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Duriel Harris
Born:Nov. 27, 1954 in Port Arthur, Texas
Wide receiver Duriel Harris graduated from Stephen F. Austin High School. An All-Missouri Valley Conference selection as a senior at New Mexico State, he was a "lonesome end" in the Wishbone offense. Still, he caught 89 passes for 1,562 yards (17.5 average) and 13 touchdowns.
Harris was drafted by the Miami Dolphins in 1976 and played with the club for nine years. He was voted the team's outstanding receiver three years in a row from 1980 to 1982. He also played a crucial part in one of the Dolphins' most memorable plays, the 40-yard flea-flicker touchdown pass against San Diego in the 1981 playoff. Harris caught Don Strock's pass and lateralled to Tony Nathan, who ran the final 25 yards for a touchdown. Following another superb performance, Harris earned the game ball against Philadelphia in 1982, the year the Dolphins went to the Super Bowl against Washington.
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Harris had four 100-yard games in 1979 and three in 1981. The Dolphins won two AFC East titles in 1979 and 1981 and the AFC Championship in 1982. He and Nat Moore set a Dolphin tandem record of a combined 90 receptions for 1,638 yards in 1979. He handled the football 214 times before the first fumble of his career in 1980. 1982 was his sixth fumble-free season, and he established a career record of a 25.3-yard return average on 56 kickoffs. Harris amassed 911 yards on 53 catches in 1981 for the second-best total in Dolphin history. As a dolphin, he has 251 catches for 4,250 yards, second only to Nat Moore in the Dolphin record book. During his time with the Dolphins, Harris had frequent disagreements with Don Shula, and their many meetings prompted his teammates to name one of the chairs in the head coach's office "Duriel's Chair."
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Starting in 1984, Harris had short stints with the Cleveland Browns, Dallas Cowboys, and a return to the Miami Dolphins before retiring from football. Since that time, he has worked in radio, television, theater, and films. He is a member of the Museum of the Gulf Coast, Sports Hall of Fame.
