Steelers put Franco Harris retired No. 32 jersey on display at Acrisure Stadium

The Pittsburgh Steelers added a third retired jersey to the FedEx Great Hall located inside Acrisure Stadium when the display honoring the late Franco Harris was unveiled Saturday.

The ceremony took place 90 minutes before the Steelers preseason game against the Buffalo Bills.

Harris’ No. 32, which officially was retired in December, joins the displays for Ernie Stautner’s No. 70 and Joe Greene’s No. 75.

With Harris’ wife and son, a handful of his teammates from the 1970s and hundreds of fans in attendance, the Steelers unveiled a vertical display that included a glass-encased No. 32 jersey situated above a giant black-and-white photo of Harris from the Immaculate Reception.

“Franco would say his jersey would not be retired without so many great teammates of the 1970s,” team president Art Rooney II said. “He was proud of what the teams of the ’70s accomplished, and I know he was proud to play for a team whose defense became known as the Steel Curtain.”

Rooney also said Harris, a four-time Super Bowl winner and Pro Football Hall of Fame member, was proud that, after a 90-year wait, the Steelers retired an offensive player’s number.

Attending the unveiling were Hall of Fame cornerback Mel Blount, Rocky Bleier, Dwayne Woodruff, John Banaszak, Larry Brown, Randy Grossman and Gerry Mullins.

Bleier, who was Harris’ backfield running mate in the 1970s, provided the opening remarks and introduced Harris’ widow, Dana, and son, Dok.

Harris died Dec. 20, a few days before his uniform was retired at halftime of the Steelers’ game against the Las Vegas Raiders, an event timed to the 50th anniversary of the Immaculate Reception.

“Number 32 was more than just a number,” Bleier said. “It was a memory. Each and every one of his teammates sitting here and each and every one of you sitting out there have a memory of No. 32.”

Bleier talked of Harris’ humility and how he didn’t own a car when he joined the Steelers in 1972.

“He took the bus to practice, or we had to pick him up for take him home,” Bleier said.

Bleier said nobody was happier than Harris’ teammates when the running back from Penn State won the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year award because one of the prizes was a car — “free,” as Bleier noted.

Dana Harris talked of her late husband’s positive approach and how he managed to find the good in any situation.

“The easiest way to tell you about his personality was to let him give you the weather report,” she said. “If it was sunny, he would wake up cheerfully and say it’s good for the flowers. If it was raining … he would say we need the rain. There was no bad weather forecast for Franco. He got up every morning and embraced it with hope and kindness and gentleness.”

Dana Harris asked each of Harris’ teammates to stand and be recognized by the crowd.

“He would tell you he couldn’t do it without you,” she said, “and he meant that sincerely.”