Franco Harris is a former
American footballAmerican football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
player. He played his NFL career with the
Pittsburgh SteelersThe Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional football team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The team currently belongs to the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Founded in , the Steelers are the oldest franchise in the AFC...
and
Seattle SeahawksThe Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle, Washington. They are currently members of the Western Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team joined the NFL in 1976 as an expansion team...
.
In the
1972 NFL DraftThe 1972 National Football League Draft was held on February 1–2, 1972.-Player selections:-Round one:-Round two:-Round three:-Round four:-Round five:-Round six:-Round seven:-Round eight:-Round nine:-Round ten:...
he was chosen by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the first round, the 13th selection overall. His selection by the team was considered controversial at the time, as many thought the team would select his Penn State teammate,
Lydell MitchellLydell Douglas Mitchell , is a former professional American football player. He played running back in the National Football League for the Baltimore Colts, San Diego Chargers and Los Angeles Rams spanning 1972-1980....
. (Mitchell was later selected by the
Baltimore ColtsThe Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. They are currently members of the South Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League ....
in the draft.) He played his first 12 years in the
NFLThe National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
with the Steelers; his 13th and final year (1984) was spent with the Seattle Seahawks. He was inducted into the
Pro Football Hall of FameThe Pro Football Hall of Fame is the hall of fame of professional football in the United States with an emphasis on the National Football League . It opened in Canton, Ohio, on September 7, 1963, with 17 charter inductees...
in 1990. He was inducted into the
New Jersey Hall of FameThe New Jersey Hall of Fame is an organization that honors individuals from the U.S. state of New Jersey who have made contributions to society and the world beyond....
in 2011.
Early life
Harris was born in
Fort DixJB MDL Dix , better known as Fort Dix, is a United States Army base located approximately south-southeast of Trenton, New Jersey. Dix is under the jurisdiction of the United States Army Reserve Command...
,
New JerseyNew Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
. His African-American father served in
World War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
; his mother was a "war bride" from
ItalyItaly , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
. Harris graduated from
Rancocas Valley Regional High SchoolRancocas Valley Regional High School is a regional public high school and school district serving students in grades 9 through 12 from five communities in Burlington County, New Jersey. The district encompasses approximately and comprises the communities of Eastampton Township, Hainesport...
in
Mount Holly Township, New JerseyMount Holly Township is a township in Burlington County, New Jersey, United States as well as an eastern suburb of Philadelphia. As of the 2000 United States Census, the township population was 10,728. It is the county seat of Burlington County....
and then attended
Penn State UniversityThe Pennsylvania State University, commonly referred to as Penn State or PSU, is a public research university with campuses and facilities throughout the state of Pennsylvania, United States. Founded in 1855, the university has a threefold mission of teaching, research, and public service...
. While playing for Penn State's
Nittany LionsThe Penn State Nittany Lions football team represents the Pennsylvania State University in the National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I Football Bowl Subdivision as a member of the Big Ten Conference. It is one of the most tradition-rich and storied college football programs in the...
, Harris served primarily as a blocker for the
All-AmericaAn All-America team is an honorary sports team composed of outstanding amateur players—those considered the best players of a specific season for each team position—who in turn are given the honorific "All-America" and typically referred to as "All-American athletes", or simply...
n
running backA running back is a gridiron football position, who is typically lined up in the offensive backfield. The primary roles of a running back are to receive handoffs from the quarterback for a rushing play, to catch passes from out of the backfield, and to block.There are usually one or two running...
Lydell MitchellLydell Douglas Mitchell , is a former professional American football player. He played running back in the National Football League for the Baltimore Colts, San Diego Chargers and Los Angeles Rams spanning 1972-1980....
, though he amassed over 2000 yards rushing (17th in PSU history) with 24 touchdowns. He led the team in scoring in 1970.
Professional career
In his first season with the Steelers (1972), Harris was named the league's Rookie of the Year by both
The Sporting NewsSporting News is an American-based sports magazine. It was established in 1886, and it became the dominant American publication covering baseball — so much so that it acquired the nickname "The Bible of Baseball"...
and
United Press InternationalUnited Press International is a once-major international news agency, whose newswires, photo, news film and audio services provided news material to thousands of newspapers, magazines and radio and television stations for most of the twentieth century...
. In that season he gained 1,055 yards on 188 carries, with a 5.6 yards per carry average. He also rushed for 10 touchdowns and caught 3 touchdown passes. He was popular with
Pittsburgh'sPittsburgh is the second-largest city in the US Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Allegheny County. Regionally, it anchors the largest urban area of Appalachia and the Ohio River Valley, and nationally, it is the 22nd-largest urban area in the United States...
large Italian-American population: his fans dubbing themselves "Franco's Italian Army" and wore army helmets with his number on them.
In his 13 professional seasons, Harris gained 12,120 yards on 2,949 carries, a 4.1 yards per carry average, and scored 91 rushing touchdowns. He caught 307 passes for 2,287 yards, a 7.4 yards per reception average, and 9 receiving touchdowns. Harris's 12,120 career rushing yards rank him
12th all time in the NFL, while his 91 career rushing touchdowns rank him 10th all time tied with
Jerome BettisJerome Abram "The Bus" Bettis is a retired American football halfback who played for the NFL's Los Angeles/St. Louis Rams and Pittsburgh Steelers. Bettis is considered one of the best big backs ever because his footwork and power, and is currently fifth on the National Football League's all-time...
.
Harris was chosen for 9 consecutive
Pro BowlIn professional American football, the Pro Bowl is the all-star game of the National Football League . Since the merger with the rival American Football League in 1970, it has been officially called the AFC–NFC Pro Bowl, matching the top players in the American Football Conference against those...
s (from 1972 through 1980), and was All-Pro in 1977. Harris rushed for more than 1,000 yards in 8 seasons, breaking a record set by
Jim BrownJames Nathaniel "Jim" Brown is an American former professional football player who has also made his mark as an actor. He is best known for his exceptional and record-setting nine-year career as a running back for the NFL Cleveland Browns from 1957 to 1965. In 2002, he was named by Sporting News...
. The tandem running package of Harris and
Rocky Bleier combined with a strong defense to win four
Super BowlThe Super Bowl is the championship game of the National Football League , the highest level of professional American football in the United States, culminating a season that begins in the late summer of the previous calendar year. The Super Bowl uses Roman numerals to identify each game, rather...
s in the 1974, 1975, 1978, and 1979 seasons. In 1975 he was the
Most Valuable PlayerIn sports, a Most Valuable Player award is an honor typically bestowed upon the best performing player or players on a specific team, in an entire league, or for a particular contest or series of contests...
of
Super Bowl IXSuper Bowl IX was an American football game played on January 12, 1975 at Tulane Stadium in New Orleans, Louisiana to decide the National Football League champion following the 1974 regular season. It would be the last pro game at legendary Tulane Stadium...
; in that game he rushed for 158 yards and a touchdown on 34 carries for a 16-6 win over the
Minnesota VikingsThe Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Vikings joined the National Football League as an expansion team in 1960...
. Harris was the first
African AmericanAfrican Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
as well as the first Italian-American to be named
Super Bowl MVPThe Super Bowl Most Valuable Player Award, or Super Bowl MVP, is an award presented annually to the most valuable player of the Super Bowl, the National Football League's championship game. The winner is chosen by a fan vote during the game and by a panel of 16 American football writers and...
. Harris was a major contributor for the Steelers in all of their first four Super Bowl wins. His Super Bowl career totals of 101 carries for 354 yards are records and his 4 career rushing touchdowns are tied for the second most in Super Bowl history.
Critics, including Jim Brown, have complained about Harris' tendency to run out of bounds instead of taking on tacklers for extra yards. Harris responds that he extended his career and thus his contribution to the team's objectives (including four Super Bowl victories to Brown's single pre-Super Bowl
NFL Championship) by avoiding unnecessary contact. Critics have highlighted Harris' running back record of 90 total career fumbles – often leaving out the fact that his career spanned many seasons and he had 3,256 touches, giving him a fumble percentage of only 2.7%, which is not considered high by NFL standards.
Following the
1983 season- Schedule :- Week 1 : vs. Denver Broncos :at Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania* Game time: 1:00 pm EDT* Game weather:* Game attendance: 58,233* Referee: Jerry Seeman...
, Harris and
Walter PaytonWalter Jerry Payton was an American football running back who played for the Chicago Bears of the National Football League for thirteen seasons. Walter Payton was known around the NFL as "Sweetness". He is remembered as one of the most prolific running backs in the history of American football...
were both closing in on Jim Brown's NFL rushing record, and Harris had asked the
Rooney familyThe Rooney family has been the majority owners and operators of the Pittsburgh Steelers football team in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania since the formation of the franchise in 1933. Art Rooney was the founder and owner of the team until his death in 1988; ownership of the team was then transferred to...
for a pay raise. The Rooney family refused, believing that Harris was on the downside of his career, and Harris threatened to hold out. The Steelers released Harris in training camp in 1984, which would start similar patterns years later with
Rod WoodsonRoderick Kevin "Rod" Woodson is the current cornerbacks coach for the Oakland Raiders of the National Football League. He is also a former defensive back best known for his 10-year stint with the Pittsburgh Steelers as well as being a key member of the Baltimore Ravens Super Bowl XXXV championship...
and
Alan FanecaAlan Joseph Faneca, Jr. is a former American football guard in the National Football League. He was drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers 26th overall in the 1998 NFL Draft and played college football for Louisiana State....
both asking similar demands before leaving in
free agencyIn professional sports, a free agent is a player whose contract with a team has expired and who is thus eligible to sign with another club or franchise....
. (Free agency, as it is seen today in the NFL, was not in existence at the time of Harris's release.) Harris would sign with the
Seattle SeahawksThe Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle, Washington. They are currently members of the Western Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team joined the NFL in 1976 as an expansion team...
during the
1984 seasonThe 1984 NFL season was the 65th regular season of the National Football League. The Colts relocated from Baltimore, Maryland to Indianapolis, Indiana....
and would play eight games with the team, earning only 170 yards before retiring (192 yards short of Jim Brown's record). Harris and the Rooneys reconciled after Harris retired; in 2006, during pre-game ceremonies for
Super Bowl XLSuper Bowl XL was an American football game pitting the American Football Conference champion Pittsburgh Steelers against the National Football Conference champion Seattle Seahawks to decide the National Football League champion for the 2005 season...
(the Steelers' second SB appearance - and first championship - since his retirement) honoring the MVPs of the previous 39 games, Harris waved a
Terrible TowelThe Terrible Towel is a rally towel associated with the Pittsburgh Steelers, an American football team in the National Football League . Created in 1975 by then Steelers radio broadcaster Myron Cope, The Terrible Towel has spread in popularity; fans take their Towel to famous sites while on vacation...
while being introduced, much to the delight of the overwhelmingly pro-Steeler crowd. While the Steelers no longer officially retire uniform numbers, they have not reissued his number 32 since he left the team, and it is generally understood that no Steelers player will ever wear that number again.
Harris was a key player in one of professional football's most famous plays, dubbed "
The Immaculate ReceptionThe Immaculate Reception is the nickname given to one of the most famous plays in the history of American football. It occurred in the AFC divisional playoff game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Oakland Raiders at Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on December 23, 1972...
" by Pittsburgh sportscaster
Myron CopeMyron Cope , born Myron Sidney Kopelman, was an American sports journalist, radio personality, and sportscaster who is best known for being "the voice of the Pittsburgh Steelers."...
