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When I was in 2nd grade in December of 1972, one of my early sports memories was when the Steelers beat the Raiders in the Immaculate Reception game. Louis Civitano, my brothers Pete and Mark, and myself were all watching the game in our living room on Clematis Rd in Brewster Heights.
With only 22 seconds left to play in the 4th quarter, the game appeared to be in the bank for the Raiders. On 4th down from his own 40-yardline, Terry Bradshaw, after barely avoiding being sacked by the Raiders' pass-rush, flung the ball in the general direction of John Fuqua downfield. The ball careened off of Jack Tatum, and the Raiders won the game ....... except that a rookie running back by the name of Franco Harris came out of nowhere to snatch the ball into his hands just before it hit the artificial turf, ran toward the sidelines, and proceeded to out-sprint the Raiders' Jimmy Warren to the end-zone for a Steelers touchdown !!!
Even Curt Gowdy was fooled, as he had to correct himself in mid-sentence after initially declaring it to be an incomplete pass before Harris performed what appeared to be the impossible. In fact Jimmy Warren, the last Raiders player who had a shot at tackling Harris was fooled, and it may have cost his team the game ...... Warren threw his hands up in a celebratory manner when it appeared that the ball was incomplete, and he subsequently got a late start in trying to run down Harris after he had caught the ball. It was bedlam in Three Rivers Stadium, as the Steelers had snatched victory from the jaws of defeat before 50,000 now-hysterical fans. It was unforgettable, to say the least. My brother Pete and his friend Louie Civitano couldn't believe it, nor could my brother Mark or myself.
Franco Harris, that Steelers running back who went on to a Hall-of-Fame career which included 4 Super Bowl titles with the Steelers, has died at the age of 72.
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