In honor of Italian American Heritage Month, this week’s article will delve into a Italian-American legend and how he made history with the greatest NFL play of all time.
The man: Franco Harris
In New Jersey, Franco Harris was born to father and WWII Veteran Cad Harris and Italian-born mother Gina Parenti. Mrs. Parenti-Harris immigrated to America with her husband after the conclusion of the war and Franco was born shortly thereafter in 1950. He was one of nine children.
Much like Tom Flores’ high school sports career trajectory, Harris also played multiple sports, but knew football was the ticket to opportunities in the future.
Earning a scholarship at Penn State University, Harris was a dependable running and blocking back. After three years at Penn, Franco entered the NFL draft in 1972.
The team: The Pittsburg Steelers
As the “basement dwellers” of the NFL, the Pittsburg Steelers were chronic underdogs since their inception in 1933. Whether it be their prison inspired garb, or legacy of losing, the Pittsburg Steelers developed an attitude of grit, violence, and determination early on.
It took the motley crew (not the motley crue) 10 years to obtain a winning record in 1942. This was the first of five between 1933 and 1969. There was one playoff run in 1947 that ended quickly.
Does the name “Steagles” or “The Carpets” ring a bell?
During WWII, most healthy young men were drafted – teams were compromised of older players and those who failed the draft physical.
In 1943, the Steelers and Eagles combined teams due to lack of available players. The steelers did this again in 1944 with the Cardinals.
A new era began with Chuck Noll. Between Noll and Dan Rooney, son of Art Rooney, the dynasty was built. The duo had an incredible aptitude for bringing some of the NFL’s greatest players of all time together via draft in the 1970’s. These players included: Mean Joe Greene, Terry Bradshaw, Mel Blount, Jack Ham, Franco Harris, Lynn Swann, Jack Lambert, John Stallworth, and Mike Webster. Feel like you read the NFL Hall of Fame Induction list? You’re right, because that’s basically the entire HOF on one team at the same time.
Chuck Noll had a 1-13 record his first year in 1969 – their worst record ever. Let’s give our rookie coaches in the league a chance, shall we (*Cough* Nathaniel Hackett *Cough*).
The play: The Immaculate Reception
1972 was a major turning point for the team. They had a win-loss record of 11-3. Their best ever.
One of the reasons they did so well, was the “Offensive Rookie of the Year” 6’2′ 230 pound full-back, Franco Harris. Notably, Harris is one of the few Steelers of 1972 with his mental faculties intact today, this can be attributed to his avoidance of contact on the field. A lesson for the kids.
Leading the AFC Central league, the team made it to the play-offs. The first post-season game was against the Oakland Raiders.
This is when the greatest play of NFL history was born.
Picture this play: it’s the 4th quarter, 22 seconds left on the clock, fourth-down and 10 on the Steeler’s 40 yard line. The Raiders are leading the game 7-6, and Terry Bradshaw is scanning the field. He throws a hail mary out to John Fuqua. Fuqua gets hit by Jack Tatum, a paralyzing threat (literally), and he is out for the count.
The ball ricochets off Tatum allegedly (this is highly contested). Imagine plays happening without 15 minutes of deliberation between every referee on the field and the team in New York. Franco Harris manages an incredible stretch to catch the ball before it hits the ground, and gets the touchdown. The Steelers won, (and lost the AFC Champion the following week), they finally won a playoff game!
For a full video of the Immaculate Reception, the NFL’s video recording is here.
The Pittsburg Steelers channeled their inner Lombardi
Art Rooney recruited Ray Kemp in 1933. One of two African Americans in the league. He was the last African American player in the league until 1946 – the ban on African American players in the league occurred between his tenure and the “modern” NFL. Kemp faced a lot of discrimination, something Rooney didn’t do enough to combat, and Rooney is held accountable for that here.
Art Rooney in his flawed way continued to hire African American coaches and players with an eye on diversity throughout his ownership of the Steelers. Later, The Rooney Rule was developed by Dan Rooney – a outdated rule that was meaningful at it’s conception. The gist of the rule was that at least one man of color had to be interviewed for each head coach and senior position openings. A team was fined $200,000 for not doing so in 2003.
Although Chuck Noll is debatably the coach of the team most effected by neurocognitive decline in their later years, he also had a fairness that combatted racism and ageism in the league.
It was common place, when draft picks were considered by teams their height, weight, and other stats were written. There also was a special symbol for the race of the player. Noll removed any race identifiers for all draft picks for his team. This was revolutionary in a quota driven, stereotyping league.
Noll also took on ageism. He treated young reporters with the same respect as he did the veteran reporters. He also insisted on inter-generational communication within his team staff – he felt that this would allow for better collaboration and idea-sharing.
Franco Harris is a unifying force
Harris crossed racial and cultural barriers. He describes his family as being proudly multi-cultural. In a time in America when interracial marriage hadn’t been legal country wide until 1967, Harris was a physical representation of the diversity America was struggling to embrace.
Italian community members embraced Harris as their own, creating “Francos Italian Army.” Harris was a sort-of bridge between African Americans and Italian Americans who had significant conflict in the Pittsburg community at the time of his drafting. It doesn’t appear Harris did anything intentionally to develop this “army,” it happened organically while he played.
The army was assembled by Al Vento and Tony Stagno, two Pittsburg business men. The development of the army is a bit unclear, but it didn’t take long to have a full fledged platoon. The army would show up on game days with signs, helmets, and homemade Italian cuisine and goblets of Italian wine. They also would attend charity events Mr. Harris was apart of.
One of the more famous members of the “army” was the legend Frank Sinatra. The members flew out to Palm Springs with little notice, to host Sinatra’s 1972 induction ceremony, with wine, prosciutto, and cheese.
What did Franco Harris have to say about this unique fan base?
He appreciates the energy they brought to the game and the community. He remained friends with Al Vento until Vento passed.
Tommy Lasorda told him the way he acts with fans and the community is important – people will remember that. Harris took this responsibility serious. He has created a legacy of authentic appreciation for his fans, community, and role as a family man.
