PITTSBURGH, PA — Pittsburgh Steelers Legend and runningback who helped orchestrate the “Immaculate Reception,” Franco Harris, has died. He was 72. Franco passed away just days before the Steelers planned to retire his no. 32 jersey, the 50th anniversary of the unlikely play that helped defeat the Oakland Raiders in the 1972 AFC Playoffs Divisional game at Acrisure Stadium, formerly Heinz Field, in Pittsburgh against the Las Vegas Raiders.
Harris ran for 12,120 yards and won four Super Bowl rings with the Pittsburgh Steelers in the 1970s and early 1980s. He helped build a dynasty that began when Harris completed a catch on a last-second pass by Steelers quarterback Terry Bradshaw in the divisional round against the Raiders in 1972.
Trailing 7-6 with 22 seconds left in the 4th quarter and faced with a 4th and 10, the Steelers looked finished. Bradshaw dropped back and heaved up a prayer to RB French Fuqua. Fuqua collided with Raiders’ defensive back Jack Tatum and sent the ball skittering backward toward a streaking Harris.
Harris reached down and grasped the ball just inches from the turf at the Raiders’ 45-yard line. He then outran several Oakland defenders and sprinted into the end zone for a touchdown. That play later dubbed the “Immaculate Reception,” was the Steelers' first playoff win in franchise history.
Pittsburgh lost the following week against the perfect 1972 Dolphins in the AFC Championship, but that play helped build the foundation for the Steelers’ dynasty that defined the 1970s.
Head Coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers, Mike Tomlin, spoke to reporters about Harris and the importance of that play to the NFL on Tuesday, Dec. 20. “There are many things that make it the play that it is and the most significant play in the history of our game. It’s just an honor to be in proximity to it. To know the man involved, to call Pittsburgh home, and so it's awesome to be a part of and to witness,” Tomlin said.
The NFL inducted Harris into the NFL Hall of Fame in 1990. “You see, during that era, each player brought their own little piece with them to make that wonderful decade happen,” Harris said during his Hall of Fame speech. “Each player had their strengths and weaknesses, each their own thinking, each their own method, just each, each had their own.”
After Harris retired from the NFL, he remained in Pittsburgh. He opened a bakery and involved himself with several charities. He was the chairman of “Pittsburgh Promise,” a charity that provides scholarship opportunities for Pittsburgh school students.
Harris is survived by his wife, Dana Dokmanovich, and his son, Dok. His son said that he died overnight but gave no cause for his father’s death.
Franco Harris (LIVE! Photo/Matt Trammell)
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