Tag: Immaculate Reception

Remembering Franco Harris and the Immaculate Reception in all its brilliance

Franco Harris’ death comes two days before the 50th anniversary of the Immaculate Reception

Franco Harris died on Wednesday, two days before the 50th anniversary of the “Immaculate Reception.”

The Pittsburgh Steelers planned on honoring Harris on Saturday when they play the Las Vegas Raiders by retiring the running back’s No. 32.

On Dec. 23, 1972, the Oakland Raiders and Steelers met in a playoff game.

Oakland led 7-6 by virtue of a 30-yard touchdown run by quarterback Ken Stabler. It was the longest run of Stabler’s NFL career, whether in the regular season or postseason.

The Steelers were down to their last play, a fourth-and 10 from their 40, when the incredible occurred.

Harris, after initially blocking on the play, had run downfield in case Terry Bradshaw needed another eligible receiver. After Bradshaw threw the pass towards John Fuqua, Harris recounted the advice of his college football coach Joe Paterno, who always told his players “Go to the ball.”

Harris, in the vicinity of the deflected pass, scooped up the sailing ball just before it hit the ground. Harris ran past Raiders linebacker Gerald Irons, while linebacker Phil Villapiano, who had been covering Harris, was blocked by Steelers tight end John McMakin. Harris used a stiff arm to ward off Raiders defensive back Jimmy Warren, and went in for a touchdown.

It took 15 minutes for the officials to rule the play a touchdown. In 1972, and for many years prior, an offensive player could not touch or catch a football if the previous person to touch it was a fellow offensive player.

That rule has changed over the course of time.

Roy Gerela kicked the extra point and the Steelers had an unforgettable 13-7 playoff victory.

For years, it was debated whether the Steelers’ Fuqua or the Raiders’ Jack Tatum had created the deflection.

The Immaculate Reception was called the greatest play in NFL history during the league’s 100th season.

Franco Harris: Hall of Fame running back passes away at 72

Harris’ final season in 1984 was spent as a member of the Seattle Seahawks.

On Wednesday morning the NFL world awoke to the heartbreaking news that Hall of Fame running back Franco Harris passed away at the age of 72. Harris was one the most dominant running backs of the 1970’s, and became one of the faces of the Pittsburgh Steelers’ dynasty.

Although 11 of his 12 years in the NFL were with the Steelers, Harris’ final season in 1984 was spent as a member of the Seattle Seahawks.

Harris won four Super Bowls during the 70’s, and even took home MVP honors in Super Bowl IX. But what he will be remembered for is his role in the legendary Immaculate Reception.

The Immaculate Reception is easily the most iconic – and controversial – play in NFL history. Trailing the Oakland Raiders by a score of 7-6 with only 0:22 seconds left to play, the Steelers were facing 4th-and-10 at their own 40 yard line. Quarterback Terry Bradshaw, scrambling to avoid the sack, heaved the ball to Oakland’s 35 yard line, targeting Steelers running back John “Frenchy” Fuqua. What happened next is where history was made.

Fuqua was met immediately by Raiders safety Jack Tatum just as the ball got there. As the two players collided, the ball was bounced back and landed in the waiting arms of Franco Harris who happened to be in the right place at the right time. Harris then ran the ball for a touchdown to give the Steelers a 13-7 win.

What makes it so controversial is the question of who the ball actually touched first. In 1972, the rules at the time made it illegal for two offensive players to touch the football in succession. If the ball bounced off Raiders safety Jack Tatum, the play would have been fine. But if it hit Fuqua, the play should have been blown dead and ruled an incomplete pass. The film has been studied to an almost Zapruder-esque level, but 50 years later, it’s still just as unclear as ever.

Whatever the truth may be, the only thing that matters is it’s place in NFL history. The mystery and speculation surrounding the Immaculate Reception is part of what makes it so legendary.

The timing of death never great, but what will make hearts in the Steel City heavier is the fact the Steelers are going to be celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the Immaculate Reception. While Harris will unfortunately be unable to be apart of the festivities, he will be there in spirit. Fans across the country know Harris will live on in memory as long as football is played.

The story of the NFL cannot be told without the Immaculate Reception… or Franco Harris.

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Franco Harris, Steelers Hall of Fame running back, dies at 72

Franco Harris, the Hall of Fame running back who played for the Pittsburgh Steelers from 1972 through 1983, has died at the age of 72.

“Franco was the heart and soul of our team. When Franco arrived, we became the Pittsburgh Steelers.” – Joe Greene

Franco Harris, the legendary running back who played for the Pittsburgh Steelers from 1972 though 1983. has died at the age of 72. Harris’ son Dok told the Associated Press that his father passed away overnight. No cause of death was given.

Selected with the 13th overall pick in the first round of the 1972 draft out of Penn State, Harris won Offensive Rookie of the Year honors from AP, UPI, and the Sporting News. He saved the most remarkable moment of his rookie season for Pittsburgh’s divisional playoff game against the Oakland Raiders on December 23, 1972.

With 22 seconds left in the game, the Raiders up 7-6, and the Steelers facing fourth-and-10 at their own 40-yard line, Terry Bradshaw threw over the middle to running back John “Frenchy” Fuqua. Raiders safety Jack Tatum hit Fuqua hard as the ball came in, and what seemed like a game-ending deflection was about to happen.

Until Harris somehow picked the ball out of the air, just before it hit the ground, and ran for the game-winning touchdown. Thus, the “Immaculate Reception” was born.

