- Born
- Died
- Birth nameJames Bedford Harris
- Jimmy earned degrees in geology and history while leading his the OU Sooners to National Championships in 1955 and 1956 and a record-breaking three-year winning streak (47 games total) that still stands today. He went on to form his own successful oil and gas and land corporation and was just as proud to be an independent oil operator as he was of his football career.
Jimmy Harris played NFL seasons for the Philadelphia Eagles in 1957 as Quarterback, the Los Angeles Rams in 1958, the Dallas Texans in 1960 as Defensive Halfback and the Dallas Cowboys in 1961 where he recorded 11 career interceptions. He returned to his alma mater and coached the OU Alumni team in several games in the 1970's.
His wife Donna who also attended OU was a Yearbook beauty queen in 1954, Homecoming Queen in 1955 and Miss Football in 1956. They had two children, Cathy Harris Lamb and James David Harris and one grandchild Benjamin Lamb, by Cathy. All four still reside in Oklahoma and his grandson plans to continue his grandfather's sports and perhaps geology legacy.
On August 5th, 2013 Jimmy Harris was posthumously inducted into the Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame.- IMDb Mini Biography By: James D. Harris
- SpouseDonna Sue Cason(January 24, 1959 - June 19, 1979) (divorced, 2 children)
- Starting Quarterback of Oklahoma's 1955 and 1956 national championship teams. Selected by the Philadelphia Eagles in the 5th round of the 1957 NFL Draft.
- Maybe it's a rags to riches story. It could've been better, but it could've been a helluva lot worse.
- I realized I was quicker than a lot of people and could play football. But I also wanted the education. I wanted to be the first in my family to get one.
- Bud (Wilkinson) was certainly a tremendous influence on my life, even after I left Oklahoma. I had studied to be a geologist, and after a couple of seasons in pro football I had to make a choice, football or oil. Bud told me I'd be happier later in life if I chose the oil business.
Contribute to this page
Suggest an edit or add missing content