Immaculate Reception

Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons and the sharing of photographer Jonathan D. Parshall of a statue of Franco Harris making the "Immaculate Reception" found at the Pittsburgh International Airport.

The most famous play in football history is undisputably the play from December 23, 1972 dubbed and forever remembered as the Immaculate Reception. This play has all the elements of intrigue; a fantastic play, great legendary athletes, iconic teams and controversy! Oh the controversy and the impact the play had on the two NFL franchises that participated in the play. Rich Shmelter, the fantastic author, historian and Raiders podcast expert joins Darin and Steeler Nation in the Pigpen to look methodically at both sides of this most important play.

NFL Films states that this play is both the greatest play of all time and the most controversial play of all time.

Early in the 1972 season he Steelers won a regular season match up with the Raiders 34-28. The Steelers finished the season at 11-3 while Oakland posted a 10-3-1 record. Miami however had the best AFC record so oakland and Pittsburgh would battle it out to face the Dolphins in the AFC WildCard showdown.

It was a scoreless tie at the half. Oakland's longest play in the first two quarters was an 11 yard gain. Pittsburgh could have tried a 31 yard field goal but instead on 4 and 2 John Fuqua was stuffed by Jack Tatum and the Steelers turned over the ball on Downs. A foreshadow of a much more famous collision between the two later in the game. The Steelers kicked two second hald field goals and Oakland QB Ken Stabler scrambled for a 30 yard TD run. Woth 1:17 remaining the Pittsburgh held the ball trailing 7-6 on a 4-10 play.

Steelers quarterback Terry Bradshaw, under tremendous pressure from Raiders Tony Cline and Horace Jones, threw the ball to the Raiders' 35-yard line, toward halfback John Frenchy Fuqua. Raiders safety Jack Tatum collided with Fuqua just as the ball arrived. Tatum's hit knocked Fuqua to the ground and sent the ball sailing backward several yards, end over end.

Steelers fullback Franco Harris, after initially blocking on the play, had run downfield in case Bradshaw needed another eligible receiver. He scooped up the sailing ball just before it would have hit the ground. Harris ran past Raiders linebacker Gerald Irons, while linebacker Phil Villapiano, who had been covering Harris, was blocked by Steelers tight end John McMakin. Harris used a stiff arm to ward off Raiders defensive back Jimmy Warren, and went in for a touchdown. The touchdown gave the Steelers a 13–7 lead when Roy Gerela added the ensuing extra point.

Coach John Madden was livid as people flooded the field in panadmonium, and he had some legitimate gripes of contention.

Check it out for yourself on this great video of the play: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nT1NXb1Cwqg

1. Did Tatum or Fuqua touch the pass first?
2. Did Harris catch the ball cleanly without it hitting the ground?
3. Was there a block in the back ( a clip at the time) on Phil Villapiano?

Rich and Darin have a great conversation as they tangle in the mud of the Pigpen. It is too good to try and write down in words, so I implore you to listen to the podcast of this conversation up at the top of this post.

Remeber this was the Steelers first post season victory in the history of the franchise! They lost the following game against the undefeated Miami Dolphins but Pittsburgh was a team on the rise, and was one awesom NFL Draft away from having the team of the 1970s decade. The catch by Rookie Franco Harris set the team on a course with history where they won four Super Bowls in the years soon after this play and placed numerous busts in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. The Raiders too went on to win some championships in the next ten years and vied to the AFC title almost every year in the 1970's there after.

Make sure you check out Rich Shmelter's works of writing  in the Amazon links below.

The vintage Public Domain drawing in the banner is courtesy of Wikimedia Commons. It is from the October 11, 1930 Official Football Publication - Gridiron Review - for the Pittsburgh versus Western Reserve Game.