On Christmas night I watched a brief show about an incident that has been called a “Christmas miracle”. It wasn’t a miracle in the sense of a life being saved or obstacles being overcome to bring a family together for the holidays. It wasn’t something that happened on 34th Street, either. It was about something that happened in Pittsburgh, on a football field on Decenber 23, 1972 (since it happened on that date, I guess it could also be called a Festivus miracle). Specifically, it happened in the final minute of an AFC divisional playoff game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Oakland Raiders, in a place called Three Rivers Stadium. Outside of its context, it was not a miracle or anything really earth-shattering, but to Steelers fans, it miraculously saved their beloved team’s season, if only for one more week.
Until the waning seconds, the game was a tight, low-scoring defensive battle, with the Raiders having just pulled ahead 7-6. Now with a little over a minute to go, the Steelers had their backs to the wall, facing a fourth and ten. This meant, of course that they had to move the ball at least ten yards on the next play or the game would be lost and the season over. Every fan who studied NFL history knows what happened next. Like other improbable game changing plays before and after it, this play was branded with a nickname that suggested divine intervention. A few days after it happened, Pittsburgh sportscaster Myron Cope named it the “Immaculate Reception”, a title he credited to a fan who called in. The name stuck, providing a convenient way to index the play that is now regarded by NFL Films as the greatest play in pro football history.
How it happened
On that last gasp fourth down, Terry Bradshaw, then the Steelers young quarterback, was frantically looking downfield for an open receiver while being pursued by two Raider linemen. Just before he was driven into the hard turf, he spotted receiver John “Frenchy” Fuqua, and sent the ball in his direction. Raiders safety Jack Tatum was speeding toward the ball in an attempt to either intercept the pass or bat it down, and if those two failed, then bring Fuqua down immediately and control the damage for at least one more play. Tatum, Fuqua, and the ball all met at the same spot. It ricocheted off of one or both of them, and into the hands of Harris, who then took the open route to the end zone ahead of him, having to brush off only one man on the way.
That improbable play was tentatively ruled a touchdown, but there were questions about the play which had to be dealt with. The game was on the line, and since this was a playoff game, the decision would almost certainly determine who would be playing in the AFC Championship game the next week, and who would be watching it at home. In 1972, the addition of replay officials was an idea whose time lay two decades in the future. It may not have even been conceived yet, although the understanding I got from what I read was that there was a monitor off to the sidelines. If needed, officials could do a quick review to double check their call. The first issue that had to be addressed was whether the ball was touched by Tatum. At that time, a pass was invalid if caught by an offensive player after being touched by another offensive player, without being touched by a defender. In other words, if the ball bounced off Fuqua without being touched by Tatum, then the catch by Harris and the subsequent touchdown was null and void, and the play would be ruled an incomplete pass. Some also questioned whether Harris even caught the pass. The ball may have hit the ground before it reached Harris, therefore making it a dead ball and incomplete pass. There is dispute as to whether the monitor was actually used by the officiating crew in coming to their decision, but they did at least confer on it before making the final call. The touchdown was allowed to stand, which is probably the same decision that would have been reached by a replay official had there been one in place at the time. Given the quality and angles of the video, it was not irrefutably clear whether the ball hit Tatum or just Fuqua, or whether Harris caught the ball or scooped it off the ground. *
Had the pass been ruled incomplete, the Raiders would have taken over on downs and ran out the clock. They would have been the ones who went to Miami the next week and played for the AFC Championship. Instead, the Steelers won the game and made the trip to Miami while the Raiders went home to their wives and children to begin their long offseason. But the Dolphins were unstoppable that year, and the Steelers were the second to last victims of their perfect 17-0 season. That record still stands as the only unblemished season in NFL history, although the Patriots came within a minute of sealing a perfect 19-0 in Super Bowl XLII. But the Patriots failed to hold on to their lead, and fell to the Giants in the final seconds. Other than that, no team since the league merger in 1970 has ever taken a perfect record into the post season.
Side Note:
During this special on the Immaculate Reception, I saw something about Terry Bradshaw that appealed to me. It was a brief off-field clip of Bradshaw being greeted at the guard booth outside Three Rivers Stadium. He was driving a Ford pickup truck, not a BMW or Mercedes. I don’t know if Bradshaw had other vehicles at home that his wife drove, and I don’t know what kind of car he drives now as a Fox commentator. But I like the fact that he was driving a pickup truck. Maybe it was just natural for a Louisiana country boy. I’m not an expert on cars, so maybe it was one of Ford’s more expensive trucks. Maybe back then players still thought of themselves more as blue collar workers and didn’t care for luxury and sports cars. There are a lot of maybes that I don’t know about. What I liked was that Bradshaw apparently didn’t feel any need to impress people with his car, at least not when he was driving to work.
*Raiders linebacker Phil Villapiano claims to have been illegally blocked in the back by Steelers tight end John McMakin, which if flagged would have carried at least a 15 yard penalty and a repeat of the fourth down. The touchdown would have been nullified, although the Steelers would still have at least one more chance to win the game.
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