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Franco Harris, the Hall of Fame former running back for the Pittsburgh Steelers and Seattle Seahawks, has passed away at the age of 72 years old, according to reports. At this time, no cause of death has been reported and the Pittsburgh Steelers have yet to release an official statement.
Harris, a four-time Super Bowl champion with the Steelers, was also on the field when the “Immaculate Reception” — one of the most iconic plays in NFL history — occurred. In fact, it was Harris who made the catch itself.
Drafted with the 13th overall pick in the 1972 NFL Draft out of Penn State University, Harris spent 12 years with the Pittsburgh Steelers before playing his final NFL season with the Seattle Seahawks in 1984. In the year 1990, he was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Just yesterday, during his Tuesday media availability, Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin discussed what the Immaculate Reception means to him personally:
“I was in Section 135 that day. I was eight months old. I think it’s funny. Surprisingly, I’ve probably met 75,000 people that were there that day,” Tomlin said.
“It’s just one of those beautiful things in the history of our game. It’s humbling to be in close proximity to it, to work for this organization, to understand its impact on this organization, the career it spawned in Franco [Harris], a gold-jacket career, what it did for them that season in terms of changing the trajectory of that season, what it’s done for this franchise…”
During his 13 seasons in the National Football League, Harris rushed 2,949 times for 12,120 yards and 91 touchdowns, while also catching 307 passes for 2,287 yards and nine touchdowns. Perhaps most impressively, over the course of his career, Harris rushed over 1,000 yards in eight seasons and for more than 100 yards in 47 games.
The Steelers are actually set to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Immaculate Reception — which happened on December 23, 1972 — this weekend against the Oakland Raiders, which is the team that the play happened against.
Our thoughts are with Harris’ friends, family, former teammates, and various loved ones during this difficult time.