RIP Franco Harris

[outofplace]

The Italian Army…

Franco had such great north to south speed. He was actually a break away runner. Too fast for the linebackers. Too fast for the secondary.

RIP

Fun fact, was the #2 man in the backfield at Penn State.

Yup. Lydell Mitchell was the main back.

 

[outofplace]

I saw the news this morning before showering. When I got out, I passed my wife in the hallway and told her. I was fine until the words came out of my mouth. I didn’t expect to shed any tears over Franco, but a couple rolled out.

I hear you. I'm not in tears, which are incredibly rare for me, but this one hit me harder than I expected. I think the timing is part of it. I hate that he didn't live to experience the celebration that was scheduled for Saturday night. From everything I've seen of Harris, he would have loved it.

 

[Scout]

Unpopular opinion

The Immaculate Reception is the most overrated play in NFL history.

It was a game of zero offense. The Steelers didn’t become the Steelers until they started scoring some points.

The Steelers lost the next week, and the next season they were bounced from the playoffs by the same Raiders.

It was the 1974 Steelers that beat the hell out of everybody on the way to first title - including Oakland at Oakland.

 

[micropolitan guy]

He attended the same high school as my college roommate, Shawnee High of Medford Lakes, NJ.

Saw the IR on a 10-inch portable B&W TV while frosting Christmas cookies at the kitchen table. I hated the Raiders so it was a great play.

RIP.

 

[CD Boogie]

How do you as Sports Illustrated make this mistake of saying Harris retired as the NFL all time rushing leader? Yes, he was just short of Jim Brown and probably would have passed him if he kept playing, but come on.

 

[Regan MacNeil]

Is that true? When Payton set the mark in 1984, they made a big deal about it being Jim Brown's record.

"On October 7, 1984, Walter Payton broke Jim Brown's rushing record of 12,312 yards. The record was broken at Soldier Field against the New Orleans Saints."

EDIT: Ah, you added to your post.

 

[outofplace]

Is that true? When Payton set the mark in 1984, they made a big deal about it being Jim Brown's record.

"On October 7, 1984, Walter Payton broke Jim Brown's rushing record of 12,312 yards. The record was broken at Soldier Field against the New Orleans Saints."

EDIT: Ah, you added to your post.

Yes, it was Brown's record. When Harris got close, Brown actually threatened to come out of retirement. He said Harris was soft and he didn't want him taking the record. Once it was clear it would be Payton, Brown stopped his nonsense.

 

[Regan MacNeil]

That's hilariously petty from Brown and I absolutely can see him doing it (even tho I was 3 at the time).

 

[BTExpress]

As an 11-year-old kid, I LOVED the huge curved scoreboard numbers at Three Rivers showing the game clock. Screamed garish 70s, and I ate all that stuff up. I also had a scoreboard fetish back then.

 

[Baron Scicluna]

Yes, it was Brown's record. When Harris got close, Brown actually threatened to come out of retirement. He said Harris was soft and he didn't want him taking the record. Once it was clear it would be Payton, Brown stopped his nonsense.

I remember the SI cover of Brown in the Raiders uniform. I thought it was nuts.

 

[Baron Scicluna]

Unpopular opinion

The Immaculate Reception is the most overrated play in NFL history.

It was a game of zero offense. The Steelers didn’t become the Steelers until they started scoring some points.

The Steelers lost the next week, and the next season they were bounced from the playoffs by the same Raiders.

It was the 1974 Steelers that beat the hell out of everybody on the way to first title - including Oakland at Oakland.

It’s a bizarre play to begin with, coupled by the fact that at the time, the league had a rule that two offensive players couldn’t consecutively touch a pass after it left the passer’s hands.

So when Tatum nailed Fuqua, there was controversy over whether the ball hit Fuqua first, or whether it hit Tatum, or both. If it just hit Fuqua and then Harris caught it, then it wouldn’t have been a legal catch. Madden used to say that he looked at the replay many times and never could tell who the ball hit.

And there was controversy about the ref calling Art McNally because some think he was asking for a replay, back when replay was not allowed.

