Cowboys Country

Franco Harris, Steelers Legend & Dallas Cowboys Super Bowl Nemesis, Dead at 72

The late Franco Harris' Steelers became the dominant team of the 1970s, with four Super Bowl wins - and with the Cowboys their victims at the end of the '75 and '78 seasons.

Mike Fisher

FRISCO - Franco Harris, the Hall of Fame Pittsburgh Steelers running back known in the football world for “The Immaculate Reception'' and known in Dallas as a major obstacle to Cowboys success in two Super Bowls, has died. He was 72.

Harris’ son Dok told The Associated Press early Wednesday that his father passed away overnight, with no cause of death given at this time.

Harris' death comes on the eve of the 50th anniversary of the play that marked Pittsburgh jump to title contention NFL’s elite and just before this weekend's plan to retire his No. 32 during a ceremony at halftime of the Steelers game against the Las Vegas Raiders - the same team he victimized with the wild carom-catch for a winning TD in a playoff game against Oakland in 1972.

“That play really represents our teams of the ’70s,” Harris said in 2020 after the ”Immaculate Reception” was voted the greatest play in NFL history.

The Steelers would go on to become the dominant team of the 1970s, twice winning back-to-back Super Bowls, first after the 1974 and 1975 seasons and again after the 1978 and 1979 seasons - with the Cowboys their victims at the end of the '75 and '78 seasons.

In the view of Cowboys Nation, the Steelers essentially kept the Cowboys - who won Super Bowls after the '71 and '77 seasons - from being that "Team of the Decade.''

Harris' 354 career yards rushing in Super Bowls remains an NFL record. Harris, who retired as the NFL’s third all-time leading rusher behind Walter Payton and Jim Brown, was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1990. 

Harris is survived by his wife Dana Dokmanovich and his son, Dok.

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Mike Fisher
MIKE FISHER

Mike Fisher - as a newspaper beat writer and columnist and on radio and TV, where he is an Emmy winner - has covered the NFL since 1983 and the Dallas Cowboys since 1990, is the author of two best-selling books on the Cowboys.

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