. In a 1972 playoff game, the
Oakland RaidersThe Oakland Raiders are a professional American football team based in Oakland, California. They currently play in the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
were leading the Steelers 7-6 with 22 seconds to play when a
Terry BradshawTerry Paxton Bradshaw is a former American football quarterback with the Pittsburgh Steelers in the National Football League . He played 14 seasons. He is a football analyst and co-host of Fox NFL Sunday...
pass was deflected away from intended receiver John "Frenchy" Fuqua right as defender
Jack TatumJohn David Tatum was an American football defensive back who played ten seasons from 1971 through 1980 for the Oakland Raiders and Houston Oilers in the National Football League...
arrived to tackle Fuqua. Harris snatched the ball just before it hit the ground and ran it in to win the game. The Raiders challenged the touchdown, claiming that Fuqua had handled the ball before Harris, which would invalidate the score because at that time it was against the rules for two offensive receivers to touch the ball. The Steelers maintained that the ball had touched Tatum instead. According to a recounting by the Pro Football Hall of Fame, the film of the play is inconclusive. Raiders linebacker
Phil VillapianoPhilip James Villapiano is a former American football linebacker in the NFL. He played in four Pro Bowls and was a part of the Oakland Raiders Super Bowl XI winning team....
attempted to criticise Harris' achievement by stating that he was only in position to catch the ball because he was lazy, but replays show that Harris headed downfield when the Raiders forced Bradshaw out of the pocket, and can be clearly seen running before catching the deflected ball.
In 1999, he was ranked number 83 on
The Sporting NewsSporting News is an American-based sports magazine. It was established in 1886, and it became the dominant American publication covering baseball — so much so that it acquired the nickname "The Bible of Baseball"...
list of the 100 Greatest Football Players.
In 2006, The
Heinz History CenterThe Senator John Heinz History Center, an affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution, is the largest history museum in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Named after the late U.S. Senator H...
, home of the Western Pennsylvania Sports Museum, installed a life-size figure of Harris in the grand concourse of
Pittsburgh International AirportPittsburgh International Airport , formerly Greater Pittsburgh Airport, Greater Pittsburgh International Airport and commonly referred to as Pittsburgh International, is a joint civil–military international airport located in the Pittsburgh suburb of Findlay Township, approximately west of...
. The statue is a recreation of Harris' "
Immaculate ReceptionThe Immaculate Reception is the nickname given to one of the most famous plays in the history of American football. It occurred in the AFC divisional playoff game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Oakland Raiders at Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on December 23, 1972...
."
Post-football
Harris and
Lydell MitchellLydell Douglas Mitchell , is a former professional American football player. He played running back in the National Football League for the Baltimore Colts, San Diego Chargers and Los Angeles Rams spanning 1972-1980....
, successful college teammates at Penn State, now own Super Bakery, a company founded in 1990 to produce
nutritionNutrition is the provision, to cells and organisms, of the materials necessary to support life. Many common health problems can be prevented or alleviated with a healthy diet....
-oriented foods for schoolchildren. The business was renamed to RSuper Foods in 2006. RSuper foods produces the famous Super Donut that has been widely served to students at public schools in the eastern United States.
Harris and Mitchell also partnered in 1996 to rescue the Parks Sausage Company in Baltimore, known for being the first
publicly heldThis is not the same as a Government-owned corporation.A public company or publicly traded company is a limited liability company that offers its securities for sale to the general public, typically through a stock exchange, or through market makers operating in over the counter markets...
black-owned business in the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
Harris is also a paid representative for the
Harrah'sCaesars Entertainment Corporation is a private gaming corporation that owns and operates over 50 casinos, hotels, and seven golf courses under several brands. The company, based in Paradise, Nevada, is the largest gaming company in the world, with yearly revenues $8.9 billion...
/
Forest City EnterprisesForest City Enterprises is a $9-billion diversified real estate management and development company based in Cleveland, Ohio, United States. Its portfolio includes interests in retail centers, apartment communities, office buildings and mixed-use projects in the U.S...
casinoIn modern English, a casino is a facility which houses and accommodates certain types of gambling activities. Casinos are most commonly built near or combined with hotels, restaurants, retail shopping, cruise ships or other tourist attractions...
plan for downtown Pittsburgh. This association has earned him the
tongue-in-cheekTongue-in-cheek is a phrase used as a figure of speech to imply that a statement or other production is humorously intended and it should not be taken at face value. The facial expression typically indicates that one is joking or making a mental effort. In the past, it may also have indicated...
nickname, "Franco Harrahs".
On July 9, 2006, Harris made an appearance in the 2006
Taco BellTaco Bell is an American chain of fast-food restaurants based in Irvine, California. A subsidiary of Yum! Brands, Inc., which serves American-adapted Mexican food. Taco Bell serves tacos, burritos, quesadillas, nachos, other specialty items, and a variety of "Value Menu" items...
"All-Star Legends and Celebrity Softball Game" at
PNC ParkPNC Park is a baseball park located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It is the fifth home of the Pittsburgh Pirates, the city's Major League Baseball franchise. It opened during the 2001 Major League Baseball season, after the controlled implosion of the Pirates' previous home, Three Rivers Stadium...
in Pittsburgh.
In August 2008, Harris attended the
2008 Democratic National ConventionThe United States 2008 Democratic National Convention was a quadrennial presidential nominating convention of the Democratic Party where it adopted its national platform and officially nominated its candidates for President and Vice President of the United States. The convention was held in Denver,...
, in Denver,
ColoradoColorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
, as part of the
PennsylvaniaThe Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
delegationDelegation is the assignment of authority and responsibility to another person to carry out specific activities. However the person who delegated the work remains accountable for the outcome of the delegated work. Delegation empowers a subordinate to make decisions, i.e...
. Harris voted for Obama on December 15, 2008, as one of Pennsylvania's 21 Democratic presidential electors.
In
John GrishamJohn Ray Grisham, Jr. is an American lawyer and author, best known for his popular legal thrillers.John Grisham graduated from Mississippi State University before attending the University of Mississippi School of Law in 1981 and practiced criminal law for about a decade...
's 2008 novel
Playing For PizzaPlaying for Pizza is a short novel by John Grisham, released on September 25, 2007. The novel is about an itinerant American football player who can no longer get work in the National Football League and whose agent, as a last resort, signs a deal for him to play for the Parma Panthers, in Parma,...
, the fullback of the Parma Panthers is nicknamed Franco as a tribute to his hero, Franco Harris, who he refers to as the "greatest Italian football player". This is a reference to Franco's mixed racial heritage.
Personal
Harris' brother Pete Harris, a collegiate
All-AmericaAn All-America team is an honorary sports team composed of outstanding amateur players—those considered the best players of a specific season for each team position—who in turn are given the honorific "All-America" and typically referred to as "All-American athletes", or simply...
n
footballAmerican football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
player, died on August 15, 2006, of a heart attack at the age of 49.
On July 27, 2009 Harris' son, Franco "Dok" Harris, officially announced his candidacy for Mayor of the City of Pittsburgh. He placed second in the general election on November 3 of that year, capturing over 25% of the vote.
Franco has served as part of the advisory board at Penn State's Center for Food Innovation, and was recently named a Conti Professor by Penn State's School of Hospitality Management.
External links
Franco Harris (born March 7, 1950) is a former
American footballAmerican football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
player. He played his NFL career with the
Pittsburgh SteelersThe Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional football team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The team currently belongs to the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Founded in , the Steelers are the oldest franchise in the AFC...
and
Seattle SeahawksThe Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle, Washington. They are currently members of the Western Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team joined the NFL in 1976 as an expansion team...
.
In the
1972 NFL DraftThe 1972 National Football League Draft was held on February 1–2, 1972.-Player selections:-Round one:-Round two:-Round three:-Round four:-Round five:-Round six:-Round seven:-Round eight:-Round nine:-Round ten:...
he was chosen by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the first round, the 13th selection overall. His selection by the team was considered controversial at the time, as many thought the team would select his Penn State teammate,
Lydell MitchellLydell Douglas Mitchell , is a former professional American football player. He played running back in the National Football League for the Baltimore Colts, San Diego Chargers and Los Angeles Rams spanning 1972-1980....
. (Mitchell was later selected by the
Baltimore ColtsThe Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. They are currently members of the South Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League ....
in the draft.) He played his first 12 years in the
NFLThe National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
with the Steelers; his 13th and final year (1984) was spent with the Seattle Seahawks. He was inducted into the
Pro Football Hall of FameThe Pro Football Hall of Fame is the hall of fame of professional football in the United States with an emphasis on the National Football League . It opened in Canton, Ohio, on September 7, 1963, with 17 charter inductees...
in 1990. He was inducted into the
New Jersey Hall of FameThe New Jersey Hall of Fame is an organization that honors individuals from the U.S. state of New Jersey who have made contributions to society and the world beyond....
in 2011.
Early life
Harris was born in
Fort DixJB MDL Dix , better known as Fort Dix, is a United States Army base located approximately south-southeast of Trenton, New Jersey. Dix is under the jurisdiction of the United States Army Reserve Command...
,
New JerseyNew Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
. His African-American father served in
World War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
; his mother was a "war bride" from
ItalyItaly , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
. Harris graduated from
Rancocas Valley Regional High SchoolRancocas Valley Regional High School is a regional public high school and school district serving students in grades 9 through 12 from five communities in Burlington County, New Jersey. The district encompasses approximately and comprises the communities of Eastampton Township, Hainesport...
in
Mount Holly Township, New JerseyMount Holly Township is a township in Burlington County, New Jersey, United States as well as an eastern suburb of Philadelphia. As of the 2000 United States Census, the township population was 10,728. It is the county seat of Burlington County....
and then attended
Penn State UniversityThe Pennsylvania State University, commonly referred to as Penn State or PSU, is a public research university with campuses and facilities throughout the state of Pennsylvania, United States. Founded in 1855, the university has a threefold mission of teaching, research, and public service...
. While playing for Penn State's
Nittany LionsThe Penn State Nittany Lions football team represents the Pennsylvania State University in the National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I Football Bowl Subdivision as a member of the Big Ten Conference. It is one of the most tradition-rich and storied college football programs in the...
, Harris served primarily as a blocker for the
All-AmericaAn All-America team is an honorary sports team composed of outstanding amateur players—those considered the best players of a specific season for each team position—who in turn are given the honorific "All-America" and typically referred to as "All-American athletes", or simply...
n
running backA running back is a gridiron football position, who is typically lined up in the offensive backfield. The primary roles of a running back are to receive handoffs from the quarterback for a rushing play, to catch passes from out of the backfield, and to block.There are usually one or two running...
Lydell MitchellLydell Douglas Mitchell , is a former professional American football player. He played running back in the National Football League for the Baltimore Colts, San Diego Chargers and Los Angeles Rams spanning 1972-1980....
, though he amassed over 2000 yards rushing (17th in PSU history) with 24 touchdowns. He led the team in scoring in 1970.
Professional career
In his first season with the Steelers (1972), Harris was named the league's Rookie of the Year by both
The Sporting NewsSporting News is an American-based sports magazine. It was established in 1886, and it became the dominant American publication covering baseball — so much so that it acquired the nickname "The Bible of Baseball"...
and
United Press InternationalUnited Press International is a once-major international news agency, whose newswires, photo, news film and audio services provided news material to thousands of newspapers, magazines and radio and television stations for most of the twentieth century...
. In that season he gained 1,055 yards on 188 carries, with a 5.6 yards per carry average. He also rushed for 10 touchdowns and caught 3 touchdown passes. He was popular with
Pittsburgh'sPittsburgh is the second-largest city in the US Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Allegheny County. Regionally, it anchors the largest urban area of Appalachia and the Ohio River Valley, and nationally, it is the 22nd-largest urban area in the United States...
large Italian-American population: his fans dubbing themselves "Franco's Italian Army" and wore army helmets with his number on them.
In his 13 professional seasons, Harris gained 12,120 yards on 2,949 carries, a 4.1 yards per carry average, and scored 91 rushing touchdowns. He caught 307 passes for 2,287 yards, a 7.4 yards per reception average, and 9 receiving touchdowns. Harris's 12,120 career rushing yards rank him
12th all time in the NFL, while his 91 career rushing touchdowns rank him 10th all time tied with
Jerome BettisJerome Abram "The Bus" Bettis is a retired American football halfback who played for the NFL's Los Angeles/St. Louis Rams and Pittsburgh Steelers. Bettis is considered one of the best big backs ever because his footwork and power, and is currently fifth on the National Football League's all-time...