Today, with the rules changed and instant replay allowed, there wouldn’t be as much controversy. It’d just be seen as a crazy game-winning play.

 

[Spartan Squad]

Ugh ESPN’s Brooke Pryor shared a story how she was with Franco yesterday to do a piece on his statue at the Pittsburgh airport. After the interview, Franco spent time with a dad and two daughters to discuss the play and spent more time with the girls than he had. They got a picture with him and he looks fine.

I can’t imagine being that family this morning. That photo is going to be so eerie.

 

[BTExpress]

They never show the wide-angle view of the play (below). All the typical highlight shows make it look like Harris' catch is some movie special effects magic --- the speed is even slowed down as he makes the grab.

 

[DanielSimpsonDay]

Ugh ESPN’s Brooke Pryor shared a story how she was with Franco yesterday to do a piece on his statue at the Pittsburgh airport. After the interview, Franco spent time with a dad and two daughters to discuss the play and spent more time with the girls than he had. They got a picture with him and he looks fine.

I can’t imagine being that family this morning. That photo is going to be so eerie.

For whatever reason, that reminded me of this profile of Joe Montana. Maybe it was the image of Harris cheerfully telling the tale of the Immaculate Reception for the 12,120th time.

Instead he flies commercial all over the world and sees so many of the same people in the San Francisco airport that he feels as if he knows them. Then he flies to New Jersey or North Carolina or Mexico or Bahrain, and he gets paid to be people's idea of Joe Montana. It's good work if you can get it. But only one man can.

ALSO

He still cheers for three NFL teams: Along with the 49ers and the Chiefs, for whom he played, Montana pulls for his childhood favorites, the Steelers.

 

[Vombatus]

Awesome BTE.

 

[MileHigh]

My closest friend grew up in Pittsburgh, is a huge Steelers fan and grew up in the 1970s. She's a mess this morning after waking up to the news.

RIP.

 

[MileHigh]

 

[X-Hack]

This one hurts.

My mother is from Pittsburgh and I grew up as a huge Steelers fan (the Lions were **** and every kid was a Steeler or Cowboy fan at the time, but my Pittsburgh roots gave me an actual reason. Interestingly it was the same Pittsburgh roots that made my brother a Cowboy fan -- he became one because that's where Pitt legend Tony Dorsett ended up). I'm not old enough to remember the Immaculate Reception -- my first football memory is watching the 1976 AFC Championship game at my grandparents' apartment on North Craig Street in Pittsburgh. I was 6. The Raiders won 24-7, mainly because both Harris (I thought at the time his name was "Frank O'Harris") and Rocky Bleier were hurt and didn't play. I remember wondering why everyone was rooting for the Steelers instead of Oakland since we were in Oakland (the Oakland section of Pittsburgh). I was 6 and had no idea there was an Oakland, Calif. Everyone got a chuckle out of that. From there I became a Steeler fan and by the time the next season rolled around, I had a better sense of geography and people's names and I just loved watching Franco run. One of the best there will ever be.

 

[MisterCreosote]

Unpopular opinion

The Immaculate Reception is the most overrated play in NFL history.

It was a game of zero offense. The Steelers didn’t become the Steelers until they started scoring some points.

The Steelers lost the next week, and the next season they were bounced from the playoffs by the same Raiders.

It was the 1974 Steelers that beat the hell out of everybody on the way to first title - including Oakland at Oakland.

 

[X-Hack]

Unpopular opinion

The Immaculate Reception is the most overrated play in NFL history.

It was a game of zero offense. The Steelers didn’t become the Steelers until they started scoring some points.

The Steelers lost the next week, and the next season they were bounced from the playoffs by the same Raiders.

It was the 1974 Steelers that beat the hell out of everybody on the way to first title - including Oakland at Oakland.

There might be something to that. Kind of like how the Giants lost the World Series after Bobby Thomson's Shot Heard Round the World won the pennant. And Kirk Gibson's legendary home run happened in Game 1 and not with the Series on the line. And while Bird Stole The Ball, the Celtics didn't win the NBA title that year -- LA did. And, of course, the Sox blew game 7 after Fisk waved his home run fair the night before.

But sometimes it's just about the drama of the moment.