Harriss was born in 1897 in
Brownwood, Texas. A tall, lanky hurler, Harriss entered the majors in 1920 with the
Philadelphia Athletics, playing for them six-and-a-half seasons before joining the
Boston Red Sox and playing for them for two-and-a-half seasons. He led the
American League in
losses twice, with 20 in 1922 and 21 in 1927. His most productive season came with the 1925 Athletics, when he recorded career-highs with 19
wins, a 3.49
ERA, and
innings pitched. During the 1926 midseason, he was sent by the Athletics along
Fred Heimach and
Baby Doll Jacobson to the Red Sox in the same transaction that brought
Tom Jenkins and
Howard Ehmke to Philadelphia. That year, he became the last pitcher (through the end of the
2019 season) to throw more than 150
innings in a season without allowing a single
home run. In 1928, he led the hapless pitching staff of Boston with 14 wins and 77
strikeouts. In a nine-season career, Harriss posted a 95–135 record with 644 strikeouts and a 4.26 ERA in 349 appearances, including 228
starts, 89
complete games, seven
shutouts, 78
games finished, 16
saves, and innings of work. As of February 1942, Harriss was living in
Bangs, Texas, and working as a farmer. He died in
Temple, Texas, in September 1963 at age 65. ==Notes==