Franco Harris, an American footballer whose miraculous catch is also known as the Immaculate Reception, which is one of the greatest plays in the history of the NFL died on December 21, 2022.
Also read: Franco Harris: cause of death, wife Dana Dokmanovich, net worth, Pittsburgh Steelers stats and more
Harris was an American professional footballer who played for the Pittsburgh Steelers, and the Seattle Seahawks. Franco Harris was an important part of football’s most controversial as well as one of the greatest plays of the National Football League, The Immaculate Reception of 1972.
This Immaculate Reception play took place on December 23, 1972, in the Asian Football Confederation of the National Football league where the Pittsburgh Steelers played against the Oakland Raiders at the Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Also read: Franco Harris tribute: How Pittsburgh Steelers plan to honor former RB
The Pittsburgh Steelers’ team was trailing in the game when Terry Bradshaw, Pittsburgh’s quarterback threw a pass and the team’s fullback Franco Harris caught the ball before it could touch the ground. Franco in the last thirty seconds of the match caught the ball and ran to the match’s winning touchdown.
Although the Steelers won the game against the Raiders, it created a lot of controversy. Some people asserted that Franco caught the ball after it touched the ground while others felt that the ball only touched Steelers’ running back, John Fuqua. If any of these speculations were true, the pass would have been considered incomplete.
Also read: Franco Harris’ last Instagram post shows him at supermarket with a jar of snacks
This controversial match which led Steelers to the winning at the last moment is known as the Immaculate Reception, meaning that the play was miraculous in nature.
Whether the ball touched the ground or not is still an unsolved mystery, but the match was selected as the NFL history’s Greatest play. It was also chosen as the most controversial and the greatest play of all times by the NFL Films.
Franco Harris since then became famous for the Immaculate Reception where his quick move at the end of the game led his team to the first playoff win ever followed by four Super Bowls wins by the year end of 1970.