Pittsburgh Steelers Great Franco Harris Dead At 72, Hall Of Famer Caught Legendary 'Immaculate Reception'

Hall of Fame running back Franco Harris, who gained fame for the "Immaculate Reception," died Wednesday. He was 72.

The Steelers legend retired as one of the greatest players in NFL history, his career highlighted by one of the most iconic plays of all time. Aside from the reception, Harris was known as a workhorse on the field, running for 12,120 yards and winning four Super Bowl rings with the Pittsburgh Steelers in the 1970s.

"We have lost an incredible football player, an incredible ambassador to the Hall and most importantly, we have lost one of the finest gentlemen anyone will ever meet," Pro Football Hall of Fame president Jim Porter said in a statement. "Franco not only impacted the game of football, but he also affected the lives of many, many people in profoundly positive ways."

Harris' son, Franco "Dok" Harris, confirmed his death to the Associated Press.

No cause of death was given.

Harris passed just two days before the 50th anniversary of the "Immaculate Reception," and three days before his Steelers are scheduled to retire his No. 32 during a ceremony at halftime of its game against the Las Vegas Raiders.

Earning Pro Bowl honors in each of his first nine seasons, Franco's greatest on-field achievement remains the last-second heave by Steelers quarterback Terry Bradshaw in a playoff game against Oakland in 1972.

Trailing 7-6 in a divisional round playoff game against the Oakland Raiders and facing fourth-and-10 from their own 40-yard line, Bradshaw dropped back with 22 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter and threw a prayer downfield.

Intended for running back John "French" Fuqua, the ball careened away from the play following a collision between Fuqua and Oakland defensive back Jack Tatum. Unaffected by the surrounding chaos, Harris swooped in to snatch the ball just inches above the turf near the Oakland 45, outracing several stunned Raider defenders to tie the game for the Steelers, eventually leading to the franchise's first playoff win in four decades.

The play has since been watched thousands of times, forever cemented in history when it was voted the greatest play in NFL history during the league's 100th anniversary season in 2020.

Current Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin spoke about his relationship with the legendary play on Tuesday during his address to reporters.

"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," said Tomlin.

"There are many things that make it the play that it is and the most significant play in the history of our game. It's just an honor to be in proximity to it. To know the man involved, to call Pittsburgh home, and so it's awesome to be a part of and to witness."

Harris was born in Fort Dix, New Jersey. He played college football at Penn State, standing a bulky 6-foot-2, 230 pounds for the majority of his playing career. When the Steelers picked him 13th overall in the 1972 NFL draft, expectations for the rookie were set.

Harris' impact on the Steelers, and the NFL, was immediate. He won the league's Rookie of the Year award in 1972 after rushing for a then-team-rookie record 1,055 yards and 10 touchdowns, as the Steelers reached the postseason for just the second time in franchise history.

"All I know is, he's dependable," Bradshaw, the Steelers quarterback and Harris' teammate throughout the '70s, said of Harris in 1983. "He's a Rolls-Royce, and since I haven't seen too many of them driving around the streets of Pittsburgh, it's nice to know there's one sitting right behind me on the field."

Harris would go on to play 13 years in the NFL – 12 with the Steelers and one with the Seattle Seahawks in 1984 — before he retired.

Harris is survived by his wife, Dana Dokmanovich, and his son, Dok.