HOUSE Posted December 21, 2022 Share Posted December 21, 2022 (edited) Franco Harris, the Hall of Fame Pittsburgh Steelers running back who was known for making a miraculous grab in the AFC Divisional Playoffs against the Oakland Raiders in 1972, has died. He was 72. Harris’ death came days before the Steelers were set to retire his No. 32 jersey and celebrate the 50th anniversary of the "Immaculate Reception" at Acrisure Stadium. Steelers coach Mike Tomlin talked about Harris’ catch on Tuesday when he addressed reporters. https://www.foxnews.com/sports/nfl-legend-franco-harris-known-immaculate-reception-dead Edited December 21, 2022 by HOUSE 21 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
H2o Posted December 21, 2022 Share Posted December 21, 2022 I was just talking to one of the security guards about this at work. He's a Steelers fan. Kinda sad because they were doing the whole "Immaculate Reception" thing this weekend. RIP 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HOUSE Posted December 21, 2022 Author Share Posted December 21, 2022 Very sad, I guess he has been sick for some time 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaBillsFanSince1973 Posted December 21, 2022 Share Posted December 21, 2022 sad news. one of the greats. a legend. r.i.p. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John from Riverside Posted December 21, 2022 Share Posted December 21, 2022 😟 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RiotAct Posted December 21, 2022 Share Posted December 21, 2022 R.I.P. legend! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlCowlingsTaxiService Posted December 21, 2022 Share Posted December 21, 2022 The game has changed, but I have such fond childhood memories of the running backs of that era … RIP Franco Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldmanfan Posted December 21, 2022 Share Posted December 21, 2022 Sad news. We’ve lost yet another legend of the game. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BuffaloBill Posted December 21, 2022 Share Posted December 21, 2022 Very sad. Always been a Bills fan but have great memories of Franco playing. May he R.I.P. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greg S Posted December 21, 2022 Share Posted December 21, 2022 RIP. The immaculate reception. One of the most famous plays in NFL history. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chandler#81 Posted December 21, 2022 Share Posted December 21, 2022 (edited) Wow! Talk about bad timing! 1st ever Steeler to have his number retired and he dies 2 days before it happens! Edited December 21, 2022 by Chandler#81 5 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beast Posted December 21, 2022 Share Posted December 21, 2022 That really sucks. Ugh. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eball Posted December 21, 2022 Share Posted December 21, 2022 RIP Franco. Great memories from the 70s. I always rooted for the Steelers over the Cowboys in those days… 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nitro Posted December 21, 2022 Share Posted December 21, 2022 Rest in peace Franco Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thenorthremembers Posted December 21, 2022 Share Posted December 21, 2022 Never got to see Franco play but I grew up on Sports Illustrated NFL Films videos, learned about so many legends of the games that way. The Steelers yearbooks from that era were fun to watch and Franco was a big part of that. May God bless you and keep you. Rest easy Franco. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rico Posted December 21, 2022 Share Posted December 21, 2022 RIP Franco. I remember watching that Steelers-Raiders game as a kid, what a shocker! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D. L. Hot-Flamethrower Posted December 21, 2022 Share Posted December 21, 2022 Hate to hear it. Very sad. Timing is never good, but it would have been nice to see him make it a few more weeks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain Hindsight Posted December 21, 2022 Share Posted December 21, 2022 34 minutes ago, Chandler#81 said: Wow! Talk about bad timing! 1st ever Steeler to have his number retired and he dies 2 days before it happens! Well not the first https://247sports.com/nfl/pittsburgh-steelers/ContentGallery/The-Pittsburgh-Steelers-retired-numbers-131827311/#:~:text=The Pittsburgh Steelers only have,by "Mean" Joe Greene. He would have been third, but yes horrible news. Lots of my extended family is from Pittsburgh. Very sad group texts this morning Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blainorama5 Posted December 21, 2022 Share Posted December 21, 2022 R.I.P. Franco. So many great games! Truly a legend of the NFL! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Turk Posted December 21, 2022 Share Posted December 21, 2022 Damn...50th anniversary of the Immaculate Reception was coming up and ironically the Steelers and Raiders were playing on it...so that means he was 22 when that play happened?? RIP...to one of the true legends. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zow2 Posted December 21, 2022 Share Posted December 21, 2022 So Crazy. Mad Dog Russo had a live interview with Franco late yesterday afternoon. I was listening to it. They were talking about the immaculate reception of course and this coming weekend. Franco sounded kinda' tired and was sniffling a bit but said at the beginning he felt good. RIP. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaBillsFanSince1973 Posted December 21, 2022 Share Posted December 21, 2022 46 minutes ago, Rico said: RIP Franco. I remember watching that Steelers-Raiders game as a kid, what a shocker! as did I. my step father was a huge raiders fan. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ExiledInIllinois Posted December 21, 2022 Share Posted December 21, 2022 1 hour ago, Greg S said: RIP. The immaculate reception. One of the most famous plays in NFL history. And controversial. Just like Tuck Rule. RIP... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buffaloboyinATL Posted December 21, 2022 Share Posted December 21, 2022 So sad. The timing of it makes it even worse. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sammy Watkins' Rib Posted December 21, 2022 Share Posted December 21, 2022 RIP Franco. