Texas and TCU and set the stage for the Razorbacks becoming a national powerhouse in the 1960s.

Harris had made Calgary his home since 1961 when he began playing in the CFL. He played 12 seasons with the Stampeders and was an 11-time Western Conference All-Star.

The highlight of Harris' CFL career came in 1971, when he was named MVP of the Grey Cup in the Stampeders' 14-11 victory over Toronto. He also played in the Grey Cup in 1968 and 1970.

After his playing days, Harris worked as an executive for an oil and gas company, retiring from the business in 2008.

Harris' No. 55 jersey was retired by the Stampeders in 1973, and in 2006 he was voted ninth among the CFL's 50 greatest 50.

In 2012, Harris was chosen to represent Calgary on a stamp that was part of Canada Post's 100th Grey Cup anniversary series.

Sports on 06/05/2015