DALLAS — The Dallas Cowboys celebrated two of their former players being inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame over the weekend.
Safety Cliff Harris and receiver Drew Pearson were part of a trio of Cowboys inductees that also included coach Jimmy Johnson. Harris and Johnson were members of the 2020 Centennial Class while Pearson went in with the 2021 slate that included Peyton Manning, Charles Woodson, and Calvin Johnson, among others.
Harris and Pearson represented more than the Cowboys' excellence in the 1970s, winning two of the five Super Bowls the franchise appeared in during that decade — Super Bowl VI and Super Bowl XII. Only the Pittsburgh Steelers' four Super Bowl wins were more than the Cowboys, and the Steel Curtain had to defeat America's Team in Super Bowl X and Super Bowl XIII to be the team of the '70s.
The dominance the Cowboys exhibited in the NFL during the decade wasn't just because of Hall of Fame coach Tom Landry, whose Flex 4-3 defense revolutionized the game. It was also the Cowboys' scouting department, led by vice president of player personnel Gil Brandt, that revolutionized pro football.
Brandt's "out of the box thinking," as Pearson dubbed it when thanking him in his Hall of Fame speech, allowed the Cowboys to find undrafted free agents in places the rest of the league wasn't looking.
Pearson was a converted receiver from quarterback at Tulsa University. At 6-0, 184 pounds, Pearson was considered too slight to make it in the NFL, which is why he went undrafted in 1973. Eventually, the skinny kid from South River, New Jersey, manned one of the Cowboys' two receiver spots while transitioning from "Bullet" Bob Hayes to the next generation.
RELATED: They're in!: Cowboys legends Cliff Harris, Jimmy Johnson inducted into Pro Football Hall of Fame
Over his 156 games with the Cowboys from 1973-83, Pearson caught 489 passes for 7,822 yards and 48 touchdowns, earning three Pro Bowls and three first-team All-Pro selections in the process. Pearson was also a key part of the Cowboys' clutch performances in the '70s with none bigger than his Hail Mary catch in the 1975 NFC divisional playoffs at the Minnesota Vikings.
Harris went to Ouachita Baptist, a small school in southwest Arkansas, and went undrafted in 1970. He was one of 120 rookies who were invited to Cowboys training camp in Thousand Oaks, California.
"Fortunately, it was a strike year, so the coaches had more time to watch the rookies in game conditions," Harris said in his induction speech. "Most of the rookies had been cut by the time the veterans had showed up. We played a couple of preseason games on the coast, and then headed back to Dallas for preseason. I was one of the very few rookies that made that trip, once again, defying the odds."
Over the course of preseason, the 6-1, 188-pound defensive back impressed Landry enough to earn a starting job on Opening Day, although it came with a message from eventual Hall of Fame defensive tackle Bob Lilly.
Said Harris: "Bob looked over at me and said, 'We're going to the Super Bowl, rookie. And I don't want you to do anything to mess it up.' I just nodded and said, 'Yes, sir, Mr. Lilly.' Sure enough, we did go to the Super Bowl, but we didn't win. Bob never made that part of the deal."
Harris teamed up with fellow rookie Charlie Waters to form a dynamic duo on the Cowboys' back end. From 1970-79, Harris, who earned the nickname "Crash" for his hard hits, played in 141 games, picked off 29 passes, returned one for a touchdown, and recovered 18 fumbles.
"The key is to never quit, never give up, keep trying, keep learning, and keep growing," Harris said.
The Cowboys, with Brandt's innovative approach in the front office, never gave up on looking for the best available talent, even in uncommon places. Dallas can now claim two of their own undrafted among the ranks of the 22 undrafted players who have ever made it into the Hall of Fame.
Which active Cowboys player has the best shot at the Hall of Fame? Share your thoughts with Mark on Twitter @therealmarklane.