Steelers Hall-of-Famer Franco Harris dead at 72

WTAE ABC ^ | 12/21/22 | none

[LeonardFMason]

Number 2 when he retired. Only behind Jim Brown.

Just 2 Running Backs have won FOUR Super Bowls:

Franco Harris - Steelers
Rocky Bleier - Steelers

[dfwgator]

Both played the same style of smashmouth defense, to the point Shula and the rules committee changed the rules. I still find it funny that Pittsburgh and Oakland won Superbowls despite the rule changes, and Shula’s Dolphins did not.

Probably had something to do with Csonka, Kiick and Warfield going to the WFL.

[kosciusko51]

The rules changes occurred after the WFL collapsed.

[deport]

[SamAdams76]

The infamous "Heidi" game occurred several years earlier, in a game between the NY Jets and the Oakland Raiders. That would be the last time that little girls settling in for a movie would be given preference over their increasingly football-obsessed daddies.

Never again would an NFL game get pre-empted for a children's movie. I remember as a child myself being upset that a showing of "Willie Wonka & The Chocolate Factory" would be not shown on time on account of some football game running late.

The entire "Heidi" NFL episode makes for good reading. It marked the true beginning of NFL football obsession in America and heralded the end of families sitting down to a televised movie together. In not too many more years, games would be scheduled for prime time as well so that the sports obsessed daddies could get their kids in bed before even the kickoff.

Get those kids out of my living room, I have a game to watch!

[woodbutcher1963]

“Since then he has dropped to #15”

Keep in mind that Harris, OJ, Jim Brown, and others set their records when the NFL season was 14 games.

Prior to 1961 they only played 12 games. In 1978 the season became 16 games. In 2022 they went to 17 games.

[mewzilla]

I grew up watching football with my dad.

It was a family event.:-)

[SamAdams76]

An interesting sidenote about Franco Harris literally saving the life of a Steelers photographer by making this catch, because I am a sucker for arcane trivia like this...

Les Banos, a photographer and cameraman for the Pittsburgh Steelers, was working the game on December 23, 1972. He also did similar work for the Pittsburgh Pirates, developing a close friendship with right fielder Roberto Clemente in the process.

Had the Steelers season ended that afternoon, Banos was scheduled to fly with Roberto to Nicarauga. This was just after a devastating earthquake struck the capital city of Managua and Clementi was organizing the delivery of relief supplies there. Banos was to film the relief efforts and document the supplies getting directly to the victims (and not being seized by the troops of the ruling dictator there at the time.

Well, now we know the rest of the story. Franco Harris went on to make the "immaculate reception" and the Steelers season was extended for at least one more game, forcing Banos to cancel his trip with Clementi.

So on December 31, 1972, Banos stayed in Pittsburgh as the Steelers hosted the Miami Dolphins for the AFC Championship (yes, those undefeated Dolphins), and that same night Roberto's plane crashed into the sea with no survivors.

So there you go. A life saved due to a crazy and unlikely game-winning catch.

The story doesn't end there with Les Banos. During World War 2, Banos was an Allied spy, working his way up the Nazi SS food chain, at one point having direct daily contact with Adolf Eichmann. During his time there, he was able to save countless lives by giving Jews safe passage papers, falsifying orders and otherwise giving them a chance to escape their fate.

Whoever thought they would read all this as a sidestory to some guy making a big catch in a football game!

[DarthVader]

RIP Franco! A great player and person to boot! I’m stunned over this.

[mewzilla]

Joe Bastardi
@BigJoeBastardi

I saw Franco Harris about a year ago at a football game and was kidding around with him since he looked like he could still go in and play. What a great man What a great inspiration. Kindness, humility and class. He belongs to ages, but I will forever cherish his memory
10:12 AM · Dec 21, 2022

[ScottinVA]

RIP, Franco …. One of the best!

[bigcat32]

The play was ILLEGAL! Back in the day only one offensive player could touch a forward pass. The ball hit another Steeler before Franco Harris caught it.

ILLEGAL!

[Autonomous User]

Of Course you are absolutely correct on the Time Frame of the Heidi Game. I Had a senior moment and no coffee when I wrote my Franco post “tribute”! :)

[kosciusko51]

If Tatum touched it, multiple Steelers could touch the ball and it would be a legal catch. The speed at which it ricocheted back towards Harris could only be caused by contact with a player moving towards the receiver and the ball, namely Jack Tatum.

Furthermore, Tatum is a unreliable witness, as he gains from denying the ball touched him.

I think it may have touched Fuqua, but as long as it touched Tatum, the play is legal.

[bigcat32]

That rule was a bad rule and deserved to be changed. There was no replay rule back then either but from what I remember the multiple replays were inconclusive.

Just wanted to bust chops. Lifelong Browns fan here but I secretly root for Steelers when they’re not playing Browns.

[NCC-1701]

I just looked at a list of top rushers in the NFL. Emmitt Smith is #1 with 18,355 yards (10.4 miles) while Franco is #15 with 12,120 yards (6.8 miles). I don’t have the numbers but I would believe that Franco is Pittsburgh’s all-time leading rusher.

[wannabegeek]

Franco Harris was used by CDC to promote Covid-19 shot they call vaccine.  Oh, happened to get injected by real Covid-19 deadly shot instead of saline.  He got all the shots and boosters, now he's dead!

https://rumble.com/v21tfiy-franco-harris-tells-everyone-to-get-vaccinated.-rip-franco..html

[airborne]

I met him and Rocky Blier at the National Veterans Wheelchair Games in Pittsburgh in 2011.

They were very nice and spent th week with all us Veterans.

Rocky gave a speech that had the room choked up.

I know Franco was a lib but I will hold off on speaking ill of the dead.

[Labyrinthos]

Franco Harris was used by CDC to promote Covid-19 shot they call vaccine. Oh, happened to get injected by real Covid-19 deadly shot instead of saline. He got all the shots and boosters, now he's dead!

From Wikipedia: “Harris’ brother Pete Harris, a collegiate All-American football player, died on August 15, 2006, of a heart attack at the age of 49.”

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franco_Harris#Early_life

Apparently, the Deep State has been secretly injecting us with the Covid clot shot since 2006. My obvious point is not every person who dies before the age of 80 is a victim of the clot shot and indeed, I suspect that 99.9999% of deaths have nothing to do with the jab.

[wannabegeek]

Long before this Covid-19 scaremongering in to lockdown for a nonexistent SARS-Cov-2 virus they say would cause deadly Covid-19 infection, I was at a big clinic, young resident medical doctors at UCLA wanted be injected with Hepatitis B shot which I refused.  Oh they also wanted me tested with HIV, I said what the hell you're talking about, I'm not f*cking around, why should I even get that?  They said my age very susceptible to getting HIV infection.  Oh, they also wanted to get me some injection they said my bones will be brittling.  I said, nope, I don't think so.  Then asked if I wanted flu shot.  Nope, nope, I don't want any shot.  They told me I'm anti medicine, anti vaxx.

I already saw secret video footages of closed door doctors' meeting questioning the efficacy of Hepatitis B vaccine causing myocarditis, pericarditis, blood clots, etc., to what I suspect now Covid-19 shots maybe derivative of Hepatitis B shot they call it vaccines.  

Here's link...

Acute pericarditis after vaccination against hepatitis B: a rare effect to be known?
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/9365747/