Franco Harris, a running back in the Hall of Fame whose quick thinking produced “The Immaculate Reception,” regarded as the most famous play in NFL history, has passed away. He was 72. Dok Harris, Harris’ son, told The Associated Press that his father died overnight. The reason of death was not disclosed.
Two days before the 50th anniversary of the play that gave the Steelers the boost they needed to become one of the NFL’s finest teams, and three days before Pittsburgh was set to honor him by retiring his No. 32 at a ceremony at halftime of its game against the Las Vegas Raiders, he passed away.
With the Pittsburgh Steelers in the 1970s, Harris ran for 12,120 yards and earned four Super Bowl rings. This dynasty started in earnest when Harris made the decision to continue running during a last-second heave by Steelers quarterback Terry Bradshaw in a playoff game against Oakland in 1972.
With 22 seconds left in the fourth quarter and Pittsburgh down 7-6 on a fourth-and-10 from their own 40-yard line, Bradshaw drifted back and hit running back French Fuqua with a long pass. As a result of the collision between Fuqua and Jack Tatum, an Oakland defensive back, the ball careened back toward midfield in Harris’ direction.
The Steelers’ first playoff victory in the team’s four-decade history came when Harris kept his legs moving while almost everyone else on the field stopped. Harris grabbed the ball just inches above the Three Rivers Stadium turf near the Oakland 45 before outpacing several dumbfounded Raider defenders.
Harris became famous after the “Immaculate Reception,” despite the fact that he normally liked to let his play, rather than his words, do the talking. The incredibly quiet Harris spent 12 seasons as the backbone of Pittsburgh’s offense on a squad that included huge personalities like Bradshaw, defensive end Joe Greene, and linebacker Jack Lambert, among others.
He over 1,000 yards in rushing eight times throughout a season, five of those occasions while playing a 14-game schedule. In the postseason, he added another 1,556 yards and 16 rushing touchdowns, placing him second all-time behind Smith in both categories.
Harris emphasized that despite his dazzling stats, he was only one part of a remarkable machine that redefined greatness.
Harris said during his Hall of Fame speech in 1990, “You see, throughout that era, each player took their own small piece with them to make that magnificent decade happen.” “Each player had their own particular thinking style and approach, as well as strengths and shortcomings. But then it was incredible; everything came together and remained in place to create the greatest squad in history.
Harris also developed the habit of defending his teammates. In the second half of their matchup in the 1978 Super Bowl, Bradshaw received what Harris saw to be an unsportsmanlike late hit from Dallas linebacker Thomas “Hollywood” Henderson, and Harris essentially demanded Bradshaw hand him the ball on the following play. In order for Harris to score a touchdown and give the Steelers an 11-point lead they would not give up on route to their third championship in six years, all he had to do was run up the middle for 22 yards, right by Henderson.
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Despite all of his accomplishments, his tenure in Pittsburgh came to a bitter end when the Steelers released him after he refused to participate in training camp ahead of the 1984 season. When asked about Harris’ absence from the team’s training camp at Saint Vincent College, Noll, who relied on Harris so heavily for so long, famously said, “Franco who?”
Harris joined Seattle and ran for only 170 yards in eight games before being let go in the middle of the season. He retired as the third-most prolific runner in NFL history, trailing only Jim Brown and Walter Payton. Harris stated in 2006, “I don’t even think about that (anymore).” I remain in the black and gold. Following his retirement, Harris stayed in Pittsburgh and opened a bakery. He also got deeply active in a number of organizations, notably “Pittsburgh Promise,” which offers college scholarships to students at Pittsburgh Public Schools.
Dok and his wife Dana Dokmanovich, who Harris left behind, are still alive.
