Here’s the video of my summary of the Immaculate Reception:
Here’s my article:
Since I was born in the 70’s, and I grew up a Steelers fan, I had to write about the “Immaculate Reception”. I researched and learned more about the Immaculate Reception and the news coverage of the story.
On December 23, 1972, during the fourth quarter of the Pittsburgh Steelers – Oakland Raiders AFC Divisional Playoff game, The “Immaculate Reception” happened. Many football critics and fans called the play “the most fantastic finish in the history of professional football”.
The game between the Raiders and Steelers was a very defensive game. At the half the score was 0 – 0. In the 3rd and 4th quarters, the Steelers were able to get a field goal in each quarter to make the game, 6 – 0. This seemed to wake-up the Raiders offense and they were able to finally drive the ball down the field to score a touchdown. The score made the game 7 to 6 in favor of the Raiders with only 1:13 left in the game.
The Steelers weren’t ready to give up. Pittsburgh Quarterback Terry Bradshaw moved the Steelers down the field. Bradshaw with time running out, fired the ball 20 yards down the field to John “Frenchy” Fuqua on fourth down.
Raiders defensive back, Jack Tatum, hit Fuqua the same time the ball was coming towards him. The ball bounced off Tatum and Fuqua causing the ball to go back 15 yards back towards Bradshaw.
At first many Steelers fans thought the game was over and that was the game. However, just before the ball hit the ground, Franco Harris caught the ball off of his shoestrings and rushed towards the end zone. – [1]
Harris scored the winning TD, rushing 42 yards after catching the ball. The Steelers took back the lead, 13 to 7. Raiders players and coaches couldn’t believe it, much less the fans at the game. Harris scored the winning game with 15 seconds left in the game. That was the final score and was later called “The Immaculate Reception”.
Photo from: http://www.profootballhof.com/photos/immaculate-reception/2009/12/2/
Here’s a great video link that I found of the Immaculate Reception:
Video of the play: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7xMDIcsUMmA&feature=related
From the NY Times: “Starting from his 20-yard line, Bradshaw threw five straight passes, two broken up by the ubiquitous Tatum, one of many defensive stars in this playoff contest. The fifth pass, blindly thrown down- field in the general direction of Fuqua, was the play that won the game. The football whistled over the head of Harris and then took its big bounce backward. “Sure, I was damn lucky,” said Harris. Chuck Noll, the Steeler coach, never saw the touchdown.
“But I could tell from the crowd noise. We never gave up and that was the story of our year. The pass defense was getting tired and that is how Stabler broke out and scored,” he said.” – 1
How the Story was covered
It isn’t very well known that many Steelers fans that were not at Three Rivers Stadium did not see the Immaculate Reception. The game was actually blacked out in Pittsburgh so many Steelers fan in Pittsburgh didn’t see the play. Also, many fans who were at the game, left after the Raiders scored the touchdown late in the fourth quarter because they thought the game was over. They never saw the play.
Back in the 70’s, there wasn’t as much TV coverage as there is now, so many news outlets were not talking about the catch until hours after it happened. Even during TV coverage, people weren’t able to see Franco Harris’s catch because it was 15 yards behind the play and the camera wasn’t able to catch the play in enough time. Many people just saw Franco running down the field for the TD.
If that happened today, it would have been easily seen, with the different game cameras, as well as social media coverage. Many fans would pick up on it a lot quicker.
Photo from: http://www.profootballhof.com/hof/release.aspx?release_id=762
How the way the story was covered impacted the story itself
The Immaculate Reception is still talked about to this day. Amazing that this happened in 1972 and football fans and analysts still talk about the play. The Immaculate Reception really transformed the Steelers franchise into a winning team.
Many people think that the Immaculate Reception name originated from Myron Cope, a longtime Steelers announcer. Moments before Cope was going on the air to talk about the catch, Sharon Levosky called the TV studio and told Cope that her friend Michael Ord suggested that the play should be called the “Immaculate Reception”. Cope loved it and the rest is Pittsburgh Steelers history.
The Historical Impact
The Immaculate Reception was an amazing story for the Steelers. Not only have they been associated with this historic play since it happened, but it really turned the Steelers franchise around. The Steelers had a very long losing streak. After the Raiders game, they went on to lose against the Miami Dolphins, but after that season, won the Superbowl four times in the late 70’s to change from a losing team into a very successful franchise. It’s amazing to think what could have happened if Franco Harris didn’t catch the ball.
Also, there is a life like statue of Harris in the Pittsburgh Airport catching the ball on his shoestrings (see photo below). He started the Steelers success and that will never be forgotten in Pittsburgh.
Photo from: http://authorandartist.blogspot.com/2008/04/immaculate-reception-statue-at.html
Before Three Rivers was torn down to make room for the new field, The Immaculate Reception ranked #1 on the list of all time past plays in Three Rivers Stadiums.
http://www.steelers.com/history/three-rivers.html
Two great sources that helped me with the coverage of the Immaculate Reception:
[1] – Source from: Wiiliam Wallace, The ‘Immaculate Reception’ http://www.nytimes.com/packages/html/sports/year_in_sports/12.23.html
2 – Source from: The Immaculate Reception http://www.profootballhof.com/hof/release.aspx?release_id=762
