In the 1970’s, the Pittsburgh Steelers, long a sad sack football team, became the standard of excellence in the NFL, winning titles in 1975, 1976, 1979 and 1980.
Pittsburgh built a phenomenal team around a rock-solid defense and a versatile offense. Quarterback Terry Bradshaw had weapons like Lynn Swann, Rocky Bleier and Franco Harris, who would go on to become one of the great backs in NFL history.
Harris was a rookie in 1972 and would ultimately become the offensive Rookie of the Year. All that – indeed his entire rookie season – was overshadowed by one play: the Immaculate Reception.
In that year’s playoffs, the Steelers were down to the Oakland Raiders 7-6 with just :22 left to play. Bradshaw dropped back to pass and under pressure let it fly towards running back John Fuqua. However, the ball bounced off the helmet Raider safety Jack Tatum and Harris picked it up on the rebound, running it in for a touchdown as the clock spelled doom for Oakland.
Needless to say the play created bedlam among the fans. Pittsburgh had never won a playoff game prior to this and it took 15 minutes to clear the field for the extra point.
Many consider this to be the greatest play in NFL history and certainly it’s one of the most memorable.