.
Harris was chosen for 9 consecutive
Pro BowlIn professional American football, the Pro Bowl is the all-star game of the National Football League . Since the merger with the rival American Football League in 1970, it has been officially called the AFC–NFC Pro Bowl, matching the top players in the American Football Conference against those...
s (from 1972 through 1980), and was All-Pro in 1977. Harris rushed for more than 1,000 yards in 8 seasons, breaking a record set by
Jim BrownJames Nathaniel "Jim" Brown is an American former professional football player who has also made his mark as an actor. He is best known for his exceptional and record-setting nine-year career as a running back for the NFL Cleveland Browns from 1957 to 1965. In 2002, he was named by Sporting News...
. The tandem running package of Harris and
Rocky Bleier combined with a strong defense to win four
Super BowlThe Super Bowl is the championship game of the National Football League , the highest level of professional American football in the United States, culminating a season that begins in the late summer of the previous calendar year. The Super Bowl uses Roman numerals to identify each game, rather...
s in the 1974, 1975, 1978, and 1979 seasons. In 1975 he was the
Most Valuable PlayerIn sports, a Most Valuable Player award is an honor typically bestowed upon the best performing player or players on a specific team, in an entire league, or for a particular contest or series of contests...
of
Super Bowl IXSuper Bowl IX was an American football game played on January 12, 1975 at Tulane Stadium in New Orleans, Louisiana to decide the National Football League champion following the 1974 regular season. It would be the last pro game at legendary Tulane Stadium...
; in that game he rushed for 158 yards and a touchdown on 34 carries for a 16-6 win over the
Minnesota VikingsThe Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Vikings joined the National Football League as an expansion team in 1960...
. Harris was the first
African AmericanAfrican Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
as well as the first Italian-American to be named
Super Bowl MVPThe Super Bowl Most Valuable Player Award, or Super Bowl MVP, is an award presented annually to the most valuable player of the Super Bowl, the National Football League's championship game. The winner is chosen by a fan vote during the game and by a panel of 16 American football writers and...
. Harris was a major contributor for the Steelers in all of their first four Super Bowl wins. His Super Bowl career totals of 101 carries for 354 yards are records and his 4 career rushing touchdowns are tied for the second most in Super Bowl history.
Critics, including Jim Brown, have complained about Harris' tendency to run out of bounds instead of taking on tacklers for extra yards. Harris responds that he extended his career and thus his contribution to the team's objectives (including four Super Bowl victories to Brown's single pre-Super Bowl
NFL Championship) by avoiding unnecessary contact. Critics have highlighted Harris' running back record of 90 total career fumbles – often leaving out the fact that his career spanned many seasons and he had 3,256 touches, giving him a fumble percentage of only 2.7%, which is not considered high by NFL standards.
Following the
1983 season- Schedule :- Week 1 : vs. Denver Broncos :at Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania* Game time: 1:00 pm EDT* Game weather:* Game attendance: 58,233* Referee: Jerry Seeman...
, Harris and
Walter PaytonWalter Jerry Payton was an American football running back who played for the Chicago Bears of the National Football League for thirteen seasons. Walter Payton was known around the NFL as "Sweetness". He is remembered as one of the most prolific running backs in the history of American football...
were both closing in on Jim Brown's NFL rushing record, and Harris had asked the
Rooney familyThe Rooney family has been the majority owners and operators of the Pittsburgh Steelers football team in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania since the formation of the franchise in 1933. Art Rooney was the founder and owner of the team until his death in 1988; ownership of the team was then transferred to...
for a pay raise. The Rooney family refused, believing that Harris was on the downside of his career, and Harris threatened to hold out. The Steelers released Harris in training camp in 1984, which would start similar patterns years later with
Rod WoodsonRoderick Kevin "Rod" Woodson is the current cornerbacks coach for the Oakland Raiders of the National Football League. He is also a former defensive back best known for his 10-year stint with the Pittsburgh Steelers as well as being a key member of the Baltimore Ravens Super Bowl XXXV championship...
and
Alan FanecaAlan Joseph Faneca, Jr. is a former American football guard in the National Football League. He was drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers 26th overall in the 1998 NFL Draft and played college football for Louisiana State....
both asking similar demands before leaving in
free agencyIn professional sports, a free agent is a player whose contract with a team has expired and who is thus eligible to sign with another club or franchise....
. (Free agency, as it is seen today in the NFL, was not in existence at the time of Harris's release.) Harris would sign with the
Seattle SeahawksThe Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle, Washington. They are currently members of the Western Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team joined the NFL in 1976 as an expansion team...
during the
1984 seasonThe 1984 NFL season was the 65th regular season of the National Football League. The Colts relocated from Baltimore, Maryland to Indianapolis, Indiana....
and would play eight games with the team, earning only 170 yards before retiring (192 yards short of Jim Brown's record). Harris and the Rooneys reconciled after Harris retired; in 2006, during pre-game ceremonies for
Super Bowl XLSuper Bowl XL was an American football game pitting the American Football Conference champion Pittsburgh Steelers against the National Football Conference champion Seattle Seahawks to decide the National Football League champion for the 2005 season...
(the Steelers' second SB appearance - and first championship - since his retirement) honoring the MVPs of the previous 39 games, Harris waved a
Terrible TowelThe Terrible Towel is a rally towel associated with the Pittsburgh Steelers, an American football team in the National Football League . Created in 1975 by then Steelers radio broadcaster Myron Cope, The Terrible Towel has spread in popularity; fans take their Towel to famous sites while on vacation...
while being introduced, much to the delight of the overwhelmingly pro-Steeler crowd. While the Steelers no longer officially retire uniform numbers, they have not reissued his number 32 since he left the team, and it is generally understood that no Steelers player will ever wear that number again.
Harris was a key player in one of professional football's most famous plays, dubbed "
The Immaculate ReceptionThe Immaculate Reception is the nickname given to one of the most famous plays in the history of American football. It occurred in the AFC divisional playoff game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Oakland Raiders at Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on December 23, 1972...
" by Pittsburgh sportscaster
Myron CopeMyron Cope , born Myron Sidney Kopelman, was an American sports journalist, radio personality, and sportscaster who is best known for being "the voice of the Pittsburgh Steelers."...
. In a 1972 playoff game, the
Oakland RaidersThe Oakland Raiders are a professional American football team based in Oakland, California. They currently play in the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
were leading the Steelers 7-6 with 22 seconds to play when a
Terry BradshawTerry Paxton Bradshaw is a former American football quarterback with the Pittsburgh Steelers in the National Football League . He played 14 seasons. He is a football analyst and co-host of Fox NFL Sunday...
pass was deflected away from intended receiver John "Frenchy" Fuqua right as defender
Jack TatumJohn David Tatum was an American football defensive back who played ten seasons from 1971 through 1980 for the Oakland Raiders and Houston Oilers in the National Football League...
arrived to tackle Fuqua. Harris snatched the ball just before it hit the ground and ran it in to win the game. The Raiders challenged the touchdown, claiming that Fuqua had handled the ball before Harris, which would invalidate the score because at that time it was against the rules for two offensive receivers to touch the ball. The Steelers maintained that the ball had touched Tatum instead. According to a recounting by the Pro Football Hall of Fame, the film of the play is inconclusive. Raiders linebacker
Phil VillapianoPhilip James Villapiano is a former American football linebacker in the NFL. He played in four Pro Bowls and was a part of the Oakland Raiders Super Bowl XI winning team....
attempted to criticise Harris' achievement by stating that he was only in position to catch the ball because he was lazy, but replays show that Harris headed downfield when the Raiders forced Bradshaw out of the pocket, and can be clearly seen running before catching the deflected ball.
In 1999, he was ranked number 83 on
The Sporting NewsSporting News is an American-based sports magazine. It was established in 1886, and it became the dominant American publication covering baseball — so much so that it acquired the nickname "The Bible of Baseball"...
list of the 100 Greatest Football Players.
In 2006, The
Heinz History CenterThe Senator John Heinz History Center, an affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution, is the largest history museum in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Named after the late U.S. Senator H...
, home of the Western Pennsylvania Sports Museum, installed a life-size figure of Harris in the grand concourse of
Pittsburgh International AirportPittsburgh International Airport , formerly Greater Pittsburgh Airport, Greater Pittsburgh International Airport and commonly referred to as Pittsburgh International, is a joint civil–military international airport located in the Pittsburgh suburb of Findlay Township, approximately west of...
. The statue is a recreation of Harris' "
Immaculate ReceptionThe Immaculate Reception is the nickname given to one of the most famous plays in the history of American football. It occurred in the AFC divisional playoff game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Oakland Raiders at Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on December 23, 1972...
."
Post-football
Harris and
Lydell MitchellLydell Douglas Mitchell , is a former professional American football player. He played running back in the National Football League for the Baltimore Colts, San Diego Chargers and Los Angeles Rams spanning 1972-1980....
, successful college teammates at Penn State, now own Super Bakery, a company founded in 1990 to produce
nutritionNutrition is the provision, to cells and organisms, of the materials necessary to support life. Many common health problems can be prevented or alleviated with a healthy diet....
-oriented foods for schoolchildren. The business was renamed to RSuper Foods in 2006. RSuper foods produces the famous{{Citation needed|date=February 2011}} Super Donut that has been widely served to students at public schools in the eastern United States.
Harris and Mitchell also partnered in 1996 to rescue the Parks Sausage Company in Baltimore, known for being the first
publicly heldThis is not the same as a Government-owned corporation.A public company or publicly traded company is a limited liability company that offers its securities for sale to the general public, typically through a stock exchange, or through market makers operating in over the counter markets...
black-owned business in the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
Harris is also a paid representative for the
Harrah'sCaesars Entertainment Corporation is a private gaming corporation that owns and operates over 50 casinos, hotels, and seven golf courses under several brands. The company, based in Paradise, Nevada, is the largest gaming company in the world, with yearly revenues $8.9 billion...
/
Forest City EnterprisesForest City Enterprises is a $9-billion diversified real estate management and development company based in Cleveland, Ohio, United States. Its portfolio includes interests in retail centers, apartment communities, office buildings and mixed-use projects in the U.S...
casinoIn modern English, a casino is a facility which houses and accommodates certain types of gambling activities. Casinos are most commonly built near or combined with hotels, restaurants, retail shopping, cruise ships or other tourist attractions...
plan for downtown Pittsburgh. This association has earned him the
tongue-in-cheekTongue-in-cheek is a phrase used as a figure of speech to imply that a statement or other production is humorously intended and it should not be taken at face value. The facial expression typically indicates that one is joking or making a mental effort. In the past, it may also have indicated...
nickname, "Franco Harrahs".
On July 9, 2006, Harris made an appearance in the 2006
Taco BellTaco Bell is an American chain of fast-food restaurants based in Irvine, California. A subsidiary of Yum! Brands, Inc., which serves American-adapted Mexican food. Taco Bell serves tacos, burritos, quesadillas, nachos, other specialty items, and a variety of "Value Menu" items...
"All-Star Legends and Celebrity Softball Game" at
PNC ParkPNC Park is a baseball park located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It is the fifth home of the Pittsburgh Pirates, the city's Major League Baseball franchise. It opened during the 2001 Major League Baseball season, after the controlled implosion of the Pirates' previous home, Three Rivers Stadium...
in Pittsburgh.
In August 2008, Harris attended the
2008 Democratic National ConventionThe United States 2008 Democratic National Convention was a quadrennial presidential nominating convention of the Democratic Party where it adopted its national platform and officially nominated its candidates for President and Vice President of the United States. The convention was held in Denver,...
