Skip navigation
Favorites
Sign up to follow your favorites on all your devices.
Sign up

In final radio interview, Franco Harris sums up Immaculate Reception: “Go to the ball”

0143_hAO_F2h
Mike Florio and Chris Simms look back on the legacy of Franco Harris, who has died at 72 years old, and honor what made him special on and off the field.

The late Franco Harris, who died Wednesday at 72, became iconic for his role in the greatest play in NFL history. Franco caught the ball that became the Immaculate Reception, and he scored the game-winning touchdown against the Raiders.

Franco appeared Tuesday on SiriusXM Mad Dog Radio with Chris Russo. The Hall of Famer explained his thought process of the play.

“When the ball is in the air, I tell myself, ‘Go to the ball. Go to the ball,’” Harris said. “That’s what Joe [Paterno] preached to us all, all four years at Penn State. Always go to the ball. And when he threw that ball, automatically, my mind said, ‘Go to the ball.’

“And so I start taking some steps to the ball, and I remember nothing after that. Which is -- it blows my mind that I have no visual, no recollection, no memory of anything until I’m stiff-arming Jimmy Warren going into the end zone.”

Franco said he was amazed at how quickly it all happened. Those who saw it are even more amazed that nearly 50 years have gone by, and that Franco is so quickly and suddenly gone.