Chris Harris

Who is Chris Harris?

Christopher R. Harris is a retired sports broadcaster and professional basketball player. A 6'3" guard, he was the first player from England to compete in the American National Basketball Association.

Harris moved from Southampton to New York City when he was young. For generations, cross-Atlantic shipping was the family trade, on both his mother's and father's side. Two of his uncles were White Star Line crew members who went down on the Titanic. The game of basketball was a mystery to his relatives. In a 2004 interview, Harris said, "My folks didn't even know what basketball was. I remember as a kid, I had a little basket in my back yard on dirt, but they kept telling me to play soccer. I replied, 'Nope, I'm going to play basketball in the pros.' They were laughing at me but after a while they knew it was going to be basketball for me."

When Harris was 18, he received a basketball scholarship to the University of Dayton, where he became a teammate of Jim Paxson, Sr., father of future NBA players Jim and John. On March 1, 1953, Harris played every minute in Dayton's 71-65 victory over number-one ranked Seton Hall University, scoring the game's final point on a free throw. The loss was the first for Seton Hall in 28 games. The 1953-54 Flyers advanced to the National Invitation Tournament Quarterfinals, at that time the national championship of college basketball. During his senior year, Dayton reached the NIT Finals, but lost to Duquesne University 70-58.