, in Denver,
ColoradoColorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
, as part of the
PennsylvaniaThe Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
delegationDelegation is the assignment of authority and responsibility to another person to carry out specific activities. However the person who delegated the work remains accountable for the outcome of the delegated work. Delegation empowers a subordinate to make decisions, i.e...
. Harris voted for Obama on December 15, 2008, as one of Pennsylvania's 21 Democratic presidential electors.
In
John GrishamJohn Ray Grisham, Jr. is an American lawyer and author, best known for his popular legal thrillers.John Grisham graduated from Mississippi State University before attending the University of Mississippi School of Law in 1981 and practiced criminal law for about a decade...
's 2008 novel
Playing For PizzaPlaying for Pizza is a short novel by John Grisham, released on September 25, 2007. The novel is about an itinerant American football player who can no longer get work in the National Football League and whose agent, as a last resort, signs a deal for him to play for the Parma Panthers, in Parma,...
, the fullback of the Parma Panthers is nicknamed Franco as a tribute to his hero, Franco Harris, who he refers to as the "greatest Italian football player". This is a reference to Franco's mixed racial heritage.
Personal
Harris' brother Pete Harris, a collegiate
All-AmericaAn All-America team is an honorary sports team composed of outstanding amateur players—those considered the best players of a specific season for each team position—who in turn are given the honorific "All-America" and typically referred to as "All-American athletes", or simply...
n
footballAmerican football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
player, died on August 15, 2006, of a heart attack at the age of 49.
On July 27, 2009 Harris' son, Franco "Dok" Harris, officially announced his candidacy for Mayor of the City of Pittsburgh. He placed second in the general election on November 3 of that year, capturing over 25% of the vote.
Franco has served as part of the advisory board at Penn State's Center for Food Innovation, and was recently named a Conti Professor by Penn State's School of Hospitality Management.
External links
{{Commons category}}
{{-}}
Franco Harris (born March 7, 1950) is a former
American footballAmerican football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
player. He played his NFL career with the
Pittsburgh SteelersThe Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional football team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The team currently belongs to the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Founded in , the Steelers are the oldest franchise in the AFC...
and
Seattle SeahawksThe Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle, Washington. They are currently members of the Western Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team joined the NFL in 1976 as an expansion team...
.
In the
1972 NFL DraftThe 1972 National Football League Draft was held on February 1–2, 1972.-Player selections:-Round one:-Round two:-Round three:-Round four:-Round five:-Round six:-Round seven:-Round eight:-Round nine:-Round ten:...
he was chosen by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the first round, the 13th selection overall. His selection by the team was considered controversial at the time, as many thought the team would select his Penn State teammate,
Lydell MitchellLydell Douglas Mitchell , is a former professional American football player. He played running back in the National Football League for the Baltimore Colts, San Diego Chargers and Los Angeles Rams spanning 1972-1980....
. (Mitchell was later selected by the
Baltimore ColtsThe Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. They are currently members of the South Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League ....
in the draft.) He played his first 12 years in the
NFLThe National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
with the Steelers; his 13th and final year (1984) was spent with the Seattle Seahawks. He was inducted into the
Pro Football Hall of FameThe Pro Football Hall of Fame is the hall of fame of professional football in the United States with an emphasis on the National Football League . It opened in Canton, Ohio, on September 7, 1963, with 17 charter inductees...
in 1990. He was inducted into the
New Jersey Hall of FameThe New Jersey Hall of Fame is an organization that honors individuals from the U.S. state of New Jersey who have made contributions to society and the world beyond....
in 2011.
Early life
Harris was born in
Fort DixJB MDL Dix , better known as Fort Dix, is a United States Army base located approximately south-southeast of Trenton, New Jersey. Dix is under the jurisdiction of the United States Army Reserve Command...
,
New JerseyNew Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
. His African-American father served in
World War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
; his mother was a "war bride" from
ItalyItaly , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
. Harris graduated from
Rancocas Valley Regional High SchoolRancocas Valley Regional High School is a regional public high school and school district serving students in grades 9 through 12 from five communities in Burlington County, New Jersey. The district encompasses approximately and comprises the communities of Eastampton Township, Hainesport...
in
Mount Holly Township, New JerseyMount Holly Township is a township in Burlington County, New Jersey, United States as well as an eastern suburb of Philadelphia. As of the 2000 United States Census, the township population was 10,728. It is the county seat of Burlington County....
and then attended
Penn State UniversityThe Pennsylvania State University, commonly referred to as Penn State or PSU, is a public research university with campuses and facilities throughout the state of Pennsylvania, United States. Founded in 1855, the university has a threefold mission of teaching, research, and public service...
. While playing for Penn State's
Nittany LionsThe Penn State Nittany Lions football team represents the Pennsylvania State University in the National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I Football Bowl Subdivision as a member of the Big Ten Conference. It is one of the most tradition-rich and storied college football programs in the...
, Harris served primarily as a blocker for the
All-AmericaAn All-America team is an honorary sports team composed of outstanding amateur players—those considered the best players of a specific season for each team position—who in turn are given the honorific "All-America" and typically referred to as "All-American athletes", or simply...
n
running backA running back is a gridiron football position, who is typically lined up in the offensive backfield. The primary roles of a running back are to receive handoffs from the quarterback for a rushing play, to catch passes from out of the backfield, and to block.There are usually one or two running...
Lydell MitchellLydell Douglas Mitchell , is a former professional American football player. He played running back in the National Football League for the Baltimore Colts, San Diego Chargers and Los Angeles Rams spanning 1972-1980....
, though he amassed over 2000 yards rushing (17th in PSU history) with 24 touchdowns. He led the team in scoring in 1970.
Professional career
In his first season with the Steelers (1972), Harris was named the league's Rookie of the Year by both
The Sporting NewsSporting News is an American-based sports magazine. It was established in 1886, and it became the dominant American publication covering baseball — so much so that it acquired the nickname "The Bible of Baseball"...
and
United Press InternationalUnited Press International is a once-major international news agency, whose newswires, photo, news film and audio services provided news material to thousands of newspapers, magazines and radio and television stations for most of the twentieth century...
. In that season he gained 1,055 yards on 188 carries, with a 5.6 yards per carry average. He also rushed for 10 touchdowns and caught 3 touchdown passes. He was popular with
Pittsburgh'sPittsburgh is the second-largest city in the US Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Allegheny County. Regionally, it anchors the largest urban area of Appalachia and the Ohio River Valley, and nationally, it is the 22nd-largest urban area in the United States...
large Italian-American population: his fans dubbing themselves "Franco's Italian Army" and wore army helmets with his number on them.
In his 13 professional seasons, Harris gained 12,120 yards on 2,949 carries, a 4.1 yards per carry average, and scored 91 rushing touchdowns. He caught 307 passes for 2,287 yards, a 7.4 yards per reception average, and 9 receiving touchdowns. Harris's 12,120 career rushing yards rank him
12th all time in the NFL, while his 91 career rushing touchdowns rank him 10th all time tied with
Jerome BettisJerome Abram "The Bus" Bettis is a retired American football halfback who played for the NFL's Los Angeles/St. Louis Rams and Pittsburgh Steelers. Bettis is considered one of the best big backs ever because his footwork and power, and is currently fifth on the National Football League's all-time...
.
Harris was chosen for 9 consecutive
Pro BowlIn professional American football, the Pro Bowl is the all-star game of the National Football League . Since the merger with the rival American Football League in 1970, it has been officially called the AFC–NFC Pro Bowl, matching the top players in the American Football Conference against those...
s (from 1972 through 1980), and was All-Pro in 1977. Harris rushed for more than 1,000 yards in 8 seasons, breaking a record set by
Jim BrownJames Nathaniel "Jim" Brown is an American former professional football player who has also made his mark as an actor. He is best known for his exceptional and record-setting nine-year career as a running back for the NFL Cleveland Browns from 1957 to 1965. In 2002, he was named by Sporting News...
. The tandem running package of Harris and
Rocky Bleier combined with a strong defense to win four
Super BowlThe Super Bowl is the championship game of the National Football League , the highest level of professional American football in the United States, culminating a season that begins in the late summer of the previous calendar year. The Super Bowl uses Roman numerals to identify each game, rather...
s in the 1974, 1975, 1978, and 1979 seasons. In 1975 he was the
Most Valuable PlayerIn sports, a Most Valuable Player award is an honor typically bestowed upon the best performing player or players on a specific team, in an entire league, or for a particular contest or series of contests...
of
Super Bowl IXSuper Bowl IX was an American football game played on January 12, 1975 at Tulane Stadium in New Orleans, Louisiana to decide the National Football League champion following the 1974 regular season. It would be the last pro game at legendary Tulane Stadium...
; in that game he rushed for 158 yards and a touchdown on 34 carries for a 16-6 win over the
Minnesota VikingsThe Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Vikings joined the National Football League as an expansion team in 1960...
. Harris was the first
African AmericanAfrican Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
as well as the first Italian-American to be named
Super Bowl MVPThe Super Bowl Most Valuable Player Award, or Super Bowl MVP, is an award presented annually to the most valuable player of the Super Bowl, the National Football League's championship game. The winner is chosen by a fan vote during the game and by a panel of 16 American football writers and...
. Harris was a major contributor for the Steelers in all of their first four Super Bowl wins. His Super Bowl career totals of 101 carries for 354 yards are records and his 4 career rushing touchdowns are tied for the second most in Super Bowl history.
Critics, including Jim Brown, have complained about Harris' tendency to run out of bounds instead of taking on tacklers for extra yards. Harris responds that he extended his career and thus his contribution to the team's objectives (including four Super Bowl victories to Brown's single pre-Super Bowl
NFL Championship) by avoiding unnecessary contact. Critics have highlighted Harris' running back record of 90 total career fumbles – often leaving out the fact that his career spanned many seasons and he had 3,256 touches, giving him a fumble percentage of only 2.7%, which is not considered high by NFL standards.
Following the
1983 season- Schedule :- Week 1 : vs. Denver Broncos :at Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania* Game time: 1:00 pm EDT* Game weather:* Game attendance: 58,233* Referee: Jerry Seeman...
, Harris and
Walter PaytonWalter Jerry Payton was an American football running back who played for the Chicago Bears of the National Football League for thirteen seasons. Walter Payton was known around the NFL as "Sweetness". He is remembered as one of the most prolific running backs in the history of American football...
were both closing in on Jim Brown's NFL rushing record, and Harris had asked the
Rooney familyThe Rooney family has been the majority owners and operators of the Pittsburgh Steelers football team in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania since the formation of the franchise in 1933. Art Rooney was the founder and owner of the team until his death in 1988; ownership of the team was then transferred to...
for a pay raise. The Rooney family refused, believing that Harris was on the downside of his career, and Harris threatened to hold out. The Steelers released Harris in training camp in 1984, which would start similar patterns years later with
Rod WoodsonRoderick Kevin "Rod" Woodson is the current cornerbacks coach for the Oakland Raiders of the National Football League. He is also a former defensive back best known for his 10-year stint with the Pittsburgh Steelers as well as being a key member of the Baltimore Ravens Super Bowl XXXV championship...
and
Alan FanecaAlan Joseph Faneca, Jr. is a former American football guard in the National Football League. He was drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers 26th overall in the 1998 NFL Draft and played college football for Louisiana State....
both asking similar demands before leaving in
free agencyIn professional sports, a free agent is a player whose contract with a team has expired and who is thus eligible to sign with another club or franchise....
. (Free agency, as it is seen today in the NFL, was not in existence at the time of Harris's release.) Harris would sign with the
Seattle SeahawksThe Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle, Washington. They are currently members of the Western Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team joined the NFL in 1976 as an expansion team...
during the
1984 seasonThe 1984 NFL season was the 65th regular season of the National Football League. The Colts relocated from Baltimore, Maryland to Indianapolis, Indiana....
and would play eight games with the team, earning only 170 yards before retiring (192 yards short of Jim Brown's record). Harris and the Rooneys reconciled after Harris retired; in 2006, during pre-game ceremonies for
Super Bowl XLSuper Bowl XL was an American football game pitting the American Football Conference champion Pittsburgh Steelers against the National Football Conference champion Seattle Seahawks to decide the National Football League champion for the 2005 season...
