Jacob Clifford Harper was born August 25, 1913, in Pine Apple, Alabama. He was an all-around athlete at Moores Academy and Birmingham Southern. Cliff Harper won a state basketball championship with tiny Sardis High from Sand Mountain. In 1948 Coach Harper became Executive Secretary of the Alabama High School Athletic Association to develop one of the top programs in the U.S. In 1966 he moved to the Southeastern Conference to deal primarily with rules and officials. Cliff Harper died on May 26, 1980.