Was the Immaculate Reception really the best of all?
The date was December 23, 1972. Let the scene begin.
In 1972, no football team had a sadder past than the Pittsburgh Steelers. In 39 years, they had posted only seven winning seasons and had been shutout in their only postseason game. During that same span, they finished last a record 11 times and had the worst record in the league five times. That year, however, rookie fullback Franco Harris joined a young defensive team led by “Mean Joe Greene,” and the winds of change began to blow at Three Rivers Stadium. At the end of the season, the Steelers had an 11-3 record and were in the playoffs. There they met the heavily favored Oakland Raiders and a defense led by Jack “The Assassin” Tatum.
As the clock ticked down on the Pittsburgh Steelers’ playoff hopes, something spectacular would have to happen for the Steelers to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat. Something would soon happen that is still mentioned in football conversations around the world almost 40 years later.
It was the last play of the season for Steelers quarterback Terry Bradshaw. With 22 seconds remaining in the 4th quarter, Oakland led 7-6. Bradshaw, fourth down at his own 40-yard line, came out of the pocket and fired a shot at John “Frenchy” Fuqua at midfield. Just as the ball arrived, Jack Tatum delivered a thunderous blow to the Pittsburgh receiver, breaking up the play and sending the ball bouncing harmlessly…or so it seemed. Franco Harris, who was running at full speed towards Fuqua and Tatum, suddenly saw the ball floating in front of him. He ripped Lo out of the air just before he hit the ground and kept running 55 yards for the winning score and the most incredible finish anyone can remember!
There was just one problem. The rules at the time stated that a bounced pass from one offensive player to another offensive player was automatically incomplete. The question was, did Terry Bradshaw’s pass hit John Fuqua or defender Jack Tatum?
The officials consulted for what seemed like an eternity before the referee emerged from the group and raised his arms in the air, THE TAG COUNTED! It looked like Fuqua and Tatum hit the ball at exactly the same time, meaning Harris’ catch was clean. The Pittsburgh Steelers had won 13-7 and the “immaculate reception” became something for the books.
The experts still can’t agree on whether the pass bounced off Fuqua or Tatum. Of all the videos and photos available, none reveals the truth. John Fuqua, the only man who really knew, claimed that the answer is in a sealed envelope that would only be opened after his death. The “sealed envelope” has not yet been opened.