Awful news broke on Wednesday morning: Legendary Hall of Fame running back Franco Harris died at the age of 72.
That comes just days before the Pittsburgh Steelers were set to retire his jersey later this week, in a celebration of the Immaculate Reception’s 50th anniversary.
And if you’re reading this and don’t know what that play is, I’m here to remind you why it will always be one of the greatest miracles in NFL history.
To understand it, you have to know: Before they were changed in 1978, NFL rules stated that an offensive player could only touch the football once after it was passed. In other words, if Terry Bradshaw threw a pass that was deflected by a fellow Pittsburgh Steeler, then Harris catching it would have been a penalty.
Now that you know that: The Raiders were up 7-6 over the Steelers with 22 seconds left in their 1972 AFC Divisional playoff game. On fourth down, Bradshaw threw a pass that might have gone off teammate John Fuqua … or it was deflected by a Raider. But Harris grabbed the deflected ball and ran it back for the game-winning touchdown.
Did the pass touch Fuqua? Thus, the Immaculate Reception was born:
What a play that will always be a miraculous grab.
