Former Steelers Fullback Franco Harris, of Rose Bowl Super Bowl ‘Immaculate Reception’ Fame, Dies at 72

Legendary Pittsburgh Steelers Fullback Franco Harris, who played standout role in Super Bowl XIV in the Rose Bowl, died on Tuesday according to media reports.

Harris scored two touchdowns in the 1980 Super Bowl against the Los Angeles Rams. The game remains the Super Bowl with the highest live attendance at 103,985.

The game was the first Super Bowl played in the home market — Los Angeles — of one of the teams, and the second Super Bowl in the iconic hometown stadium.

But Harris is most famous for the “Immaculate Reception.”

With 22 seconds left in the game and the Steelers trailing on fourth down, Pittsburgh quarterback Terry Bradshaw threw a pass to John Fuqua. The ball either bounced off the helmet of Raiders safety Jack Tatum or Fuqua’s hands. Harris caught the careening pass just before it hit the ground and ran for a game-winning touchdown.

The play is considered by many to be the greatest play in NFL history and has been a source of controversy ever since, as many people have contended that the ball only touched Fuqua or that it hit the ground before Harris caught it.

Either of those occurrences would have nullified Harris’ catch according to the rules of the day.

“It is difficult to find the appropriate words to describe Franco Harris’ impact on the Pittsburgh Steelers, his teammates, the City of Pittsburgh and Steelers Nation,” team President Art Rooney II said in a statement. “From his rookie season, which included the Immaculate Reception, through the next 50 years, Franco brought joy to people on and off the field. He never stopped giving back in so many ways. He touched so many, and he was loved by so many.”

Harris played college at Penn State. The Nittany Lions are scheduled to face Utah in the Rose Bowl Game on Jan. 2.