When you go into the dictionary to look up the definition of the word “immaculate” the most accurate definition is “unstained”, obviously the religious connotation it has in relation to the Virgin Mary and her “immaculate conception” that brought Jesus Christ into the world according to Catholic tradition was the metaphor used by sportswriters in the 1970s to dub Franco Harris‘ famous play on December 23, 1972 as the “Immaculate Reception” that gave the Pittsburgh Steelers the first playoff victory in their history.
Harris passed away on Wednesday, December 21, 2022, just two days before the half-century anniversary of what was voted the greatest play of the NFL’s first 100 years should be considered an “immaculate passing” considering that a ceremony was already planned to retire his No. 32 at next Saturday’s Steelers-Las Vegas Raiders game.
Franco Harris’ immense legacy in the NFL
But Franco Harris was, is and will be much more than the author of the “Immaculate Reception”, on the field he was the player with the most yards on the ground in the history of the NFL at the time of his retirement (12,120), he played 11 seasons with the Steelers (1972-1983) and one with the Seattle Seahawks (1984).
A member of the Pittsburgh Steelers All-Time Team and the NFL All-Decade Team of the 1970s, he was inducted into the Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio in 1990 and remains the all-time leader in playoff carries with 400 among many, many other well-deserved distinctions.
Terry Bradshaw’s beautiful words of recognition
A statue of the “Immaculate Reception” welcomes everyone who enters the city of Pittsburgh through its airport and if there is a great honor it is the words dedicated to him by the quarterback of that unforgettable play, Terry Bradshaw.
“The greatness of Franco was because [he matched] our offensive line and the quickness that we had,” Bradshaw says. “We were a trapping team. We were a zone-blocking team, whatever you want to call it, and Franco had to find the holes, but you had to be quick enough to run that offense, the fullbacks did. So he really wasn’t a fullback. He was a tailback playing fullback.”
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