ROONEY &
FUQUA
To this day, the effusive Fuqua, now a product manager for the
Detroit News, says that he knows what "really" happened on the amazing play.
But, says Frenchy, he has told only one other
person - the late Art Rooney. And to this day, Fuqua remembers what Rooney told
him: "Frenchy, let it stay immaculate."
THE
RULE
The wording from the 1972 NFL rule book that allowed Franco Harris'
"Immaculate Reception" touchdown to stand: "If a defensive player touches pass
first, or simultaneously with or subsequent to its having been touched by only
one eligible offensive player, then all offensive players become and remain
eligible."
WHO COINED THE
PHRASE "IMMACULATE RECEPTION?"
Who used the term "Immaculate Reception"
first? Michael Ord. Never heard of him? Myron Cope, the longtime Pittsburgh
Steelers announcer hadn't either until his phone rang at the WTAE-TV studios the
night of the game. It was moments before Cope was to go on the air with his
report of the Steelers' improbable triumph. A woman by the name of Sharon
Levosky said that her friend Michael had a suggestion for a name for Franco
Harris' catch - the "Immaculate Reception." Cope loved it, used it on the air,
and the rest is history.
POSTGAME
QUOTES
Raiders head coach John
Madden: "We got fogged in at the start of the trip and nothing went right from
then on. You play 21 ball games for this moment -- fourth down. Then the ball
bounces off one man's chest into another man's arms and it's over. No tomorrow."
Steelers head coach Chuck
Noll: "Franco made that play because he never quit on the play. He kept running,
he kept hustling. Good things happen to those who hustle."
Raiders tackle Gene Upshaw:
"It's a helluva way to lose. He just threw the ball up for grabs, a desperation
pass, and it bounced into a guy's hands. One fluke play. I guess that's
football, but I can't accept it."
Steelers center Ray
Mansfield: "I went from the depths of despair to the apex of
ecstasy."
Steelers defensive end L.C.
Greenwood: "I didn't see the play. I was talking to the man upstairs. I didn't
want to interrupt what I was doing. Next thing I know, the guys are jumping
around and there goes Franco and I'm saying, 'Lord, I hope he has the ball.'"
Steelers quarterback Terry
Bradshaw: "I've played football since the second grade and nothing like that
ever happened. It'll never happen again."
Raiders tight end RAYMOND
CHESTER: "I don't want to talk."
IMMACULATE
RECEPTION TRIVIA
FRANCO's ITALIAN ARMY: Many
of the Steelers had their own fan clubs ("Frenchy's Foreign Legion," "Bradshaw's
Brigade," "Gerela's Gorillas," "Ham's Hussars"), but none had a bigger following
than Franco Harris and his "Franco's Italian Army" (Harris is part
African-American, part Italian).
On the day of the
game, the real Army showed up outside Three Rivers Stadium, with two jeeps and a
two-and-a-half-ton truck with a 105-mm howitzer attached. The reason? SGT. Harry
Billings thought it would be a perfect day for a recruiting drive. Especially
since three members of his 107th Field Artillery unit were playing for the
hometown team - center Jim Clack, defensive end L.C. Greenwood and tackle John
Kolb.
FROM FRANK TO FRANCO:
Forty-five minutes after the game, a telegram arrived in the Steelers locker
room. It said, "The following is an order: Attack, attack, attack, attack." It
was signed, "Colonel Francis Sinatra (of Franco Harris' Italian Army)."
AN NFL RECORD?: It was
almost as if a fifth quarter was added to the game. What might be the longest
time period in NFL history between the scoring of a touchdown and the kicking of
an extra point took place after Harris' score. It took a full 15 minutes to
clear the field of fans so Roy Gerela could kick the PAT. "I don't remember how
long it took them to clear the field," said Steelers linebacker Andy Russell,
"but for all I cared, they could have taken a week."
PLAY-BY-PLAY OF
STEELERS' FINAL DRIVE
| DOWN |
BALL
ON |
PLAY |
| First-and-10 |
Steelers
20 |
Bradshaw
passes to Harris for 9 yards. |
| Second-and-1 |
Steelers
29 |
(0:53 left)
Bradshaw passes to Fuqua for 11 yards. |
| First-and-10 |
Steelers
40 |
(0:37)
Bradshaw's pass for McMakin broken up by Tatum. |
| Second-and-10 |
Steelers
40 |
(0:31)
Bradshaw's pass for Shanklin incomplete. |
| Third-and-10 |
Steelers
40 |
(0:26)
Bradshaw's pass for McMakin broken up by Tatum. |
| Fourth-and-10 |
Steelers
40 |
(0:22)
Bradshaw's pass for Fuqua broken up by defender. Ball bounces off Tatum
into hands of Harris who runs into end zone for a 60-yard touchdown at
14:55. Gerela kick. |