Jack Harper

Jack Ridley Harper (born October 8, 1944) is an American former professional football player who was a running back for two seasons in the American Football League (AFL) and National Football League (NFL) during the 1960s. Harper played college football for the Florida Gators, and thereafter, he played for the Miami Dolphins of the AFL and NFL.

Early life

Harper was born in Lakeland, Florida, in 1944. He attended Lakeland High School, and he played for the Lakeland Dreadnaughts high school football team.

College career

Harper accepted an athletic scholarship to attend the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida, where he played for coach Ray Graves' Gators teams from 1963 to 1965. Memorably, he had an 80-yard punt return for a touchdown versus the SMU Mustangs in 1964, and had 111 receiving yards against the Florida State Seminoles in 1965. and he was cut on July 9, 1966, before the free agent veterans showed up, as the original group of 83 rookies had to be cut to 49 that day to make room for the incoming veterans. The next year, Harper signed with the AFL expansion franchise Miami Dolphins as an undrafted free agent in 1967, and he played for the Dolphins in fourteen games from 1967 to . He compiled 197 rushing yards and a touchdown on forty-one carries, and 212 receiving yards and three touchdowns on eleven catches in his two AFL seasons.