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JÂy RÛßeÒ Posted December 21, 2022 Share Posted December 21, 2022 And the 'A Football Life' episode on him premiers on Friday Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMM Posted December 21, 2022 Share Posted December 21, 2022 I remember watching the immaculate reception as a kid with my Dad. And he went wild because he had bet on the Steelers. 😊 Franco was a great back and a class act. So sad this happened before Sat with his number being retired. RIP Franco! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frostbitmic Posted December 21, 2022 Share Posted December 21, 2022 I was 10 years old when I saw the immaculate reception. Franco was one of my favorite players as a kid. Rip Franco Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Logic Posted December 21, 2022 Share Posted December 21, 2022 1 hour ago, Big Turk said: Damn...50th anniversary of the Immaculate Reception was coming up and ironically the Steelers and Raiders were playing on it...so that means he was 22 when that play happened?? RIP...to one of the true legends. Just looked it up. Apparently, yes, the play happened in Franco's rookie season. 22 years old. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Turk Posted December 21, 2022 Share Posted December 21, 2022 11 minutes ago, Logic said: Just looked it up. Apparently, yes, the play happened in Franco's rookie season. 22 years old. Talk about everything all being downhill from there...how could you ever live up to your status in the years after? Impossible...no matter what he did from that point on it would never be good enough. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Logic Posted December 21, 2022 Share Posted December 21, 2022 6 minutes ago, Big Turk said: Talk about everything all being downhill from there...how could you ever live up to your status in the years after? Impossible...no matter what he did from that point on it would never be good enough. I totally hear what you're saying. Looks like Harris did pretty well living up to those expectations, though. After a statistical dip in his second year, he posted 6 straight seasons of at least 1,000 rushing yards. He scored at least 10 touchdowns in four of those six years. He made 9 straight Pro Bowls (!) and was a key part of four Super Bowl winning teams. Quite the career. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gugny Posted December 21, 2022 Share Posted December 21, 2022 When I was a kid in the late 70s, it seemed like everyone my age was either a Steelers fan or a Cowboys fan. I gravitated toward the Steelers and it was primarily because I loved Franco Harris, Mean Joe Greene and Lynn Swann. RIP, Franco. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Turk Posted December 21, 2022 Share Posted December 21, 2022 (edited) 5 minutes ago, Gugny said: When I was a kid in the late 70s, it seemed like everyone my age was either a Steelers fan or a Cowboys fan. I gravitated toward the Steelers and it was primarily because I loved Franco Harris, Mean Joe Greene and Lynn Swann. RIP, Franco. No Raider fans? Wasn't that at the high point of the "Raider Mystique"? Edited December 21, 2022 by Big Turk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ethan in Cleveland Posted December 21, 2022 Share Posted December 21, 2022 In reading this I didn't realize the Steelers lost the following week to the Dolphins. I had always thought that was one of their SuperBowl years. Franco's reputation was he was solid but not spectacular. He was not as big and strong as Jim Brown, not as fast as OJ or Tony Dorsett, and did not have anything to compare to Walter Payton. Some folks claimed he was soft and avoided contact. I only started watching football in 1980 so I only saw him when he was in decline. I beleive when he retired he was #2 all time rush leader behind Brown. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gugny Posted December 21, 2022 Share Posted December 21, 2022 3 minutes ago, Big Turk said: No Raider fans? Wasn't that at the high point of the "Raider Mystique"? Yeah, there were some Raiders fans, too. I'm going back to when I was 8 or 9 years old, so I wasn't overly-attentive at the time. I do vividly remember a lot of Cowboys, Steelers and Yankees fans, generally speaking. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Turk Posted December 21, 2022 Share Posted December 21, 2022 (edited) 2 minutes ago, Gugny said: Yeah, there were some Raiders fans, too. I'm going back to when I was 8 or 9 years old, so I wasn't overly-attentive at the time. I do vividly remember a lot of Cowboys, Steelers and Yankees fans, generally speaking. Seems like even back then, lots of frontrunning bandwagon fans. Funny how we haven't heard much from Pat fans recently...what happened to all of them?? They scurry back under the rug after 20 years in the open? Edited December 21, 2022 by Big Turk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ExWNYer Posted December 21, 2022 Share Posted December 21, 2022 I heard this just a few minutes ago. So sad. Sucks that he was mere days away from the 50th anniversary of his 'Immaculate Reception'. I never liked the Stillers and can't stand them to this day but he was an all-time great. RIP, Franco 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gugny Posted December 21, 2022 Share Posted December 21, 2022 2 minutes ago, Big Turk said: Seems like even back then, lots of frontrunning bandwagon fans. Funny how we haven't heard much from Pat fans recently...what happened to all of them?? They scurry back under the rug after 20 years in the open? I live an hour north of Albany. This area is loaded with Yankees, Cowboys and Celtics fans. Almost all bandwagon jumpers from the 70s-90s. But I will give it to them ... they seem to have stuck with their teams. And yes ... during the Pats dynasty, I did see a ton of NE gear around here .... now? Nothing. Hilarious. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stroke 17 Posted December 21, 2022 Share Posted December 21, 2022 The one and only day in my life I was glad the Steelers won. Made my Dad's Christmas. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LabattBlue Posted December 21, 2022 Share Posted December 21, 2022 RIP Franco. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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