(the Steelers' second SB appearance - and first championship - since his retirement) honoring the MVPs of the previous 39 games, Harris waved a
Terrible TowelThe Terrible Towel is a rally towel associated with the Pittsburgh Steelers, an American football team in the National Football League . Created in 1975 by then Steelers radio broadcaster Myron Cope, The Terrible Towel has spread in popularity; fans take their Towel to famous sites while on vacation...
while being introduced, much to the delight of the overwhelmingly pro-Steeler crowd. While the Steelers no longer officially retire uniform numbers, they have not reissued his number 32 since he left the team, and it is generally understood that no Steelers player will ever wear that number again.
Harris was a key player in one of professional football's most famous plays, dubbed "
The Immaculate ReceptionThe Immaculate Reception is the nickname given to one of the most famous plays in the history of American football. It occurred in the AFC divisional playoff game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Oakland Raiders at Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on December 23, 1972...
" by Pittsburgh sportscaster
Myron CopeMyron Cope , born Myron Sidney Kopelman, was an American sports journalist, radio personality, and sportscaster who is best known for being "the voice of the Pittsburgh Steelers."...
. In a 1972 playoff game, the
Oakland RaidersThe Oakland Raiders are a professional American football team based in Oakland, California. They currently play in the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
were leading the Steelers 7-6 with 22 seconds to play when a
Terry BradshawTerry Paxton Bradshaw is a former American football quarterback with the Pittsburgh Steelers in the National Football League . He played 14 seasons. He is a football analyst and co-host of Fox NFL Sunday...
pass was deflected away from intended receiver John "Frenchy" Fuqua right as defender
Jack TatumJohn David Tatum was an American football defensive back who played ten seasons from 1971 through 1980 for the Oakland Raiders and Houston Oilers in the National Football League...
arrived to tackle Fuqua. Harris snatched the ball just before it hit the ground and ran it in to win the game. The Raiders challenged the touchdown, claiming that Fuqua had handled the ball before Harris, which would invalidate the score because at that time it was against the rules for two offensive receivers to touch the ball. The Steelers maintained that the ball had touched Tatum instead. According to a recounting by the Pro Football Hall of Fame, the film of the play is inconclusive. Raiders linebacker
Phil VillapianoPhilip James Villapiano is a former American football linebacker in the NFL. He played in four Pro Bowls and was a part of the Oakland Raiders Super Bowl XI winning team....
attempted to criticise Harris' achievement by stating that he was only in position to catch the ball because he was lazy, but replays show that Harris headed downfield when the Raiders forced Bradshaw out of the pocket, and can be clearly seen running before catching the deflected ball.
In 1999, he was ranked number 83 on
The Sporting NewsSporting News is an American-based sports magazine. It was established in 1886, and it became the dominant American publication covering baseball — so much so that it acquired the nickname "The Bible of Baseball"...
list of the 100 Greatest Football Players.
In 2006, The
Heinz History CenterThe Senator John Heinz History Center, an affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution, is the largest history museum in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Named after the late U.S. Senator H...
, home of the Western Pennsylvania Sports Museum, installed a life-size figure of Harris in the grand concourse of
Pittsburgh International AirportPittsburgh International Airport , formerly Greater Pittsburgh Airport, Greater Pittsburgh International Airport and commonly referred to as Pittsburgh International, is a joint civil–military international airport located in the Pittsburgh suburb of Findlay Township, approximately west of...
. The statue is a recreation of Harris' "
Immaculate ReceptionThe Immaculate Reception is the nickname given to one of the most famous plays in the history of American football. It occurred in the AFC divisional playoff game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Oakland Raiders at Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on December 23, 1972...
."
Post-football
Harris and
Lydell MitchellLydell Douglas Mitchell , is a former professional American football player. He played running back in the National Football League for the Baltimore Colts, San Diego Chargers and Los Angeles Rams spanning 1972-1980....
, successful college teammates at Penn State, now own Super Bakery, a company founded in 1990 to produce
nutritionNutrition is the provision, to cells and organisms, of the materials necessary to support life. Many common health problems can be prevented or alleviated with a healthy diet....
-oriented foods for schoolchildren. The business was renamed to RSuper Foods in 2006. RSuper foods produces the famous{{Citation needed|date=February 2011}} Super Donut that has been widely served to students at public schools in the eastern United States.
Harris and Mitchell also partnered in 1996 to rescue the Parks Sausage Company in Baltimore, known for being the first
publicly heldThis is not the same as a Government-owned corporation.A public company or publicly traded company is a limited liability company that offers its securities for sale to the general public, typically through a stock exchange, or through market makers operating in over the counter markets...
black-owned business in the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
Harris is also a paid representative for the
Harrah'sCaesars Entertainment Corporation is a private gaming corporation that owns and operates over 50 casinos, hotels, and seven golf courses under several brands. The company, based in Paradise, Nevada, is the largest gaming company in the world, with yearly revenues $8.9 billion...
/
Forest City EnterprisesForest City Enterprises is a $9-billion diversified real estate management and development company based in Cleveland, Ohio, United States. Its portfolio includes interests in retail centers, apartment communities, office buildings and mixed-use projects in the U.S...
casinoIn modern English, a casino is a facility which houses and accommodates certain types of gambling activities. Casinos are most commonly built near or combined with hotels, restaurants, retail shopping, cruise ships or other tourist attractions...
plan for downtown Pittsburgh. This association has earned him the
tongue-in-cheekTongue-in-cheek is a phrase used as a figure of speech to imply that a statement or other production is humorously intended and it should not be taken at face value. The facial expression typically indicates that one is joking or making a mental effort. In the past, it may also have indicated...
nickname, "Franco Harrahs".
On July 9, 2006, Harris made an appearance in the 2006
Taco BellTaco Bell is an American chain of fast-food restaurants based in Irvine, California. A subsidiary of Yum! Brands, Inc., which serves American-adapted Mexican food. Taco Bell serves tacos, burritos, quesadillas, nachos, other specialty items, and a variety of "Value Menu" items...
"All-Star Legends and Celebrity Softball Game" at
PNC ParkPNC Park is a baseball park located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It is the fifth home of the Pittsburgh Pirates, the city's Major League Baseball franchise. It opened during the 2001 Major League Baseball season, after the controlled implosion of the Pirates' previous home, Three Rivers Stadium...
in Pittsburgh.
In August 2008, Harris attended the
2008 Democratic National ConventionThe United States 2008 Democratic National Convention was a quadrennial presidential nominating convention of the Democratic Party where it adopted its national platform and officially nominated its candidates for President and Vice President of the United States. The convention was held in Denver,...
, in Denver,
ColoradoColorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
, as part of the
PennsylvaniaThe Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
delegationDelegation is the assignment of authority and responsibility to another person to carry out specific activities. However the person who delegated the work remains accountable for the outcome of the delegated work. Delegation empowers a subordinate to make decisions, i.e...
. Harris voted for Obama on December 15, 2008, as one of Pennsylvania's 21 Democratic presidential electors.
In
John GrishamJohn Ray Grisham, Jr. is an American lawyer and author, best known for his popular legal thrillers.John Grisham graduated from Mississippi State University before attending the University of Mississippi School of Law in 1981 and practiced criminal law for about a decade...
's 2008 novel
Playing For PizzaPlaying for Pizza is a short novel by John Grisham, released on September 25, 2007. The novel is about an itinerant American football player who can no longer get work in the National Football League and whose agent, as a last resort, signs a deal for him to play for the Parma Panthers, in Parma,...
, the fullback of the Parma Panthers is nicknamed Franco as a tribute to his hero, Franco Harris, who he refers to as the "greatest Italian football player". This is a reference to Franco's mixed racial heritage.
Personal
Harris' brother Pete Harris, a collegiate
All-AmericaAn All-America team is an honorary sports team composed of outstanding amateur players—those considered the best players of a specific season for each team position—who in turn are given the honorific "All-America" and typically referred to as "All-American athletes", or simply...
n
footballAmerican football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
player, died on August 15, 2006, of a heart attack at the age of 49.
On July 27, 2009 Harris' son, Franco "Dok" Harris, officially announced his candidacy for Mayor of the City of Pittsburgh. He placed second in the general election on November 3 of that year, capturing over 25% of the vote.
Franco has served as part of the advisory board at Penn State's Center for Food Innovation, and was recently named a Conti Professor by Penn State's School of Hospitality Management.
External links
{{Commons category}}
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{{Navbox
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|list1 =
Franco Harris (born March 7, 1950) is a former
American footballAmerican football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
player. He played his NFL career with the
Pittsburgh SteelersThe Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional football team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The team currently belongs to the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Founded in , the Steelers are the oldest franchise in the AFC...
and
Seattle SeahawksThe Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle, Washington. They are currently members of the Western Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team joined the NFL in 1976 as an expansion team...
.
In the
1972 NFL DraftThe 1972 National Football League Draft was held on February 1–2, 1972.-Player selections:-Round one:-Round two:-Round three:-Round four:-Round five:-Round six:-Round seven:-Round eight:-Round nine:-Round ten:...
he was chosen by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the first round, the 13th selection overall. His selection by the team was considered controversial at the time, as many thought the team would select his Penn State teammate,
Lydell MitchellLydell Douglas Mitchell , is a former professional American football player. He played running back in the National Football League for the Baltimore Colts, San Diego Chargers and Los Angeles Rams spanning 1972-1980....
. (Mitchell was later selected by the
Baltimore ColtsThe Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. They are currently members of the South Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League ....
in the draft.) He played his first 12 years in the
NFLThe National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
with the Steelers; his 13th and final year (1984) was spent with the Seattle Seahawks. He was inducted into the
Pro Football Hall of FameThe Pro Football Hall of Fame is the hall of fame of professional football in the United States with an emphasis on the National Football League . It opened in Canton, Ohio, on September 7, 1963, with 17 charter inductees...
in 1990. He was inducted into the
New Jersey Hall of FameThe New Jersey Hall of Fame is an organization that honors individuals from the U.S. state of New Jersey who have made contributions to society and the world beyond....
in 2011.
Early life
Harris was born in
Fort DixJB MDL Dix , better known as Fort Dix, is a United States Army base located approximately south-southeast of Trenton, New Jersey. Dix is under the jurisdiction of the United States Army Reserve Command...
,
New JerseyNew Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
. His African-American father served in
World War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
; his mother was a "war bride" from
ItalyItaly , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
. Harris graduated from
Rancocas Valley Regional High SchoolRancocas Valley Regional High School is a regional public high school and school district serving students in grades 9 through 12 from five communities in Burlington County, New Jersey. The district encompasses approximately and comprises the communities of Eastampton Township, Hainesport...
in
Mount Holly Township, New JerseyMount Holly Township is a township in Burlington County, New Jersey, United States as well as an eastern suburb of Philadelphia. As of the 2000 United States Census, the township population was 10,728. It is the county seat of Burlington County....
and then attended
Penn State UniversityThe Pennsylvania State University, commonly referred to as Penn State or PSU, is a public research university with campuses and facilities throughout the state of Pennsylvania, United States. Founded in 1855, the university has a threefold mission of teaching, research, and public service...
. While playing for Penn State's
Nittany LionsThe Penn State Nittany Lions football team represents the Pennsylvania State University in the National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I Football Bowl Subdivision as a member of the Big Ten Conference. It is one of the most tradition-rich and storied college football programs in the...
, Harris served primarily as a blocker for the
All-AmericaAn All-America team is an honorary sports team composed of outstanding amateur players—those considered the best players of a specific season for each team position—who in turn are given the honorific "All-America" and typically referred to as "All-American athletes", or simply...
n
running backA running back is a gridiron football position, who is typically lined up in the offensive backfield. The primary roles of a running back are to receive handoffs from the quarterback for a rushing play, to catch passes from out of the backfield, and to block.There are usually one or two running...
