RIP Franco Harris

[sbb122]

Franco Harris, Hall of Fame Steelers running back, dies at 72

Legendary Steelers running back and Pro Football Hall of Famer Franco Harris has died.

www.cbsnews.com

He was going to be the 3rd Steeler to have his jersey retired this Saturday night to coincide with the 50th anniversary of The Immaculate Reception

 

[thedddd]

Very sad day, RIP

 

[dash]

72 is way too young. RIP to a great running back.

 

[dash]

I thought I had heard this before...

 

[sbb122]

I thought I had heard this before...

Franco was also the blocking back for Lydell Mitchell at Penn State.

 

[buffhockey]

RIP

 

[Debbie Does]

RIP. We’re slowly losing them all.

 

[Comeds]

Damn this sucks

 

[dare2be]

RIP my good man.

 

[dare2be]

Statement from President Joe Biden on the Passing of Franco Harris | The White House

Say the name Franco Harris and most everyone talks about the catch, the Super Bowls, and the glory he brought to the game of football. But in the fifty

www.whitehouse.gov

Statement from President Joe Biden on the Passing of Franco Harris

Say the name Franco Harris and most everyone talks about the catch, the Super Bowls, and the glory he brought to the game of football. But in the fifty years we bonded as friends, I always talked about his character and compassion.

Fifty years ago, the Pittsburgh Steelers had just finished a dominant regular season with their first division title. They celebrated Christmas just days after beating the Oakland Raiders on one of the most famous plays in NFL history – the last-second Immaculate Reception by their rookie running back, Franco Harris. While the Steelers would barely lose the conference championship game to the undefeated Miami Dolphins, Franco went on to a Hall of Fame career that led the Steelers to four Super Bowl titles in six years as the dominant team of the 1970’s.

But that’s not why the Pittsburgh Steelers – and Franco – are close to my heart.

It was this week fifty years ago when my first wife and infant daughter were killed and my two young sons were badly injured in a car accident while they were out getting a Christmas tree. I had just been elected to the U.S. Senate and I was in Washington when I got the call and rushed home to Delaware.

I rarely left my boys’ bedside until they got better. But one day I did to go shopping for them. When I returned, they were smiling for the first time since the accident. Art Rooney, the generous and honorable owner of the Steelers, had flown out with a couple of players, including Franco, and the tough as nails Rocky Bleier. Busy with their own lives, they took the time to be with my boys, sign footballs, and then left with no publicity. A small act of kindness that meant the world to us.

Sports have a powerful way of bringing people together. As families gather for Christmas this weekend, there will be countless Pittsburgh Steeler and Penn State fans sharing stories of Franco with their children and grandchildren who will discover his greatness on the field. But I know there will also be countless families like mine that will remember him for all that he did to lift our spirits when we needed it – in the most quiet, personal, and American of ways. We don’t have to ask. We show up. We reach out. We share a compassion that is a source of our enduring strength as a nation.

The last few times I saw Franco were in September and November of 2020 on the campaign trail in Latrobe and Pittsburgh. This week of all weeks, my family remembers him and keeps him close to our hearts.

May God bless, Franco Harris – a dear friend, a good man, and a great American.

May God bless the love of his life Dana, their family, and all of Steeler Nation.

 

[thedddd]

 

[thedddd]

@sbb122 and @dash. Where are the shovels? I can’t believe all the idiots online saying he died due to the vaccine.

 

[sbb122]

@sbb122 and @dash. Where are the shovels? I can’t believe all the idiots online saying he died due to the vaccine.

Jesus I haven’t heard that yet.

 

[dash]

@sbb122 and @dash. Where are the shovels? I can’t believe all the idiots online saying he died due to the vaccine.

It's the new go-to for these people. Candace Owens was blaming Celine Dion's rare condition of her stiffening body/joints on the vaccine.

 

[thedddd]

Jesus I haven’t heard that yet.

Oh there is one right in that Twitter thread.


Then I read one that was talking about how Franco was supposed to be on the Cam Heyward podcast.

 

[thedddd]

 

[dash]

I liked Reggie Jackson more with the Athletics than I did with the Yankees.

 

[thedddd]

 

[naslundfan19]

 

[dash]

I like the cars parked at the back of the endzone.