‘Burgh’s Best to Wear It, No. 32: Franco Harris an ‘Immaculate’ Steelers Hall of Famer

The Tribune-Review sports staff is conducting a daily countdown of the best players in Pittsburgh pro and college sports history to wear each jersey number.

No. 32: Franco Harris

It’s impossible to distill the totality of the superlatives of Franco Harris’ professional football career down to one moment. Even if that moment has been deemed the greatest in NFL history.

Harris amassing 11,950 rushing yards, 100 touchdowns, nine Pro Bowl berths, three first- or second-team All Pro honors, four Super Bowl rings and a bronze bust at the Pro Football Hall of Fame? Extraordinary.

But what he’s most remembered for is being Immaculate.

Harris’ catch of a Terry Bradshaw pass intended for Frenchy Fuqua that deflected off of Oakland Raiders safety Jack Tatum during the waning moments of a 1972 playoff game resulted in a touchdown that gave the Steelers their first postseason victory in almost four decades of existence.

It became known as “The Immaculate Reception,” and it propelled the Steelers to their Super era of the 1970s. They won four Super Bowls, with Harris being named MVP of the first of those after rushing for 156 yards and a touchdown during a victory against the Minnesota Vikings.

Harris would total 354 rushing yards and four rushing touchdowns over the Steelers’ four Super Bowl victories during his career. Over the span of the six regular seasons during which the Steelers won those championships, the 6-foot-2, 230-pound Harris had 6,810 rushing yards, 1,062 receiving yards and 62 touchdowns.

A first-round pick in 1972 whose tenure in black and gold extended to 1983, no running back spent more seasons with the Steelers than Harris. Only 20 players, regardless of position, have. He is a member of the Steelers’ all-time team, the franchise’s Hall of Honor and was on the NFL’s all-decade team for the 1970s.

After one season with the Seattle Seahawks, Harris retired as the NFL’s second-leading all-time rusher (12,120). He currently ranks 15th in career rushing yards and is tied for 11th in rushing touchdowns (91) with another Steelers Hall of Fame running back, Jerome Bettis.

#Steelers legend Franco Harris shared a funny note on social media about his missing statue at the airport https://t.co/puEjzMJoci

— TribLIVE.com (@TribLIVE) March 31, 2019

Harris’ résumé made him a shoo-in as the best to wear No. 32 in Pittsburgh. But he was far from the only accomplished pro or college athlete in the city to excel with that number.

No. 32 was retired by Pitt basketball before Charles Smith had even played his final game for the program. An eventual No. 3 overall NBA draft choice, the 6-10 Smith was a four-year starter for Pitt. Smith remains the Panthers’ career leader in points (2,045, an average of 16.8 per game).

Dwight Collins was one of legendary quarterback Dan Marino’s favorite targets at Pitt. A three-sport star at Beaver Falls High School, Collins had 133 college catches for 2,264 yards and 24 touchdowns from 1980-83 for Pitt.

Vern Law is one of the greatest pitchers in the 13-decade history of the Pirates, ranking fourth in appearances and innings, third in starts, fifth in strikeouts and shutouts, sixth in wins and 10th in Wins Above Replacement in franchise annals. Interrupted only by service in the Korean War, Law’s tenure with the Pirates lasted from 1950-67.

Check out the entire ’Burgh’s Best to Wear It series here.