In a league that has had many outstanding middle linebackers, Wayne Harris is considered by most to be the best to ever play that position. The University of Arkansas product played his entire career with the Calgary Stampeders from 1961 to 1972, and was one of the most dominating defensive players in CFL history. In an era where the main job of the middle linebacker was to stop the run, Harris excelled at this, going head to head with outstanding running backs like George Reed of Saskatchewan. A devestating tackler, Harris was the ultimate in aggressive linebackers with superb lateral motion. Because of the era in which he played there are no stats some major defensive categories such as tackles or quarterback sacks. It would be a pretty safe bet that if such stats had been kept, Harris would have been near or at the top of those categories. The only defensive stats available from that era are for fumble and interception returns which give only the merest hint of Harris's talent.. While he is best remembered for his ability to stuff the run, Harris recorded 28 interceptions in his 12 year career to go along with 23 fumble recoveries. You can also be surethat many of the fumbles recovered by Harris's teamates came from the bruising hits put on Calgary's oponents by #55. If you are still not convinced about how good Wayne Harris was, consider this. In his 12 year career, he was named a Western All-Star in 11 of those years. The only season he missed was his final season where injuries limited him to only 6 games. In 8 of those seasons, Harris was also named All-Canadian (62, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 70 and 71). For someone who never scored a touchdown or even a single point in his entire CFL career, Harris had was one of the most dominant players of his time.

Wayne Harris was elected to the CFL Hall of Fame in 1976.

Wayne Harris passed away on June 4, 2015.

Wayne Harris at cfl.ca

Wayne Harris in Wikipedia

Stampeder all-time great Wayne Harris dies

CFL mourns the loss of wayne Harris

/>