How Maggie Hardy caught Immaculate Reception ball for Dad

It was another fairy tale ending for the Immaculate Reception ball.

The same ball that Franco Harris miraculously caught 50 years ago to give the Steelers their first playoff victory in franchise history inspired another happy, though bittersweet, outcome.

For the past half-century, the ball had been in the possession of Jim Baker of West Mifflin, who attended that classic Steelers-­Oakland Raiders playoff game at Three Rivers Stadium.

He fought to get it after Franco’s renowned touchdown and the ensuing extra point by Roy Gerela caromed off the stadium facade behind the goal posts and landed in the end zone. Baker emerged from an ensuing scrum with the ball. And with the help of his 14-year-old nephew, Bobby Pavuchak, Baker ran out of the stadium with it.

That same historic day — Dec. 23, 1972 — 7-year-old Maggie Hardy was sitting with her father, Joe Hardy III, the founder and CEO of 84 Lumber Co. and Nemacolin Woodlands Resort, listening to the game on the radio.

“My dad never stopped. He rarely took any time for himself, but he always made time to watch the Steelers,” Hardy told the Tribune-Review. “I can still hear my dad saying that this was history in the making. He always thought that play was when the Steelers became a true dynasty.”

The memory of that moment stayed with Maggie for the next 50 years. It inspired her to come up with a great gift idea for her dad’s 100th birthday on Jan. 7.

What if she were able to get the Immaculate Reception ball and present it to her father? She knew just how much it would mean to him. But how could she do it?

Jim Baker had not only kept that ball for five decades, but he had become its caretaker. He swore he would never sell it, especially to someone who might make a deal with an out-of-towner merely to turn a profit.

Baker believed the Pittsburgh area was the ball’s rightful home. And here is where it would stay. Anything else would be sacrilege.

But after watching an interview with Baker, Maggie Hardy figured he might be willing to part with the ball as long as it ended up in the hands of someone he trusted.

“I was trying to find a one-of-a-kind gift for a one-of-a kind man,” she said. “Through an old acquaintance, we heard that it might be for sale. Once we made that connection and got the ball rolling, so to speak, we knew this would be the ultimate gift for my dad.”

Hardy said she knew the ball would mean a lot to her father because of the respect he had for the Steelers organization.

“The Steelers organization was always one that my dad respected,” she said. “They are incredibly family oriented, which is a strong parallel to our culture at 84 Lumber. When we met the owner of the football, Jim Baker, everything started falling into place. In conversation, you could just tell how much this ball meant to his family. Jim told us about the day of the Immaculate Reception, and how the ball itself and Franco truly shaped his life today.

“Franco Harris was such an inspiration to so many. We had previously had a relationship with him, and I knew that my family would be able to help carry on his legacy.”

Frank Cicero, 84 Lumber Co. chief operating officer, said Baker warmed up to the idea of selling the Immaculate Reception ball once he realized it would stay in Western Pennsylvania. All involved agreed not to disclose details of the transaction.

Baker declined a request for comment from the Tribune-Review.

“I think what Maggie discovered very early with Jim was this was not an asset. This was almost like a family member,” Cicero said. “I think what made him kind of believe in Maggie was that it wasn’t an asset, it was something that would be in another family that could go on for a longer period of time than his 50 years. And that Maggie is kind of the head of the family. I think that turned it into a heartfelt thing.”

To make things even more heartwarming, a plan was created to have Franco Harris at Joe Hardy’s 100th birthday party to hand-deliver the ball to him.

“We also had organized for a group of 1970s Steelers to join in on the celebration,” Maggie Hardy said. “Troy Polamalu has been a friend of my dad’s for years, so he was invited to the party as well.”

But Harris passed away in his sleep on Tuesday, Dec. 20 at 72.

“When we lost Franco, Troy didn’t hesitate to step up in his honor,” Hardy said.

But Polamalu never got to hand the ball to Joe Hardy, who died Jan. 7 — 100 years to the day of his birth.

The party went on anyway.

“Unfortunately, my dad couldn’t be there for the transfer of the ball. But from the new generation of the Steelers like Troy, to hand it to me, allowing us to keep this family item going through my family, is such a gift in itself,” Hardy said.

She had no problem imagining how her father would have reacted.

“I definitely think he would have been blown away,” Hardy said. “He might have even cried, to be honest with you. I really believe in my heart and soul that he would be so proud to be a part of Steelers legacy.”

Hardy said plans call for the Immaculate Reception ball to be kept at Nemacolin Woodlands Resort.

“We always knew my dad’s final resting place would be at Reflections on Nemacolin property,” Hardy said. “As soon as we knew the ball was going to be ours, we started working on plans for a display in Reflections. Our goal always was to keep it at the resort along with my dad’s collection of life treasures and stories.”