Franco Harris' cause of death

Harris' death was confirmed to the station by his family. No cause of death was provided. The four-time Super Bowl champion and nine-time Pro Bowler was drafted ...

Franco not only impacted the game of football, but he also affected the lives of many, many people in profoundly positive ways. President Biden shared a heartfelt remembrance of why the team, and Franco in particular, "are close to my heart." Former President Barack Obama tweeted, "I grew up watching Franco Harris, and had the honor of getting to know him years later. "It is difficult to find the appropriate words to describe Franco Harris' impact on the Pittsburgh Steelers, his teammates, the City of Pittsburgh, and Steelers Nation," said Steelers president Art Rooney II. "From his rookie season, which included the Immaculate Reception, through the next 50 years, Franco brought joy to people on and off the field. Harris became part of history forever with his "Immaculate Reception" at Three Rivers Stadium in the Divisional Round of the 1972 playoffs.

PITTSBURGH (AP) — The ball fluttered in the air and all but one of the 22 players on the Three Rivers Stadium turf on that cold December day 50 years ago ...

When Bradshaw took what Harris felt was an illegal late hit from Dallas linebacker Thomas “Hollywood” Henderson in the second half of their meeting in the Super Bowl following the 1978 season, Harris basically demanded that Bradshaw give him the ball on the next play. Noll, who leaned on Harris so heavily for so long, famously answered “Franco who?” when asked about Harris’ absence from the team’s camp. He churned for a then-record 158 yards rushing and a touchdown in Pittsburgh’s 16-6 victory over Minnesota in Super Bowl IX on his way to winning the game’s Most Valuable Player award. On a team that featured big personalities in Bradshaw, defensive tackle Joe Greene and linebacker Jack Lambert among others, the intensely quiet Harris spent 12 seasons as the engine that helped Pittsburgh’s offense go. He piled up an additional 1,556 yards rushing and 16 rushing touchdowns in the playoffs, both second all-time behind Emmitt Smith. Oakland linebacker Phil Villapiano, who was covering Harris on the play, even attended a 40th-anniversary celebration of the play in 2012, when a small monument commemorating the exact location of Harris’ catch was unveiled. He scored at least once in three of the four Super Bowls he played in, and his 354 career yards rushing on the NFL’s biggest stage remains a record nearly four decades after his retirement. “It is difficult to find the appropriate words to describe Franco Harris’ impact on the Pittsburgh Steelers, his teammates, the City of Pittsburgh and Steelers Nation,” team President Art Rooney II said in a statement. With Pittsburgh trailing 7-6 and facing fourth-and-10 from its own 40-yard line and 22 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter, Bradshaw drifted back and threw deep to running back Frenchy Fuqua. “From his rookie season, which included the Immaculate Reception, through the next 50 years, Franco brought joy to people on and off the field. It wasn’t uncommon for Harris to stop by the Steelers’ practice facility to chat with players who weren’t even born before his fateful play. Harris had been busy in the run-up to the celebration, doing media interviews Monday to talk about a moment to which he is forever linked.

A deflected pass and Mr. Harris's shoestring catch became one of the most storied, and debated, moments in NFL history.

Mr. The other portrays Mr. “The father of our country and a guy who caught a football off somebody’s helmet.” In that game, Mr. Harris, reaching down to make the “Immaculate Reception.” He sold his interest in the company in 1998. To some fans, Mr. When he finally got in the game, he rushed for 104 yards as Penn State crushed Texas, 30-6. When his own scholarship offers poured in, Mr. 24 in Pittsburgh to mark the 50th anniversary of the catch and to retire Mr. [died](https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/07/27/AR2010072705956.html?itid=lk_inline_manual_30) in 2010, always said he never touched the ball. They were caught flat-footed as Mr.