Franco Harris died at the age of 72. He was a legendary running back for the Pittsburgh Steelers. It’s too bad that he died just a few days before the Steelers were going to retire his No. 32 jersey on the 50th anniversary of his “immaculate receiving” play at Acrisure Stadium. In the 1972 AFC Divisional Playoffs, the NFL legend made a great catch that helped get him to Canton.
The news broke the hearts of sports fans all over the world. When did Franco Harris die, and what caused him to pass away? This is what we’ve found out.
About Franco Harris
Franco Harris was a pro-American football player who spent most of his 13 years in the NFL with the Pittsburgh Steelers. He was very important to what sportscaster Myron Cope of Pittsburgh called the “Immaculate Reception” of professional football.
After playing college football for the Penn State Nittany Lions, the Pittsburgh Steelers picked him with the thirteenth overall pick in the 1972 NFL Draft. He played for the Steelers for the first 12 years of his NFL career. In his last year, he played for the Seahawks. He was honored by being put in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1990.
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Know About Franco Harris’s Cause of Death
Jim Porter, president of the Professional Football Hall of Fame, told WTAE, “We have lost not only one of the nicest people you could ever meet but also a great football player and an ambassador for the Hall. Franco’s influence went far beyond football and touched the lives of a lot of people.
The article also said that Franco’s death was “not immediately known.” Dok, Franco’s son, told the Associated Press that his father died “overnight,” but he didn’t say why.
In 1972, Franco helped the Pittsburgh Steelers beat the Oakland Raiders in a playoff game thanks to a great play he made. The “immaculate reception” was the first playoff win for the Steelers in 40 years. Franco played for the Steelers from 1972 until 1983.
Franco’s football career took off after that amazing play. He went on to play for the Pittsburgh Steelers for 12 seasons and the Seattle Seahawks for one season before calling it quits. After he quit football, Franco opened a bakery and got involved in philanthropy. He became the chairman of Pittsburgh Promise, an organization that gives college scholarships to students who go to public schools in Pittsburgh.
Harris’s only living relatives are Dana Dokmanovich and their son Dok.
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Franco Harris Gave Us The “Immaculate Reception,” Which Was Perfect
During the 1970s, the Steelers’ rise to dominance was helped by Harris’s 12,120 yards and four Super Bowl rings. In 1972, Terry Bradshaw, the team’s quarterback, threw a “hail mary” pass in the last seconds of a game against the Oakland Raiders. This was the most memorable moment.
As time ran out in the fourth quarter and the Steelers were behind 7-6 from their own 40-yard line, Bradshaw scrambled back and then threw a deep pass to running back French Fuqua. Fuqua got hit hard right away when the ball popped up and went in the direction of Harris.
At that point, almost everyone stopped moving, but Harris had already caught the ball and was running full speed toward the end zone. The Steelers had never won in the playoffs before, so this was a big moment in NFL history. After the “Immaculate Reception” was named the best play in NFL history during the league’s 100th anniversary season in 2020, Harris said, “That play really represents our teams of the 1970s.”