Franco Harris’ Immaculate Reception

A Divine Catch That Altered the Course of the Pittsburgh Steelers

Prior to 1972, the Pittsburgh Steelers were an NFL also-ran, a punching bag for the likes of teams with bigger championship dreams.

Teams like the Oakland Raiders, a perennial playoff contender in one of the most brutal, bone-crunching eras of NFL football.

For the Steelers to reach that next level themselves, they would have to beat the Raiders in the 1972 AFC Divisional playoffs.

They might even need a little divine intervention to do it.

A New Era in Pittsburgh Begins

The 1972 AFC Divisional playoff game was the franchise’s first postseason appearance since 1947. It had been a tremendous stretch of futility, and the Steelers were in danger of experiencing a quick exit here, down 7-6 and facing a fourth down at their own 40 with 22 seconds left in the game.

As the play develops, quarterback Terry Bradshaw has to escape the pocket, flinging the ball downfield before three Raiders converge on him. His pass is intended for running back John Fuqua, but he gets leveled and the ball bounces off the helmet of Oakland safety Jack Tatum (or maybe even Fuqua’s chest, depending on your rooting interest and knowledge of the old rule specifying that two offensive players can’t touch the ball consecutively).

The ball ricochets and, for a moment, the play feels broken up and the game over. In the original broadcast, it’s impossible to even see what happens; the camera doesn’t pick up the catch. All we see initially is the ball fly off-screen for what feels like thirty yards. Every Yinzer watching no doubt sensed that all-too-familiar sting of defeat pierce those lofty hopes they finally allowed themselves to feel.

But, somehow - miraculously, you might say - fullback Franco Harris is there, suddenly sprinting towards the end zone. He has the ball, and he’s going to score.

“It's caught out of the air! The ball picked up by Franco Harris… Franco Harris pulled in the football,” called Steelers radio play-by-play man Jack Fleming, trying to make sense of the scene.

“I don't even know where it came from. Fuqua was in a collision! There are people in the end zone. Where did it come from?”

The Zapruder Film of Football Plays

Even after Harris makes it to the end zone with no flags on the field, the initial replay doesn’t tell us much of anything, either. Harris still materializes out of the abyss off-screen. Eventually, the scrambling broadcast finds an end-zone angle that… sort of gets the job done. Harris catches the ball off his shoelaces, mere inches from the turf, but it’s hard to get a clear look at what exactly happened.

The best full-play camera angle we have has ended up being a shot from the heavens themselves. Just like that other immaculate religious moment, you just kind of have to have a little faith about the whole thing.

In true 1970s sports fashion, Harris runs right into a crowd of Pittsburgh fans milling around in the end zone, and he’s instantly mobbed, followed by more fans pouring out of the stands onto the field.

Just as confused as the players, the referees had no idea what to do. Long before the era of replay review, the NFL supervisor of officials Art McNally, sitting in the press box, had to call down to the field. He saw the instant replay - or what there was of it - and waited for the official call.

Touchdown.

“You talk about Christmas miracles,” Curt Gowdy said on the television broadcast. “Here’s the miracle of all miracles.”

Pay Homage to a Steel City Legend

Harris was a rookie in 1972 who would sometimes hitchhike to home games. The late Hall of Famer is the Steelers’ all-time rushing leader and a four-time Super Bowl champ, but he is truly immortal because of this day.

The Steelers wouldn’t win their first Super Bowl for two more seasons, but the Immaculate Reception felt like a true turning point for the franchise. Mired in mediocrity for decades, this play felt like the genesis of the turnaround. This team was different.

All it had to do was keep the faith.

Pay homage to one of the most miraculous catches in NFL history with our Immaculate Reception tee.
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