Harris was a high school all-American who played collegiately for University of Arkansas from 1957 to 1960. In 1960, he was selected as the outstanding player in the Southwest Conference and played in the Cotton Bowl Classic and the All-American Bowl. He was nicknamed "Thumper".
Harris was drafted by the Boston Patriots of the American Football League, but opted to play in Canadian Football League for 12 years, all with the Calgary Stampeders. His jersey #55 was retired by the Stampeders in 1973. Wayne worked for CanTex drilling as vice president and general manager of operation and served on the CAODC. He died June 4, 2015 at the age of 77.
Harris has been inducted into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame, the College Football Hall of Fame (2004), the Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame, Arkansas" all-century team for the 20th century, and the Alberta Sports Hall of Fame. In November 2006, Harris was voted 9th among the "s Top 50 players of the league"s modern era by Canadian sports network The Sports Network/TSN, no linebacker being ahead of him. In 2012 in honour of the 100th Grey Cup, Canada Post used his image on a series of commemorative postage stamps. The image was also used on presentation posters and other materials to promote the Grey Cup game and other celebrations associated with the centennial.
