Should the Steelers stop after retiring Franco Harris' No. 32 or add more numbers to the list?

Pittsburgh Steelers legend Franco Harris summed up what it meant to learn that his number was going to be retired by the franchise this September.

“It’s like giving you flowers while you’re still around to smell them,” Harris said.

I get that. In fact, I just recently wrote about that topic as it related to the Pirates’ newly established team Hall of Fame at PNC Park.

Hopefully, next year’s Pirates class includes Elroy Face, Vern Law and Dick Groat — all World Series champions from the 1960 team who are currently 91 years of age or older. Hopefully, they can sniff those flowers just like their teammate Bill Mazeroski got to do last weekend.

And like what Harris will be able to do on Dec. 24. That’s when the Raiders are in town as the visiting team when — fittingly — Harris’ No. 32 will be retired as part of a ceremony honoring the 50th anniversary of his “Immaculate Reception” during the 1972 playoffs.

#OTD in 1972, something immaculate happened.@francoharrishof | #SteelersHistory | #PITvsKC: Sunday at 4:25 pm on CBS pic.twitter.com/8IDD65flXJ

— Pittsburgh Steelers (@steelers) December 23, 2021

I felt the need to include the video just in case, you know, you hadn’t seen it before. Also, for Raiders fans who still pretend they don’t see the ball hitting Jack Tatum first.

But as far as Harris’ number being retired goes, it does open up an interesting debate. No, not about whether Harris is worthy of the honor. Clearly, he is.

Harris retired as the NFL’s third all-time leading rusher behind Jim Brown and Walter Payton. His 12,120 yards still rank 15th today. To say nothing of his boundless contributions to the Steelers’ four Super Bowl wins in the 1970s.

What do the Steelers do now, though? Do they keep retiring numbers? It’s a tough call because the Steelers have had so many greats. If every deserving number is retired, it won’t be long before players start wearing punctuation marks and Greek letters on their backs.

Pat Freiermuth may have to give up No. 88 for an exclamation point because of Lynn Swann, and Steven Sims may have to swap out No. 82 for a Delta symbol in deference to John Stallworth.

Eighteen former players who spent the majority of their careers in Pittsburgh are enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Eight more spent at least part of their playing careers here. Nine of them were Harris’ teammates on the four Super Bowl winners in the ‘70s.

So do they all get their numbers retired now that Harris is getting that honor?

From 1964-2014, the only retired Steelers number was Ernie Stautner’s No. 70. That’s despite six Super Bowl titles and eight appearances since Stautner retired. When “Mean” Joe Greene’s No. 75 broke that barrier in 2014, no one batted an eyelash because he was the heartbeat of those “Super Steelers” teams of the ‘70s. As much as anyone, he was the player that began the franchise’s ascent when he was drafted in 1969.

But L.C. Greenwood was drafted in ’69 as well. Terry Bradshaw and Mel Blount came along in ‘70. Jack Ham in ‘71. Harris didn’t get drafted until ‘72.

“Many have said, and I agree, that the ‘Immaculate Reception’ marked the turning point in franchise history,” team owner Art Rooney II said. “My grandfather (Art Rooney Sr.) once was quoted as saying, ‘Before Franco got here, we didn’t win much. Since he got here, we don’t lose.’ I think that sums it up pretty well. Franco’s impact on the franchise would be hard to overstate.”

Fair enough. I’ve heard Greene say that many times, too. But now, with Harris’ number being taken out of circulation, does that open the door to other players getting a similar honor?

“I don’t expect to be doing it very often. I think it’ll still be a rare occasion,” Rooney II said. “It’s hard to make the decision because we do have many players who are deserving. So, I think we’ll just keep taking our time with it. Given this is the 50th anniversary of the greatest play in history that Franco made, it’s the appropriate time to do Franco’s number. We’ll probably take our time making decisions on the rest.”

Related:

• Tim Benz: 'Clerical error' or change of mind, Kenny Pickett as 2nd QB streamlines depth chart
• Steelers to retire Franco Harris' No. 32 during 50th anniversary of Immaculate Reception
• OLB Alex Highsmith expected to return from rib injury, start Steelers' season opener
• Mitch Trubisky to start, Kenny Pickett moves to No. 2 on Steelers' quarterback depth chart

On a few occasions on Tuesday, Rooney II made that link between Harris’ No. 32 getting retired and the Immaculate Reception itself. Almost as if to say, the play is going up to the rafters as much as Harris is.

That said, though, remember, Bradshaw scrambled around for an eternity to keep the play alive and gunned the ball downfield. Should he get his number hoisted aloft with Harris’?

Then again, are we sure Bradshaw would even show up if that happened?

Keep in mind that most of the players we’ve mentioned so far — and a handful more — have had their numbers unofficially retired. Current Steelers players don’t get them assigned for regular-season games.

But since 2014, it has often been rationalized that retiring a Steelers jersey is as sacred as it gets, and Greene’s number was ostensibly retired on behalf of all those who starred in the ‘70s, and Stautner was a representative of all those who slogged through the difficult early years and may have been forgotten.

I’ve always understood that. And if the team wants to minimize the number of retired jerseys by connecting Harris to the iconic Immaculate Reception itself, so be it.

Perhaps then the way to go is to have the next jersey retirement be Ben Roethlisberger’s No.7 or Troy Polamalu’s No. 43 or Jerome Bettis’ No. 36 so as to collectively honor the Steelers of the early 2000s. Or Rod Woodson’s No. 26 or Dermontti Dawson’s No. 63 to honor those great teams of the mid ‘90s.

As Rooney II said, that can wait a while.

To Harris’ point, however, Bradshaw, Blount, Ham and Lambert are all between 70-74 years old. Mike Webster died in 2002. Many others from those 1970s clubs, such as Greenwood, Dwight White, Sam Davis and Ernie Holmes, are also deceased.

If Rooney II wants to allow some of his franchise’s other legends to enjoy the flowers like Franco is, it may be time to start sending out the bouquets.