THE IMMACULATE RECEPTION - 1972
After nearly forty years of making up the numbers in professional football, the Steelers chose Chuck Noll as their head coach in 1969 and began a journey that put the franchise firmly into sports’ history books.
In the seventies, the team leapt from being nobodies to the first team to win three, then four Super Bowls.
The foundations for success were laid with Noll’s appointment in 1969 and through the draft, he gradually built the team that became the most successful ever in professional football.
After Noll’s first season, which saw his new team continue their poor performances, he traded Dick Shiner to the New York Giants for Henry Davis and running back John Fuqua.
Within two years of joining the team, flamboyant Fuqua was going to earn a bookmark for a major moment in the Steelers’ history. The pages of Steelers’ drama were about to expand dramatically and Fuqua was to play a major part and ensure his name would never be forgotten with Steelers’ fans.
When “Frenchy” Fuqua joined the Steelers, he initially became more famous for his fashion attire, including wearing shoes with large glass heels that had goldfish in them, than for being a running back.
In 1972, Frenchy played an important part in what Terry Bradshaw described as “the pivotal play in the team's history.” For the first time after joining the league, the Steelers had a serious shot of making some progress in the postseason.
Facing their big rivals of the day, the Oakland Raiders coached by John Madden, the game was a mundane affair. Roy Gerela, for the Steelers, kicked field goals of 18 and 20 yards that gave Pittsburgh a 6-0 lead with under two minutes remaining.
The game appeared as though it would finish limply until Oakland’s quarterback, Ken Stabler, erased the Steelers lead after scrambling 30 yards on a broken play to put Oakland in front with one minute and 13 seconds remaining.
The Steelers were once again on the verge of disappearing down the well-worn road to obscurity when a moment of majestic magic transformed the franchise’s image into possible championship material.
Down to their last play, the Steelers were 60 yards from the Oakland goal. Terry Bradshaw was scrambling in desperation, looking for any potential receiver. He aimed his bomb downfield and rookie running back Franco Harris made an incredible shoe-top catch of a pass that appeared to ricochet off Fuqua before running 42 yards for the TD that won the game.
Mayhem enveloped the stadium as the officials debated who the ball touched before it was caught. If the ball hit Fuqua before the catch, the game was over and Oakland were the winners. Touchdown was signalled and the fans erupted into celebrations that delayed the extra point for fifteen minutes, but the Steelers had finally discarded their loser's tag.
With the help from his listeners, Pittsburgh’s illustrious radio commentator Myron Cope came up with the apt description of the play that has stuck with football fans ever since – the Immaculate Reception.
THE TOWEL ON TOUR 2009 IN BERLIN