Lydell MitchellLydell Douglas Mitchell , is a former professional American football player. He played running back in the National Football League for the Baltimore Colts, San Diego Chargers and Los Angeles Rams spanning 1972-1980....
, though he amassed over 2000 yards rushing (17th in PSU history) with 24 touchdowns. He led the team in scoring in 1970.
Professional career
In his first season with the Steelers (1972), Harris was named the league's Rookie of the Year by both
The Sporting NewsSporting News is an American-based sports magazine. It was established in 1886, and it became the dominant American publication covering baseball — so much so that it acquired the nickname "The Bible of Baseball"...
and
United Press InternationalUnited Press International is a once-major international news agency, whose newswires, photo, news film and audio services provided news material to thousands of newspapers, magazines and radio and television stations for most of the twentieth century...
. In that season he gained 1,055 yards on 188 carries, with a 5.6 yards per carry average. He also rushed for 10 touchdowns and caught 3 touchdown passes. He was popular with
Pittsburgh'sPittsburgh is the second-largest city in the US Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Allegheny County. Regionally, it anchors the largest urban area of Appalachia and the Ohio River Valley, and nationally, it is the 22nd-largest urban area in the United States...
large Italian-American population: his fans dubbing themselves "Franco's Italian Army" and wore army helmets with his number on them.
In his 13 professional seasons, Harris gained 12,120 yards on 2,949 carries, a 4.1 yards per carry average, and scored 91 rushing touchdowns. He caught 307 passes for 2,287 yards, a 7.4 yards per reception average, and 9 receiving touchdowns. Harris's 12,120 career rushing yards rank him
12th all time in the NFL, while his 91 career rushing touchdowns rank him 10th all time tied with
Jerome BettisJerome Abram "The Bus" Bettis is a retired American football halfback who played for the NFL's Los Angeles/St. Louis Rams and Pittsburgh Steelers. Bettis is considered one of the best big backs ever because his footwork and power, and is currently fifth on the National Football League's all-time...
.
Harris was chosen for 9 consecutive
Pro BowlIn professional American football, the Pro Bowl is the all-star game of the National Football League . Since the merger with the rival American Football League in 1970, it has been officially called the AFC–NFC Pro Bowl, matching the top players in the American Football Conference against those...
s (from 1972 through 1980), and was All-Pro in 1977. Harris rushed for more than 1,000 yards in 8 seasons, breaking a record set by
Jim BrownJames Nathaniel "Jim" Brown is an American former professional football player who has also made his mark as an actor. He is best known for his exceptional and record-setting nine-year career as a running back for the NFL Cleveland Browns from 1957 to 1965. In 2002, he was named by Sporting News...
. The tandem running package of Harris and
Rocky Bleier combined with a strong defense to win four
Super BowlThe Super Bowl is the championship game of the National Football League , the highest level of professional American football in the United States, culminating a season that begins in the late summer of the previous calendar year. The Super Bowl uses Roman numerals to identify each game, rather...
s in the 1974, 1975, 1978, and 1979 seasons. In 1975 he was the
Most Valuable PlayerIn sports, a Most Valuable Player award is an honor typically bestowed upon the best performing player or players on a specific team, in an entire league, or for a particular contest or series of contests...
of
Super Bowl IXSuper Bowl IX was an American football game played on January 12, 1975 at Tulane Stadium in New Orleans, Louisiana to decide the National Football League champion following the 1974 regular season. It would be the last pro game at legendary Tulane Stadium...
; in that game he rushed for 158 yards and a touchdown on 34 carries for a 16-6 win over the
Minnesota VikingsThe Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Vikings joined the National Football League as an expansion team in 1960...
. Harris was the first
African AmericanAfrican Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
as well as the first Italian-American to be named
Super Bowl MVPThe Super Bowl Most Valuable Player Award, or Super Bowl MVP, is an award presented annually to the most valuable player of the Super Bowl, the National Football League's championship game. The winner is chosen by a fan vote during the game and by a panel of 16 American football writers and...
. Harris was a major contributor for the Steelers in all of their first four Super Bowl wins. His Super Bowl career totals of 101 carries for 354 yards are records and his 4 career rushing touchdowns are tied for the second most in Super Bowl history.
Critics, including Jim Brown, have complained about Harris' tendency to run out of bounds instead of taking on tacklers for extra yards. Harris responds that he extended his career and thus his contribution to the team's objectives (including four Super Bowl victories to Brown's single pre-Super Bowl
NFL Championship) by avoiding unnecessary contact. Critics have highlighted Harris' running back record of 90 total career fumbles – often leaving out the fact that his career spanned many seasons and he had 3,256 touches, giving him a fumble percentage of only 2.7%, which is not considered high by NFL standards.
Following the
1983 season- Schedule :- Week 1 : vs. Denver Broncos :at Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania* Game time: 1:00 pm EDT* Game weather:* Game attendance: 58,233* Referee: Jerry Seeman...
, Harris and
Walter PaytonWalter Jerry Payton was an American football running back who played for the Chicago Bears of the National Football League for thirteen seasons. Walter Payton was known around the NFL as "Sweetness". He is remembered as one of the most prolific running backs in the history of American football...
were both closing in on Jim Brown's NFL rushing record, and Harris had asked the
Rooney familyThe Rooney family has been the majority owners and operators of the Pittsburgh Steelers football team in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania since the formation of the franchise in 1933. Art Rooney was the founder and owner of the team until his death in 1988; ownership of the team was then transferred to...
for a pay raise. The Rooney family refused, believing that Harris was on the downside of his career, and Harris threatened to hold out. The Steelers released Harris in training camp in 1984, which would start similar patterns years later with
Rod WoodsonRoderick Kevin "Rod" Woodson is the current cornerbacks coach for the Oakland Raiders of the National Football League. He is also a former defensive back best known for his 10-year stint with the Pittsburgh Steelers as well as being a key member of the Baltimore Ravens Super Bowl XXXV championship...
and
Alan FanecaAlan Joseph Faneca, Jr. is a former American football guard in the National Football League. He was drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers 26th overall in the 1998 NFL Draft and played college football for Louisiana State....
both asking similar demands before leaving in
free agencyIn professional sports, a free agent is a player whose contract with a team has expired and who is thus eligible to sign with another club or franchise....
. (Free agency, as it is seen today in the NFL, was not in existence at the time of Harris's release.) Harris would sign with the
Seattle SeahawksThe Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle, Washington. They are currently members of the Western Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team joined the NFL in 1976 as an expansion team...
during the
1984 seasonThe 1984 NFL season was the 65th regular season of the National Football League. The Colts relocated from Baltimore, Maryland to Indianapolis, Indiana....
and would play eight games with the team, earning only 170 yards before retiring (192 yards short of Jim Brown's record). Harris and the Rooneys reconciled after Harris retired; in 2006, during pre-game ceremonies for
Super Bowl XLSuper Bowl XL was an American football game pitting the American Football Conference champion Pittsburgh Steelers against the National Football Conference champion Seattle Seahawks to decide the National Football League champion for the 2005 season...
(the Steelers' second SB appearance - and first championship - since his retirement) honoring the MVPs of the previous 39 games, Harris waved a
Terrible TowelThe Terrible Towel is a rally towel associated with the Pittsburgh Steelers, an American football team in the National Football League . Created in 1975 by then Steelers radio broadcaster Myron Cope, The Terrible Towel has spread in popularity; fans take their Towel to famous sites while on vacation...
while being introduced, much to the delight of the overwhelmingly pro-Steeler crowd. While the Steelers no longer officially retire uniform numbers, they have not reissued his number 32 since he left the team, and it is generally understood that no Steelers player will ever wear that number again.
Harris was a key player in one of professional football's most famous plays, dubbed "
The Immaculate ReceptionThe Immaculate Reception is the nickname given to one of the most famous plays in the history of American football. It occurred in the AFC divisional playoff game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Oakland Raiders at Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on December 23, 1972...
" by Pittsburgh sportscaster
Myron CopeMyron Cope , born Myron Sidney Kopelman, was an American sports journalist, radio personality, and sportscaster who is best known for being "the voice of the Pittsburgh Steelers."...
. In a 1972 playoff game, the
Oakland RaidersThe Oakland Raiders are a professional American football team based in Oakland, California. They currently play in the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
were leading the Steelers 7-6 with 22 seconds to play when a
Terry BradshawTerry Paxton Bradshaw is a former American football quarterback with the Pittsburgh Steelers in the National Football League . He played 14 seasons. He is a football analyst and co-host of Fox NFL Sunday...
pass was deflected away from intended receiver John "Frenchy" Fuqua right as defender
Jack TatumJohn David Tatum was an American football defensive back who played ten seasons from 1971 through 1980 for the Oakland Raiders and Houston Oilers in the National Football League...
arrived to tackle Fuqua. Harris snatched the ball just before it hit the ground and ran it in to win the game. The Raiders challenged the touchdown, claiming that Fuqua had handled the ball before Harris, which would invalidate the score because at that time it was against the rules for two offensive receivers to touch the ball. The Steelers maintained that the ball had touched Tatum instead. According to a recounting by the Pro Football Hall of Fame, the film of the play is inconclusive. Raiders linebacker
Phil VillapianoPhilip James Villapiano is a former American football linebacker in the NFL. He played in four Pro Bowls and was a part of the Oakland Raiders Super Bowl XI winning team....
attempted to criticise Harris' achievement by stating that he was only in position to catch the ball because he was lazy, but replays show that Harris headed downfield when the Raiders forced Bradshaw out of the pocket, and can be clearly seen running before catching the deflected ball.
In 1999, he was ranked number 83 on
The Sporting NewsSporting News is an American-based sports magazine. It was established in 1886, and it became the dominant American publication covering baseball — so much so that it acquired the nickname "The Bible of Baseball"...
list of the 100 Greatest Football Players.
In 2006, The
Heinz History CenterThe Senator John Heinz History Center, an affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution, is the largest history museum in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Named after the late U.S. Senator H...
, home of the Western Pennsylvania Sports Museum, installed a life-size figure of Harris in the grand concourse of
Pittsburgh International AirportPittsburgh International Airport , formerly Greater Pittsburgh Airport, Greater Pittsburgh International Airport and commonly referred to as Pittsburgh International, is a joint civil–military international airport located in the Pittsburgh suburb of Findlay Township, approximately west of...
. The statue is a recreation of Harris' "
Immaculate ReceptionThe Immaculate Reception is the nickname given to one of the most famous plays in the history of American football. It occurred in the AFC divisional playoff game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Oakland Raiders at Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on December 23, 1972...
."
Post-football
Harris and
Lydell MitchellLydell Douglas Mitchell , is a former professional American football player. He played running back in the National Football League for the Baltimore Colts, San Diego Chargers and Los Angeles Rams spanning 1972-1980....
, successful college teammates at Penn State, now own Super Bakery, a company founded in 1990 to produce
nutritionNutrition is the provision, to cells and organisms, of the materials necessary to support life. Many common health problems can be prevented or alleviated with a healthy diet....
-oriented foods for schoolchildren. The business was renamed to RSuper Foods in 2006. RSuper foods produces the famous{{Citation needed|date=February 2011}} Super Donut that has been widely served to students at public schools in the eastern United States.
Harris and Mitchell also partnered in 1996 to rescue the Parks Sausage Company in Baltimore, known for being the first
publicly heldThis is not the same as a Government-owned corporation.A public company or publicly traded company is a limited liability company that offers its securities for sale to the general public, typically through a stock exchange, or through market makers operating in over the counter markets...
black-owned business in the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
Harris is also a paid representative for the
Harrah'sCaesars Entertainment Corporation is a private gaming corporation that owns and operates over 50 casinos, hotels, and seven golf courses under several brands. The company, based in Paradise, Nevada, is the largest gaming company in the world, with yearly revenues $8.9 billion...
