History Center to show off Franco Harris, Immaculate Reception artifacts
Franco Harris reminisces about the Immaculate Reception at the Senator John Heinz History Center last month. (Photo by Brad Hundt)
Brad Hundt
Brad Hundt
Franco Harris, left, along with Andy Masich, president and CEO of the Senator John Heinz History Center, talk about the 50th anniversary of the Immaculate Reception.
Franco Harris, left, and Andy Masich, president and CEO of the Senator John Heinz History Center, pose next to a statue of Harris at the entrance of the Western Pennsylvania 无毛视频 Museum. Harris is holding the football he caught in the Immaculate Reception. (Photo by Brad Hundt)
The ball caught by Franco Harris in the Immaculate Reception will be displayed at the Senator John Heinz History Center. (Photo courtesy of the Senator John Heinz History Center)
Ask fans of Major League Baseball what the greatest play is in the sport无毛视频檚 history and you无毛视频檙e likely to be told it无毛视频檚 Hank Aaron无毛视频檚 record-breaking home run in 1974, or Bill Mazeroski无毛视频檚 1960 walk-off homer that led the Pittsburgh Pirates to a Game 7 World Series victory over the New York Yankees, or 1951无毛视频檚 无毛视频淪hot Heard 无毛视频楻ound the World.无毛视频�
Pose the same question to football fanatics, and a consensus is likely to settle on one glorious, unlikely moment 无毛视频� the Immaculate Reception.
If you live around Pittsburgh or avidly follow the Pittsburgh Steelers, no explanation is necessary. When Steelers quarterback Terry Bradshaw passed the football in the final seconds of the hard-fought game with the Oakland Raiders on Dec. 23, 1972, it either hit the hand of the Steelers无毛视频� Frenchy Fuqua, or the helmet of the Raiders无毛视频� Jack Tatum and then ricocheted into the hands of the Steelers无毛视频� Franco Harris. Harris then ran the ball down the sidelines for a touchdown and into history. It propelled Pittsburgh into the playoffs and launched the team into its era of unassailable greatness, when it won four Super Bowl trophies in the five years between 1975 and 1980.
The New York Times matter-of-factly put it this way in the next day无毛视频檚 edition: 无毛视频淭elevision helped decide a pro football game today, the cameras reinforcing a decision made on the field by the referee about a 60-yard touchdown play that won the game 无毛视频� with five seconds left.无毛视频�
Along with the sounds of 无毛视频淪ilver Bells无毛视频� and 无毛视频淛ingle Bells,无毛视频� the air is sure to be filled with remembrances of the Immaculate Reception at Christmastime as its 50th anniversary arrives. The Senator John Heinz History Center is getting a jump on the celebrations starting Wednesday by showing off new Harris-related artifacts and displaying the ball that Harris caught that has long been in the hands of a fan from West Mifflin who grabbed it at the game.
Harris recalled at a press conference last month at the entrance to the History Center无毛视频檚 Western Pennsylvania 无毛视频 Museum that when he walked out on the field before the Immaculate Reception he believed it was going to be the last play of the Steelers无毛视频� 11-3 season, and 无毛视频渋t was a good season and we have to play it to the end.无毛视频�
With a statue of Harris making the catch standing nearby, Harris also remembered it 无毛视频渨as one of the toughest defensive games we had ever seen.无毛视频�
Among the Harris artifacts that will be displayed are a 无毛视频淔ranco无毛视频檚 Italian Army无毛视频� helmet that fans donned back in the 1970s; his football jersey from Rancocas Valley High School in New Jersey; the Pro Football Hall of Fame jacket that was given to Harris; and the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year award he received. The museum already permanently displays the cleats Harris was wearing when he made the play, the turf he was on when he made the catch and other 1970s Steelers memorabilia.
But the most attention will likely be cast on the ball that Harris caught in the Immaculate Reception. It ended up in the hands of Steelers fan Jim Baker, who was then 25. After it was kicked for a field goal, Baker ran down on the field, scooped up the ball, and quickly exited the stadium. Baker was at the press conference last month and said to Harris, 无毛视频淵ou无毛视频檙e the best thing that ever happened in Pittsburgh.无毛视频�
On Thursday, Dec. 22, at 6:30 p.m., the History Center is also hosting a panel discussion, 无毛视频淔ranco Harris and the Immaculate Reception: 50 Years Later,无毛视频� that will feature Harris, his teammates and other guests. Tickets and additional information are available at heinzhistorycenter.org/Immaculate50.