Eric Wayne "Coochie" Harris (August 11, 1955 – February 19, 2012) was a

gridiron football Gridiron football ( ),"Gridiron football"
''Encyclopædia Britannica'' ...

defensive back In gridiron football, defensive backs (DBs), also called the secondary, are the players on the defensive side of the ball who play farthest back from the line of scrimmage. They are distinguished from the other two sets of defensive players, the ...

. Drafted by the

Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) West division. Established in 1959 ...

1977 Events January * January 8 – 1977 Moscow bombings, Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group. * January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (no ...

, Harris was convinced to play

Canadian football Canadian football, or simply football, is a Sports in Canada, sport in Canada in which two teams of 12 players each compete on a field long and wide, attempting to advance a Ball (gridiron football), pointed oval-shaped ball into the opposi ...

in the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; , LCF) is a Professional gridiron football, professional Canadian football league in Canada. It comprises nine teams divided into two divisions, with four teams in the East Division (CFL), East Division and f ...

(CFL) by Leo Cahill. He played for the

Toronto Argonauts The Toronto Argonauts (officially the Toronto Argonaut Football Club and colloquially known as the Argos) are a professional Canadian football team based in Toronto, Ontario. The Argonauts compete in the East Division (CFL), East Division of t ...

from 1977 to 1979. He then played

American football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...

for six seasons in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL) for the Kansas City Chiefs (1980–1982) and the

Los Angeles Rams The Los Angeles Rams are a professional American football team based in the Greater Los Angeles, Greater Los Angeles area. The Rams compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West ...

(1983–1985). On February 27, 1981, The Committee of 101's 12th Annual salute to professional football presented Eric with the Mack Lee Hill Award.

Career

Eric Harris was drafted by the NFL but opted to play in the CFL, signing with the

in 1977. He was an East All Star in 1977 and 1978. In 1977, he set a record that still stands today. He intercepted a pass in a game against Montreal, and raced 115 yards for a touchdown. That season, he led Toronto with 6 interceptions for 166 yards. After three years in the

, Harris went to the NFL to play for the team that still had his draft rights, the

. The Chiefs had drafted Harris in the fourth round of the 1977 NFL draft. Harris became one of the first defensive backs to sign a million contract when he returned to Kansas City in 1980. Eric Harris wasted no time making an imprint on both his team and the National Football League. "We had a super secondary", said

Marv Levy Marvin Daniel Levy (; born August 3, 1925) is an American former football coach and executive who was a head coach in the National Football League (NFL) for seventeen seasons. He spent most of his head coaching career with the Buffalo Bills, lea ...

, "but it wouldn’t have been super without Eric." The former

all-star was second on the Chiefs with seven interceptions. He had a string of six consecutive games, Oct. 19 through Nov. 23, in which he intercepted a pass per game. Harris was drafted in the fourth round by the Chiefs in 1977, but played three years with Toronto of the CFL before coming to Kansas City. He became a starter at right cornerback the third week of regular season. His seven interceptions represented a quarter of the Chiefs 28 total. Harris also accounted for 50 tackles on the season, 41 unassisted. Harris died on February 19, 2012, following a heart attack at his home in

Little Rock, Arkansas Little Rock is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Arkansas, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arkansas. The city's population was 202,591 as of the 2020 census. The six-county Central Arkan ...

.Former University of Memphis Tiger star defender Harris dies
''CommercialAppeal.com'', February 23, 2012

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Harris, Eric 1955 births 2012 deaths American football cornerbacks Canadian football defensive backs Memphis Tigers football players Kansas City Chiefs players Los Angeles Rams players Toronto Argonauts players Players of American football from Memphis, Tennessee Players of Canadian football from Memphis, Tennessee