“If I was one step later, if I was one step faster, it never would have happened. The timing was just immaculate.'” – Franco Harris

The Steelers lost the next week to the eventually undefeated Miami Dolphins in the AFC Championship game, but as Joe Greene intimated, the Steelers were on their way to a dynasty, and Harris was one of the big pieces of that reign of excellence. He was the Most Valuable Player of Super Bowl IX, the first Super Bowl the Steelers won, running 34 times for 158 yards and a touchdown. Harris was a key factor for the Steelers teams that won four Super Bowls between the 1974 and 1979 seasons, becoming the team of the decade, and one of the most formidable franchises in a short space of time in pro football history.

Not that Harris saved all of his best work for the postseason. In 12 years with the Steelers and a 1984 season with the Seattle Seahawks, Harris run 2,949 times for 12,120 yards, 91 rushing touchdowns, 307 receptions for 2,287 receiving yards, and nine receiving touchdowns.

But in the postseason? Harris had 19 playoff games and Super Bowls in which to gain 556 yards and score 19 rushing touchdowns on 400 carries. He also had 51 postseason receptions for 504 yards and one touchdown.

Harris could beat you as a running back any way to liked. He had a smooth, gliding style at times, but when it was time to bull ahead for a crucial yard, he was not afraid to make that happen. It’s just that he was so much better as picking through a defense and taking what he wanted in that fashion.

“He had so many different styles of running, like a good musician. He would be running and it might look like a piano player, but then when he hit the line it might sound like a drum. He was poetry in motion and he was music to the ear” – Mel Blount

Harris passed away just before his “Football Life” special on the NFL Network, which will be shown on Friday, December 23 — the 50th anniversary of the “Immaculate Reception.” The Steelers had already planned to retire Harris’ No. 32 jersey on Saturday, when Pittsburgh takes on the Raiders.

“My teammates were men of character, with a lot of heart and soul. This is the team that I belonged to, a team that will live forever. ” – Franco Harris

Pittsburgh Steelers to retire Franco Harris’ No. 32

The Pittsburgh Steelers are going to retire Franco Harris’ iconic No. 32

The Pittsburgh Steelers found the perfect time and perfect opponent to retire Franco Harris’ No. 32.

The great running back will have his number retired on Christmas Eve when the Steelers play the Las Vegas Raiders.

Why would this be the most splendid of foes?

Because Harris pulled off his iconic Immaculate Reception on Dec. 23, 1972, in a playoff game against the then-Oakland Raiders.

The moment etched in Steelers and NFL history:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WM08mW78zi4

John Madden: Steelers’ Immaculate Reception will ‘bother me until the day I die’

John Madden revisited the Immaculate Reception in the Fox Sports doc, “All Madden”

The Pittsburgh Steelers and the late John Madden’s Oakland Raiders had plenty of tussles but none quite like the playoff game on December 23, 1972.

The greatest play in NFL history transpired that day and, still, nearly 50 years later, Madden, Franco Harris and football fans worldwide talk about it.

Naturally, the Immaculate Reception got a little airtime in the Fox Sports documentary, “All Madden,” which aired on Christmas day, just three days before John Madden’s death.

“When a guy crosses a goal line, it’s either a touchdown or it’s not,” Madden recalled in a 1980s interview that was part of the documentary. “They didn’t call it a touchdown. They didn’t know if it was a touchdown.”

All Madden spliced the 80s interview with (then) present-day Madden talking about how everything went down — he was almost just as passionate about it, too.

“I know you don’t know, I’ll tell ya. It was a double touch.”

“Now, the referee is on the phone, and he makes a call to someone. And then he comes back out of the dugout and signals touchdown.”

“Not that I carry old grudges,” said Madden. “It bothers me then, it bothers me now, and it’ll bother me until the day I die.”

30 Years Later

Madden and fellow analyst Al Michaels were calling the 2002 Steelers-Bucs game on the 30th anniversary of the Immaculate Reception on a Monday Night Football broadcast.

“You talk about stuff that you get in your stocking for Christmas,” Madden started. “That was the night before Christmas Eve, and [the Immaculate Reception] was a big ol’ lump of coal, and that big ol’ lump of coal has been sitting down there for 30 years.”

“Once the guy says touchdown, it’s all over. The game’s over, your season’s over, everything’s over. You just go home. You don’t get another chance.”

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As deeply as the Immaculate Reception ate away at him over the years, Madden said he had nothing but love for the 1970s Steelers organization.

“As tough as that was, I have great respect for the Pittsburgh Steelers of that era, and for their coach Chuck Noll, and most of all for their owner, Art Rooney,” Madden shared during the 2002 broadcast. “You talk about guys that built the league, and who is really the guy, Art Rooney was the real deal. Art Rooney was just a great, great man. As down as I was in that game, if there was anything to be happy for, it was for (Rooney).”

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The Immaculate Reception voted the greatest play in NFL history

The Steelers are responsible for the greatest play in NFL history.

If you are an NFL fan, you know what the Immaculate Reception is. It’s the type of play that despite being 47 years ago, fans still debate the play and its outcome. In case you forgot, Pittsburgh Steelers running back Franco Harris scooped up a deflected pass intended for John Fuqua. It bounced off Oakland Raiders defensive back Jack Tatum, Harris caught it off the carom and took it in for a touchdown. This play was voted the greatest play in NFL history.

The play sent the Steelers to the Super Bowl yet it remains shrouded in mystery. There is no camera angle to show if Harris made the catch clean or scooped it off the ground and we will never know. If that play happened today there would be 18 camera angles showing the play from every direction and the officials would still probably get it wrong.

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