Thirty-five years ago this month, Franco Harris said goodbye to the game he loved so dearly. Not because he wanted to, but because no one wanted him.
The NFL is all about what-have-you-done-for-me-lately, and, at 35, Harris wasn’t able to do it anymore.
While retirement didn’t come on Franco’s terms, his talent and production crafted an illustrious career. As one of the key players on the dominating Steelers teams of the 1970s, his NFL journey included four Super Bowl titles, an NFL-record eight 1,000-yard rushing seasons, and 47 games with 100+ yards on the ground.
Draft woes
Harris was selected by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the first round (13th overall) of the 1972 NFL Draft.
It was a great day for the Steelers but not so much for Harris. In a recent interview with I80 Sports Blog, he was candid about his initial opposition to being drafted by Pittsburgh. “Noooooo!!! That’s the one team I did not want to go to; I did not want to go to the Pittsburgh Steelers.” The running back added that, after four years at Penn State (just under three hours from Pittsburgh), he wanted to go out and see the world. Not to mention, the Steelers were awful and, up to the point of drafting Franco, had played 39 championship-less seasons.
That was about to change.
Glory days
Harris’ arrival in Pittsburgh coincided with the Steelers’ finding their identity under head coach Chuck Noll.
The AFC Rookie of the Year in 1972, Harris gained 1,055 yards rushing (and 10 touchdowns) and became only the fourth first-year player to exceed the 1,000-yard mark in the NFL.
The Penn State product gained instant popularity — so much so that he had his very own army. A group of passionate Italian-American Steelers fans who were called The Italian Army asked the rookie for permission to add his name to their group; after all, it only made sense since Franco was part Italian.
“This group of Italians was having dinner and drinking wine, and they wondered what they could do,” Harris once shared. “They said it would take an army to keep the fans going, and someone said, ‘Hey there’s this kid from Jersey, and he’s half Italian… maybe we can do, ‘Franco’s Italian Army.’ … So we got together, and I said, ‘Let’s do it!’ and it was incredible. One was a baker, and the other was a pizza chef… the baker would make bread and hollow it out and put wine in it and make a priest carry it into the stadium… We’re still going!”
Hence, the troop became Franco’s Italian Army. Game after game, they maintained a voracious presence at Three Rivers Stadium complete with flags, banners, and army helmets with No. 32 on them.
The Immaculate Reception
Single-handedly, Harris is responsible for one of the greatest plays in NFL history. Of course, that play is the miraculous Immaculate Reception, which gave the Steelers their first-ever playoff win in a dramatic victory over the Oakland Raiders in 1972.
Under tremendous pressure from Raiders linemen, Terry Bradshaw scrambled around in the pocket and eventually was able to get the ball out toward running back John “Frenchy” Fuqua. Raiders safety Jack Tatum collided with Fuqua as the ball arrived and sent the ball backward. Everyone thought the play was over… except for Franco. He scooped it up mere inches from the turf and hit the ground running for a 60-yard score with five seconds remaining in the game. Three Rivers Stadium erupted when the referee’s arms shot up, indicating a touchdown.
It was such a bang-bang play that there are no photos of the reception, only the before and after — Bradshaw scrambling, the Tatum-Fuqua collision, and Harris escaping the clutches of cornerback Jimmy Warren (pictured above). Video footage also doesn’t show the entire ball from nose-to-nose, leading non-Steelers fans to debate whether it was even a reception. But we all know it was, and that’s all that matters.
To this day, 48 years later, it stands as the most awesome catch in Steelers history. Considering how many great catches have been made for the franchise since then tells you just how mind-blowing the Immaculate Reception was.
Contract squabble
Football is a business, first and foremost. It’s the business side of things that often find fans’ most beloved players on another team.
When Harris’ contract expired following the 1983 season, he saught a better deal than the franchise was willing to offer. Harris was now 34 and, as is the case with most running backs in that career stage, his knees were shot. He had been through multiple surgeries, and the Steelers knew his physical limitations would affect his contributions.
Bearing this in mind, Pittsburgh reportedly still offered Harris a significant raise and guarantee in a one-year contract. According to Jeffrey Krivis, in his in-depth article Recovering From Mistakes Made In Negotiations: The Franco Harris Fiasco, Franco’s agent (Bart Beier) countered with a second-year guarantee demand.
“Franco’s agent tried to one-up the Steelers in a way that backfired and prevented his client from achieving his life’s dream,” Krivis wrote.
In an unexpected move, after a five-month-long contract dispute, the Steelers placed their Pro Bowl running back on waivers on Aug. 20, 1984. When he wasn’t claimed by a team, Harris became a free agent for the first time in his 12-year career.
It wasn’t until Week 2 of the regular season that he was signed by the expansion Seattle Seahawks.
Harris was just 363 yards shy of breaking Jim Brown’s rushing record — a record that, at the time, was the NFL’s best. With 14 weeks remaining in the season, it was not impossible to attain. Halfway to setting the rushing record, Harris was released by Seattle Week 8.
Little did Franco know that he hung up his cleats for one final time, never to play another down in the NFL.
Reluctant retirement
Even after the midseason release by the Seahawks and months of being out of football, Harris had hopes of playing for a team in 1985.
Unfortunately for him, nothing materialized.
“I have no regrets,” Harris told the Associated Press in 1985. “I was ready to play this year. I worked hard. I thought I might get a shot with one team, and it didn’t happen… There comes a time in life when you say, ‘Hey, I’m not going to just hang on.’ I’m definitely not hanging on to it.”
At the time Franco retired, he held or shared 24 NFL records, which included 24 points and 354 yards rushing in four Super Bowls and 17 touchdowns and 1,556 yards rushing in 19 playoff games. Harris, a nine-time Pro Bowler, also earned the title of Super Bowl MVP when he rushed for 158 yards in the 16-6 victory over the Minnesota Vikings in 1975.
His career rushing and yards from scrimmage totals of 14,622 ranked as the third-highest marks in pro football history. Harris was second to Brown in career rushing touchdowns with 91. He also caught 307 passes for 2,287 yards and nine touchdowns.
Harris remains the Steelers all-time leading rusher and currently ranks 15th in league history.
Hall of Fame
It’s a shame that Harris’ career didn’t end the way he deserved. But, ultimately, he was recognized with the highest-ever NFL honor of a bronze bust in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Harris chose Lynn Swann as his presenter. “I look forward to the day that you will be immortalized,” Harris said to Swann in his HOF enshrinement speech.
Fittingly, Harris and Jack Lambert were both inducted the same 1990 HOF class. “[Jack] taught me how to run out of bounds by chasing me all the time,” Harris shared with a laugh.
Selflessly, Harris’s speech was more about his teammates than about himself. “I was able to achieve goals beyond my wildest dreams because of the people who surrounded me,” he said. “They brought out the best in me, they made me rise to new heights, they made me a better ballplayer.”
To this day, three decades removed from football, he is still one of the best and most-loved running backs to ever don the Black and Gold.
The Pittsburgh Steelers compiled a Franco Harris highlight reel, which can be viewed on their YouTube channel.
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