The Brian D. O’Leary Show
December 21, 2022
Bill Schonely
“… wherever you may be…”
The Final Goodbye for “The Schonz”
Franco Harris
Steelers Hall of Fame RB Franco Harris, author of 'The Immaculate Reception,' dies at 72
Starting with the 1980 season, Harris became the career rushing leader among active players.
The 1984 Seattle Seahawks did have the “Original” Curt Warner on the roster, but the 3rd pick of the 1983 NFL Draft out of Penn State was injured in the opening game versus the Cleveland Browns, ending his season.
Franco Harris—coming off a season in 1983 where he rushed for 1,007 yards—was released by the Steelers during training camp before the 1984 season, over an ostensible pay dispute.
After the 1983 season, Harris was only 363 yards away from breaking Jim Brown’s career rushing record. Harris joined the Seahawks in September, but only ended up playing in 8 games and ended up with 170 yards rushing on the season. He never played in the NFL again.
After taping this episode, John Ziegler tweeted that Franco had been at work on a podcast of his own about the Penn State-Paterno-Sandusky case. Here is the link:
NFL All-Time Leading Rushers
Harris is now 15th all-time. Jim Brown is 11th!
Joe Paterno
Wikipedia article about JoePa (Warning: some information, especially about the end of his career is dubious.)
Joe would have turned 96 today. RIP.
The Immaculate Reception
How the Immaculate Reception shaped Steelers history
Wikipedia on the Immaculate Reception
Harris caught a deflected pass, leading to a 13-7 Steelers victory over their rival Oakland Raiders in the 1972 AFC Divisional Playoff.
Notably, the NFL playoffs started in December in those days.
The 50th anniversary of the play will be on Friday, December 23, 2002. The number 32 that Franco Harris wore for the Pittsburgh Steelers is due to be retired on Saturday and will be only the third number to be officially retired by the club.
With the Benefit of Hindsight Podcast
The Framing of Joe Paterno: Documenting an outrageous rush to judgment
The Website of Record for Truth in the Sandusky Scandal
The Death of Journalism
Tweet Mentioned:
John Ziegler (@Zigmanfreud)
Peyton’s Places on ESPN+
Link to Ep. 24 of the first season of Peyton’s Places (You’ll probably need an ESPN+ subscription to watch)
The O’Leary Review Podcast
Episode 8 — John Ziegler (LIV Golf, College Football, and more)
Episode 9 — John Ziegler (The Penn State Case mega-pod)
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