/
Forest City EnterprisesForest City Enterprises is a $9-billion diversified real estate management and development company based in Cleveland, Ohio, United States. Its portfolio includes interests in retail centers, apartment communities, office buildings and mixed-use projects in the U.S...
casinoIn modern English, a casino is a facility which houses and accommodates certain types of gambling activities. Casinos are most commonly built near or combined with hotels, restaurants, retail shopping, cruise ships or other tourist attractions...
plan for downtown Pittsburgh. This association has earned him the
tongue-in-cheekTongue-in-cheek is a phrase used as a figure of speech to imply that a statement or other production is humorously intended and it should not be taken at face value. The facial expression typically indicates that one is joking or making a mental effort. In the past, it may also have indicated...
nickname, "Franco Harrahs".
On July 9, 2006, Harris made an appearance in the 2006
Taco BellTaco Bell is an American chain of fast-food restaurants based in Irvine, California. A subsidiary of Yum! Brands, Inc., which serves American-adapted Mexican food. Taco Bell serves tacos, burritos, quesadillas, nachos, other specialty items, and a variety of "Value Menu" items...
"All-Star Legends and Celebrity Softball Game" at
PNC ParkPNC Park is a baseball park located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It is the fifth home of the Pittsburgh Pirates, the city's Major League Baseball franchise. It opened during the 2001 Major League Baseball season, after the controlled implosion of the Pirates' previous home, Three Rivers Stadium...
in Pittsburgh.
In August 2008, Harris attended the
2008 Democratic National ConventionThe United States 2008 Democratic National Convention was a quadrennial presidential nominating convention of the Democratic Party where it adopted its national platform and officially nominated its candidates for President and Vice President of the United States. The convention was held in Denver,...
, in Denver,
ColoradoColorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
, as part of the
PennsylvaniaThe Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
delegationDelegation is the assignment of authority and responsibility to another person to carry out specific activities. However the person who delegated the work remains accountable for the outcome of the delegated work. Delegation empowers a subordinate to make decisions, i.e...
. Harris voted for Obama on December 15, 2008, as one of Pennsylvania's 21 Democratic presidential electors.
In
John GrishamJohn Ray Grisham, Jr. is an American lawyer and author, best known for his popular legal thrillers.John Grisham graduated from Mississippi State University before attending the University of Mississippi School of Law in 1981 and practiced criminal law for about a decade...
's 2008 novel
Playing For PizzaPlaying for Pizza is a short novel by John Grisham, released on September 25, 2007. The novel is about an itinerant American football player who can no longer get work in the National Football League and whose agent, as a last resort, signs a deal for him to play for the Parma Panthers, in Parma,...
, the fullback of the Parma Panthers is nicknamed Franco as a tribute to his hero, Franco Harris, who he refers to as the "greatest Italian football player". This is a reference to Franco's mixed racial heritage.
Personal
Harris' brother Pete Harris, a collegiate
All-AmericaAn All-America team is an honorary sports team composed of outstanding amateur players—those considered the best players of a specific season for each team position—who in turn are given the honorific "All-America" and typically referred to as "All-American athletes", or simply...
n
footballAmerican football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
player, died on August 15, 2006, of a heart attack at the age of 49.
On July 27, 2009 Harris' son, Franco "Dok" Harris, officially announced his candidacy for Mayor of the City of Pittsburgh. He placed second in the general election on November 3 of that year, capturing over 25% of the vote.
Franco has served as part of the advisory board at Penn State's Center for Food Innovation, and was recently named a Conti Professor by Penn State's School of Hospitality Management.
External links
{{Commons category}}
{{-}}
{{Navbox
|navbar = plain
|liststyle = font-size:100%;
|title = Succession & navigation boxes
|list1 =
Franco Harris (born March 7, 1950) is a former
American footballAmerican football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
player. He played his NFL career with the
Pittsburgh SteelersThe Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional football team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The team currently belongs to the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Founded in , the Steelers are the oldest franchise in the AFC...
and
Seattle SeahawksThe Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle, Washington. They are currently members of the Western Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team joined the NFL in 1976 as an expansion team...
.
In the
1972 NFL DraftThe 1972 National Football League Draft was held on February 1–2, 1972.-Player selections:-Round one:-Round two:-Round three:-Round four:-Round five:-Round six:-Round seven:-Round eight:-Round nine:-Round ten:...
he was chosen by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the first round, the 13th selection overall. His selection by the team was considered controversial at the time, as many thought the team would select his Penn State teammate,
Lydell MitchellLydell Douglas Mitchell , is a former professional American football player. He played running back in the National Football League for the Baltimore Colts, San Diego Chargers and Los Angeles Rams spanning 1972-1980....
. (Mitchell was later selected by the
Baltimore ColtsThe Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. They are currently members of the South Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League ....
in the draft.) He played his first 12 years in the
NFLThe National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
with the Steelers; his 13th and final year (1984) was spent with the Seattle Seahawks. He was inducted into the
Pro Football Hall of FameThe Pro Football Hall of Fame is the hall of fame of professional football in the United States with an emphasis on the National Football League . It opened in Canton, Ohio, on September 7, 1963, with 17 charter inductees...
in 1990. He was inducted into the
New Jersey Hall of FameThe New Jersey Hall of Fame is an organization that honors individuals from the U.S. state of New Jersey who have made contributions to society and the world beyond....
in 2011.
Early life
Harris was born in
Fort DixJB MDL Dix , better known as Fort Dix, is a United States Army base located approximately south-southeast of Trenton, New Jersey. Dix is under the jurisdiction of the United States Army Reserve Command...
,
New JerseyNew Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
. His African-American father served in
World War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
; his mother was a "war bride" from
ItalyItaly , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
. Harris graduated from
Rancocas Valley Regional High SchoolRancocas Valley Regional High School is a regional public high school and school district serving students in grades 9 through 12 from five communities in Burlington County, New Jersey. The district encompasses approximately and comprises the communities of Eastampton Township, Hainesport...
in
Mount Holly Township, New JerseyMount Holly Township is a township in Burlington County, New Jersey, United States as well as an eastern suburb of Philadelphia. As of the 2000 United States Census, the township population was 10,728. It is the county seat of Burlington County....
and then attended
Penn State UniversityThe Pennsylvania State University, commonly referred to as Penn State or PSU, is a public research university with campuses and facilities throughout the state of Pennsylvania, United States. Founded in 1855, the university has a threefold mission of teaching, research, and public service...
. While playing for Penn State's
Nittany LionsThe Penn State Nittany Lions football team represents the Pennsylvania State University in the National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I Football Bowl Subdivision as a member of the Big Ten Conference. It is one of the most tradition-rich and storied college football programs in the...
, Harris served primarily as a blocker for the
All-AmericaAn All-America team is an honorary sports team composed of outstanding amateur players—those considered the best players of a specific season for each team position—who in turn are given the honorific "All-America" and typically referred to as "All-American athletes", or simply...
n
running backA running back is a gridiron football position, who is typically lined up in the offensive backfield. The primary roles of a running back are to receive handoffs from the quarterback for a rushing play, to catch passes from out of the backfield, and to block.There are usually one or two running...
Lydell MitchellLydell Douglas Mitchell , is a former professional American football player. He played running back in the National Football League for the Baltimore Colts, San Diego Chargers and Los Angeles Rams spanning 1972-1980....
, though he amassed over 2000 yards rushing (17th in PSU history) with 24 touchdowns. He led the team in scoring in 1970.
Professional career
In his first season with the Steelers (1972), Harris was named the league's Rookie of the Year by both
The Sporting NewsSporting News is an American-based sports magazine. It was established in 1886, and it became the dominant American publication covering baseball — so much so that it acquired the nickname "The Bible of Baseball"...
and
United Press InternationalUnited Press International is a once-major international news agency, whose newswires, photo, news film and audio services provided news material to thousands of newspapers, magazines and radio and television stations for most of the twentieth century...
. In that season he gained 1,055 yards on 188 carries, with a 5.6 yards per carry average. He also rushed for 10 touchdowns and caught 3 touchdown passes. He was popular with
Pittsburgh'sPittsburgh is the second-largest city in the US Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Allegheny County. Regionally, it anchors the largest urban area of Appalachia and the Ohio River Valley, and nationally, it is the 22nd-largest urban area in the United States...
large Italian-American population: his fans dubbing themselves "Franco's Italian Army" and wore army helmets with his number on them.
In his 13 professional seasons, Harris gained 12,120 yards on 2,949 carries, a 4.1 yards per carry average, and scored 91 rushing touchdowns. He caught 307 passes for 2,287 yards, a 7.4 yards per reception average, and 9 receiving touchdowns. Harris's 12,120 career rushing yards rank him
12th all time in the NFL, while his 91 career rushing touchdowns rank him 10th all time tied with
Jerome BettisJerome Abram "The Bus" Bettis is a retired American football halfback who played for the NFL's Los Angeles/St. Louis Rams and Pittsburgh Steelers. Bettis is considered one of the best big backs ever because his footwork and power, and is currently fifth on the National Football League's all-time...
.
Harris was chosen for 9 consecutive
Pro BowlIn professional American football, the Pro Bowl is the all-star game of the National Football League . Since the merger with the rival American Football League in 1970, it has been officially called the AFC–NFC Pro Bowl, matching the top players in the American Football Conference against those...
s (from 1972 through 1980), and was All-Pro in 1977. Harris rushed for more than 1,000 yards in 8 seasons, breaking a record set by
Jim BrownJames Nathaniel "Jim" Brown is an American former professional football player who has also made his mark as an actor. He is best known for his exceptional and record-setting nine-year career as a running back for the NFL Cleveland Browns from 1957 to 1965. In 2002, he was named by Sporting News...
. The tandem running package of Harris and
Rocky Bleier combined with a strong defense to win four
Super BowlThe Super Bowl is the championship game of the National Football League , the highest level of professional American football in the United States, culminating a season that begins in the late summer of the previous calendar year. The Super Bowl uses Roman numerals to identify each game, rather...
s in the 1974, 1975, 1978, and 1979 seasons. In 1975 he was the
Most Valuable PlayerIn sports, a Most Valuable Player award is an honor typically bestowed upon the best performing player or players on a specific team, in an entire league, or for a particular contest or series of contests...
of
Super Bowl IXSuper Bowl IX was an American football game played on January 12, 1975 at Tulane Stadium in New Orleans, Louisiana to decide the National Football League champion following the 1974 regular season. It would be the last pro game at legendary Tulane Stadium...
; in that game he rushed for 158 yards and a touchdown on 34 carries for a 16-6 win over the
Minnesota VikingsThe Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Vikings joined the National Football League as an expansion team in 1960...
. Harris was the first
African AmericanAfrican Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
as well as the first Italian-American to be named
Super Bowl MVPThe Super Bowl Most Valuable Player Award, or Super Bowl MVP, is an award presented annually to the most valuable player of the Super Bowl, the National Football League's championship game. The winner is chosen by a fan vote during the game and by a panel of 16 American football writers and...
. Harris was a major contributor for the Steelers in all of their first four Super Bowl wins. His Super Bowl career totals of 101 carries for 354 yards are records and his 4 career rushing touchdowns are tied for the second most in Super Bowl history.
Critics, including Jim Brown, have complained about Harris' tendency to run out of bounds instead of taking on tacklers for extra yards. Harris responds that he extended his career and thus his contribution to the team's objectives (including four Super Bowl victories to Brown's single pre-Super Bowl
NFL Championship) by avoiding unnecessary contact. Critics have highlighted Harris' running back record of 90 total career fumbles – often leaving out the fact that his career spanned many seasons and he had 3,256 touches, giving him a fumble percentage of only 2.7%, which is not considered high by NFL standards.
Following the
1983 season- Schedule :- Week 1 : vs. Denver Broncos :at Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania* Game time: 1:00 pm EDT* Game weather:* Game attendance: 58,233* Referee: Jerry Seeman...
