RIP Franco Harris

[Sgt Schultz]

19 minutes ago, SCO96 said:

Joe Greene once said "No one played better in the big game than Franco".

In the 70's Schultz, didn't seem like he always came through in the most crucial moments of the most crucial  games?

That's the way I remember it, SCO. 

Everybody remembers the Immaculate Reception.  But, he carried the load in their first Super Bowl win.  He was a workhorse prior to the emergence of their passing game, and even after that, when they needed a play, he was there.

[Snake]

1 hour ago, SmokinwithWilly said:

I forgot how nasty that hit was. Would definitely be called defenseless receiver now. 

More like PI. I'm pretty sure the hit came first and that's why it bounced like that. 

[PghPanther]

RIP Legend.........................

 

 

 

 

[PghPanther]

I've met Franco many times over the years......usually in a gym working out along with many other Steelers.......he was a class act. His immaculate reception catch in that event along with the Pirate's Bill Mazerowski's bottom of the 9th walk off home run to win the 1960 world series have defined the sports culture of Pgh over the past 75 years.....

Franco's moment of the immaculate reception in his rookie season that changed everything is immortalized when you land at the Pgh Airport and this statue greets you along with a statue on his right of George Washington.

That’s some heady respect but understood by the people of Pgh during that time. See Pgh was a town suffering from the loss of the steel industry and its economy, and the Steelers were the failures of the NFL for over 30 years. But in a moment it all seemed to change……..never has one play defined a sports franchise and the hope of its city as that play did on that cold December in 1972. 

A girl friend of mine many moons ago was at that game when Franco's catch changed the fate of the Steelers. Her father took her (they had three daughters in the family and she was the oldest). She was in high school at the time and  remembers the moment well because everyone stood up cheering on what looked to be a touchdown but it was so confusing and soon with her being short (5ft) she couldn't see much over everyone else standing and then a guy behind her dumped all his beer and it went down her back in what was freezing cold weather..........

.......when we started dating in the mid 70s a few years after that game she recalled that moment to me......telling me she can still smell the stench of old beer on clothes because of that game.

On that day I was in my bed room listening to the game on a small transistor radio...........it was blacked out in Pgh because believe it or not the game wasn't a sellout within 48 hours before air time and we couldn't get any station far enough outside of the Pgh area to get the TV signal so I listen to it on the radio.........when it came down to that last play on 4th down with 22 secs left with no timeouts left, I figured it was hopeless and turned off the radio and drove to the business district of the borough I lived in to get a pizza to drown my sorrows in comfort food...........it was a short 2 min drive and when I got there everyone was outside like it was a New Year’s celebration jumping up and down.............I pulled over at a stop light rolled my window down and asked what happened?..................

I was told "we won we won!!.......Franco snatched the ball out of the air and scored a touchdown!!!".............I hadn't a clue what happened until I got in the pizza shop, and everyone explained it to me, then had to watch the news later that evening to see what I missed when I turned off the radio................

..........apparently, I shared that same fate of both confusion and wonder of that moment with Steeler owner Art Rooney Sr. who on that final play never saw or heard what happened as it unfolded. He decided to leave his box just before that play and head down the elevator to the locker room and congratulate the team on a good season that just fell short only to find when he got out of the elevator the hallways were washed in celebration of which he had to ask what kind of miracle could have occurred to change that moment.........

Soon after that the Steeler went on to win 4 SBs in 6 years..................

I wish every sports fan could have such an experience that happened on that December day in 1972 where the greatness of such a moment as the immaculate reception is exceeded by the wonder of of it and the legend who never stopped people wondering as he ran to 4 SB wins and into the NFL Hall of Fame.........RIP Franco........ 

 

 

Edited December 21, 2022 by PghPanther

[KatsAzz]

 R.I.P. Franco Harris. I was just a kid but remember watching him catch the "Immaculate Reception" on tv many long years ago.

[dave-o]

Yeah....  Thats me on the left circa 1977 or '78 sporting my Franco Harris jersey....  Even as a die hard Redskins fan/family in Virginia back then I loved The Steelers....  Was very sad to read the news this morning...  He was some player and a good person it seems....

 

[UnluckyforSome]

When my grandparents immigrated to this country, they originally settled in the Harrisburg, PA area, moved to Cleveland, and then Charlotte for better weather, more opportunity etc. Those Rust Belt winters are something else compared to the relative comfort they enjoyed in their home country. So, before the Panthers even were a glimmer in JR's eye, we were a Steelers house, and as a young kid I remember having an official Harris 32 jersey. Good rb. 

[Jon Snow]

I was 11 years old and was just getting into pro football at the time. I remember being at my cousins house and it was too cold to play outside so my aunt turned on the TV and told us sit down and watch the game. I remember it like it was yesterday. 

We both decided to cheer for Pittsburgh because we liked the uniform colors. I remember to this day the bewildered look my cousins face, as I'm sure I was too, and the reaction both of us made when realized he caught that ball, you couldn't really tell at first from the camera angle on tv. As soon as they announced it was a catch we lost it.

I even remember that ugly green shag carpet we were laying on when we jumped up in the air screaming. Which scared the crap out of my aunt.

Anyway, I became a Steelers fan that day and remained one until the Panthers were founded.

The one thing that has always remained the same from my days as a diehard Steelers fan to now being a diehard Panthers fan is this, we share the same sentiment towards the Cowboys. 

F#CK THE COWBOYS!!!

Franco, You were the spark that ignited a fire that became the Steelers dynasty.  RIP 

[dave-o]

Those Cowgirl / Steelers game were epic @jon snow

[Jon Snow]

2 minutes ago, dave-o said:

Those Cowgirl / Steelers game were epic @jon snow

The Cowboys were the Steelers mortal enemies back then. Those games were the most fun to watch and featured so many great players. The games were brutal back then. It damn near was a gladiator sport. Damn I'm getting worked up just thinking about those epic games.

The Cowboys were the media favorites much like they are today. So naturally everyone loved an underdog that challenged them Cowboys. The Cowboys were proud of themselves and weren't afraid to show it. 

The Steelers were winning but were written off as the same old Steelers the cannot win. Their wins were a fluke and the Cowboys are the best.

Well naturally the Steelers took offense to being snubbed and kicked it up a notch.  They went on to win 4 SBs in 6 years and produced more hall of fame players than anyone ever thought they could.  

F#CK THE COWBOYS!!!

America's team my ass. 

[mav1234]

5 hours ago, Mr. Scot said:

The Immaculate Reception is my earliest football memory and the reason I became a football fan.

RIP Harris. 

Incredible play... I wonder how many flags would have been thrown on that play in today's NFL, between the hit on the receiver and the celebrations in the end zone...

Edited December 21, 2022 by mav1234

[Gerry Green]

RIP Franco. As my dad was of course a Cowboys' fan, I remember being frustrated at that thought of the loss. Then exhilarated after that play. Man, football is a great game.

[Mr. Scot]

2 hours ago, mav1234 said:

RIP Harris. 

Incredible play... I wonder how many flags would have been thrown on that play in today's NFL, between the hit on the receiver and the celebrations in the end zone...

If you ask the Raiders, there should have been one flag thrown at least.

Apparently, back then it was illegal to catch a ball that was touched by another player on your team. They called it a "double tap" I believe, and the Raiders contended that the ball hit a Steelers player before Harris caught it.

What video there is of the play is inconclusive, so I guess that debate will never be settled.

Edited December 21, 2022 by Mr. Scot

[Shocker]

Franco was such a great player and person.  The world lost a kindred soul who brought everyone around him together.