Cliff Harris Clifford Allen Harris ( born November 12 , 1948 in Fayetteville , Arkansas ) is a former professional American football safety who played for the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League for ten seasons . Early years . In High School he started his football career as a backup quarterback at Hot Springs High School , until moving to Des Arc High School for his senior season , where he would win the starter position and lead the Class A Eagles to an undefeated season ( 11 - 0 ) . Harris was only offered a scholarship to Ouachita Baptist University , after his father ’ s roommate at Ouachita convinced head coach Buddy Benson to do it . In College he became an accomplished defensive back , that played all of the secondary positions and also a quality Kickoff returner . He was named to two All - Arkansas Intercollegiate Conference ( AIC ) teams and was part of the 1966 AIC Football Championship team during his freshman season . Harris was part of the track and field team and graduated with a degree in math . He was inducted into the Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame ( 1985 ) , the NAIA Hall of Fame ( 1978 ) and the Ouachita Athletics Hall of Fame ( 2003 ) . Professional career . Harris was not chosen in the 1970 NFL Draft out of NAIA school Ouachita Baptist University , but the Cowboys found him playing semipro football and invited him to training camp . He beat out Cowboys third - round draft choice Charlie Waters ( who did not crack the starting lineup until the retirement of Cornell Green following the 1974 season ) for the starting free safety position his rookie year . Military service caused him to miss the second half of the season , although he returned in time for the Cowboys ' victory in Super Bowl VI over the Miami Dolphins and would never relinquish the position after 1971 . He would eventually team up with Waters to form the top safety duo in the NFL in the 1970 ' s . Harris made it a point to wear the pads of placekicker s in order to keep his speed and quickness up . Harris was nicknamed " Captain Crash " by his teammates for his punishing hits and reckless pursuit of ball carriers and was also described as a " rolling ball of butcher knives " by hall of fame coach George Allen . Pro Football Hall of Fame safety Larry Wilson said of Harris , " I feel Harris is the finest free safety in the business today . He changed the way the position is being played . You see other teams modeling their free safeties around the way Harris plays the pass , and striking fear in everyone on the field because he hits so hard . " . The Cowboys ' defense ranked in the top 10 every year with him in the lineup . He is one of only 13 players in NFL history to play in five Super Bowl s , was chosen for the Pro Bowl six consecutive times and was voted All - Pro four times . Cowboys fans were surprised when Harris announced his retirement following the 1979 season at the age of 31 to concentrate on his oil business ventures . " Sports Illustrated " writers named him their Football Dream Team free safety . In 2004 , he was a finalist for the Pro Football Hall of Fame and was added to the Dallas Cowboys Ring of Honor . He was also selected to the National Football League 1970s All - Decade Team and the Cowboys Silver Season All - Time Team in 1991 . Harris finished his ten NFL seasons with 29 interceptions , which he returned for 281 yards and one touchdown , and 16 fumble recoveries , which he returned for 91 yards . He also was used in special teams during the first half of his career , gaining 418 yards on punt returns and 1 , 622 yards returning kickoffs . Personal life . He and teammate Waters wrote a book about their Cowboy memories called " Tales From the Dallas Cowboys " . Outside of football , he works with Charlie Waters at a gas marketing company .