, Harris and
Walter PaytonWalter Jerry Payton was an American football running back who played for the Chicago Bears of the National Football League for thirteen seasons. Walter Payton was known around the NFL as "Sweetness". He is remembered as one of the most prolific running backs in the history of American football...
were both closing in on Jim Brown's NFL rushing record, and Harris had asked the
Rooney familyThe Rooney family has been the majority owners and operators of the Pittsburgh Steelers football team in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania since the formation of the franchise in 1933. Art Rooney was the founder and owner of the team until his death in 1988; ownership of the team was then transferred to...
for a pay raise. The Rooney family refused, believing that Harris was on the downside of his career, and Harris threatened to hold out. The Steelers released Harris in training camp in 1984, which would start similar patterns years later with
Rod WoodsonRoderick Kevin "Rod" Woodson is the current cornerbacks coach for the Oakland Raiders of the National Football League. He is also a former defensive back best known for his 10-year stint with the Pittsburgh Steelers as well as being a key member of the Baltimore Ravens Super Bowl XXXV championship...
and
Alan FanecaAlan Joseph Faneca, Jr. is a former American football guard in the National Football League. He was drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers 26th overall in the 1998 NFL Draft and played college football for Louisiana State....
both asking similar demands before leaving in
free agencyIn professional sports, a free agent is a player whose contract with a team has expired and who is thus eligible to sign with another club or franchise....
. (Free agency, as it is seen today in the NFL, was not in existence at the time of Harris's release.) Harris would sign with the
Seattle SeahawksThe Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle, Washington. They are currently members of the Western Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team joined the NFL in 1976 as an expansion team...
during the
1984 seasonThe 1984 NFL season was the 65th regular season of the National Football League. The Colts relocated from Baltimore, Maryland to Indianapolis, Indiana....
and would play eight games with the team, earning only 170 yards before retiring (192 yards short of Jim Brown's record). Harris and the Rooneys reconciled after Harris retired; in 2006, during pre-game ceremonies for
Super Bowl XLSuper Bowl XL was an American football game pitting the American Football Conference champion Pittsburgh Steelers against the National Football Conference champion Seattle Seahawks to decide the National Football League champion for the 2005 season...
(the Steelers' second SB appearance - and first championship - since his retirement) honoring the MVPs of the previous 39 games, Harris waved a
Terrible TowelThe Terrible Towel is a rally towel associated with the Pittsburgh Steelers, an American football team in the National Football League . Created in 1975 by then Steelers radio broadcaster Myron Cope, The Terrible Towel has spread in popularity; fans take their Towel to famous sites while on vacation...
while being introduced, much to the delight of the overwhelmingly pro-Steeler crowd. While the Steelers no longer officially retire uniform numbers, they have not reissued his number 32 since he left the team, and it is generally understood that no Steelers player will ever wear that number again.
Harris was a key player in one of professional football's most famous plays, dubbed "
The Immaculate ReceptionThe Immaculate Reception is the nickname given to one of the most famous plays in the history of American football. It occurred in the AFC divisional playoff game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Oakland Raiders at Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on December 23, 1972...
" by Pittsburgh sportscaster
Myron CopeMyron Cope , born Myron Sidney Kopelman, was an American sports journalist, radio personality, and sportscaster who is best known for being "the voice of the Pittsburgh Steelers."...
. In a 1972 playoff game, the
Oakland RaidersThe Oakland Raiders are a professional American football team based in Oakland, California. They currently play in the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
were leading the Steelers 7-6 with 22 seconds to play when a
Terry BradshawTerry Paxton Bradshaw is a former American football quarterback with the Pittsburgh Steelers in the National Football League . He played 14 seasons. He is a football analyst and co-host of Fox NFL Sunday...
pass was deflected away from intended receiver John "Frenchy" Fuqua right as defender
Jack TatumJohn David Tatum was an American football defensive back who played ten seasons from 1971 through 1980 for the Oakland Raiders and Houston Oilers in the National Football League...
arrived to tackle Fuqua. Harris snatched the ball just before it hit the ground and ran it in to win the game. The Raiders challenged the touchdown, claiming that Fuqua had handled the ball before Harris, which would invalidate the score because at that time it was against the rules for two offensive receivers to touch the ball. The Steelers maintained that the ball had touched Tatum instead. According to a recounting by the Pro Football Hall of Fame, the film of the play is inconclusive. Raiders linebacker
Phil VillapianoPhilip James Villapiano is a former American football linebacker in the NFL. He played in four Pro Bowls and was a part of the Oakland Raiders Super Bowl XI winning team....
attempted to criticise Harris' achievement by stating that he was only in position to catch the ball because he was lazy, but replays show that Harris headed downfield when the Raiders forced Bradshaw out of the pocket, and can be clearly seen running before catching the deflected ball.
In 1999, he was ranked number 83 on
The Sporting NewsSporting News is an American-based sports magazine. It was established in 1886, and it became the dominant American publication covering baseball — so much so that it acquired the nickname "The Bible of Baseball"...
list of the 100 Greatest Football Players.
In 2006, The
Heinz History CenterThe Senator John Heinz History Center, an affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution, is the largest history museum in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Named after the late U.S. Senator H...
, home of the Western Pennsylvania Sports Museum, installed a life-size figure of Harris in the grand concourse of
Pittsburgh International AirportPittsburgh International Airport , formerly Greater Pittsburgh Airport, Greater Pittsburgh International Airport and commonly referred to as Pittsburgh International, is a joint civil–military international airport located in the Pittsburgh suburb of Findlay Township, approximately west of...
. The statue is a recreation of Harris' "
Immaculate ReceptionThe Immaculate Reception is the nickname given to one of the most famous plays in the history of American football. It occurred in the AFC divisional playoff game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Oakland Raiders at Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on December 23, 1972...
."
Post-football
Harris and
Lydell MitchellLydell Douglas Mitchell , is a former professional American football player. He played running back in the National Football League for the Baltimore Colts, San Diego Chargers and Los Angeles Rams spanning 1972-1980....
, successful college teammates at Penn State, now own Super Bakery, a company founded in 1990 to produce
nutritionNutrition is the provision, to cells and organisms, of the materials necessary to support life. Many common health problems can be prevented or alleviated with a healthy diet....
-oriented foods for schoolchildren. The business was renamed to RSuper Foods in 2006. RSuper foods produces the famous{{Citation needed|date=February 2011}} Super Donut that has been widely served to students at public schools in the eastern United States.
Harris and Mitchell also partnered in 1996 to rescue the Parks Sausage Company in Baltimore, known for being the first
publicly heldThis is not the same as a Government-owned corporation.A public company or publicly traded company is a limited liability company that offers its securities for sale to the general public, typically through a stock exchange, or through market makers operating in over the counter markets...
black-owned business in the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
Harris is also a paid representative for the
Harrah'sCaesars Entertainment Corporation is a private gaming corporation that owns and operates over 50 casinos, hotels, and seven golf courses under several brands. The company, based in Paradise, Nevada, is the largest gaming company in the world, with yearly revenues $8.9 billion...
/
Forest City EnterprisesForest City Enterprises is a $9-billion diversified real estate management and development company based in Cleveland, Ohio, United States. Its portfolio includes interests in retail centers, apartment communities, office buildings and mixed-use projects in the U.S...
casinoIn modern English, a casino is a facility which houses and accommodates certain types of gambling activities. Casinos are most commonly built near or combined with hotels, restaurants, retail shopping, cruise ships or other tourist attractions...
plan for downtown Pittsburgh. This association has earned him the
tongue-in-cheekTongue-in-cheek is a phrase used as a figure of speech to imply that a statement or other production is humorously intended and it should not be taken at face value. The facial expression typically indicates that one is joking or making a mental effort. In the past, it may also have indicated...
nickname, "Franco Harrahs".
On July 9, 2006, Harris made an appearance in the 2006
Taco BellTaco Bell is an American chain of fast-food restaurants based in Irvine, California. A subsidiary of Yum! Brands, Inc., which serves American-adapted Mexican food. Taco Bell serves tacos, burritos, quesadillas, nachos, other specialty items, and a variety of "Value Menu" items...
"All-Star Legends and Celebrity Softball Game" at
PNC ParkPNC Park is a baseball park located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It is the fifth home of the Pittsburgh Pirates, the city's Major League Baseball franchise. It opened during the 2001 Major League Baseball season, after the controlled implosion of the Pirates' previous home, Three Rivers Stadium...
in Pittsburgh.
In August 2008, Harris attended the
2008 Democratic National ConventionThe United States 2008 Democratic National Convention was a quadrennial presidential nominating convention of the Democratic Party where it adopted its national platform and officially nominated its candidates for President and Vice President of the United States. The convention was held in Denver,...
, in Denver,
ColoradoColorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
, as part of the
PennsylvaniaThe Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
delegationDelegation is the assignment of authority and responsibility to another person to carry out specific activities. However the person who delegated the work remains accountable for the outcome of the delegated work. Delegation empowers a subordinate to make decisions, i.e...
. Harris voted for Obama on December 15, 2008, as one of Pennsylvania's 21 Democratic presidential electors.
In
John GrishamJohn Ray Grisham, Jr. is an American lawyer and author, best known for his popular legal thrillers.John Grisham graduated from Mississippi State University before attending the University of Mississippi School of Law in 1981 and practiced criminal law for about a decade...
's 2008 novel
Playing For PizzaPlaying for Pizza is a short novel by John Grisham, released on September 25, 2007. The novel is about an itinerant American football player who can no longer get work in the National Football League and whose agent, as a last resort, signs a deal for him to play for the Parma Panthers, in Parma,...
, the fullback of the Parma Panthers is nicknamed Franco as a tribute to his hero, Franco Harris, who he refers to as the "greatest Italian football player". This is a reference to Franco's mixed racial heritage.
Personal
Harris' brother Pete Harris, a collegiate
All-AmericaAn All-America team is an honorary sports team composed of outstanding amateur players—those considered the best players of a specific season for each team position—who in turn are given the honorific "All-America" and typically referred to as "All-American athletes", or simply...
n
footballAmerican football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
player, died on August 15, 2006, of a heart attack at the age of 49.
On July 27, 2009 Harris' son, Franco "Dok" Harris, officially announced his candidacy for Mayor of the City of Pittsburgh. He placed second in the general election on November 3 of that year, capturing over 25% of the vote.
Franco has served as part of the advisory board at Penn State's Center for Food Innovation, and was recently named a Conti Professor by Penn State's School of Hospitality Management.
External links
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NFLThe National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
Super Bowl MVPThe Super Bowl Most Valuable Player Award, or Super Bowl MVP, is an award presented annually to the most valuable player of the Super Bowl, the National Football League's championship game. The winner is chosen by a fan vote during the game and by a panel of 16 American football writers and...
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Larry CsonkaLarry Richard Csonka is a former collegiate and professional American football fullback.-Childhood:One of six children, Csonka was born in Stow, Ohio where he was raised on a farm by his Hungarian family...
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Super Bowl IXSuper Bowl IX was an American football game played on January 12, 1975 at Tulane Stadium in New Orleans, Louisiana to decide the National Football League champion following the 1974 regular season. It would be the last pro game at legendary Tulane Stadium...
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Lynn Swann-Collegiate:Swann attended the University of Southern California, where he was an All-American on the Trojans football team. He played under legendary coach John McKay, including the 1972 undefeated and national championship season. McKay said of Swann, "He has speed, soft hands, and grace." He...
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John BrockingtonJohn Stanley Brockington is a former American football running back. He was the National Football League's Green Bay Packers' 1st round draft choice out of the Ohio State University, and was the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year in 1971.-College career:Brockington played halfback and fullback for...
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Chuck ForemanChuck Foreman is a retired NFL football player.He was a running back during his NFL career, although he often caught passes out of the backfield.-Early career:...
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{{Persondata
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