PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – A few Steelers were asked Franco Harris in the last couple of days leading up to the anniversary of the Immaculate Reception. What they first discussed was not Franco is Super Bowl MVP or even the great catch he made on that 1972 day. They talked about Franco the person.
“He’s just a special man,” Tomlin said. “Forget the player. Obviously, I'd never knew the player, I know the man and just what an awesome representation of this organization, this community, a guy that embraces all the responsibility that comes with being him. I just admire his passion for Pittsburgh and young people. He served a long time on the board with my wife, Pittsburgh Promise, and
his passion for others in this place and the Steelers is unparalleled, and it’s to be admired.”
When Najee Harris first came to Pittsburgh one of the first pictures was by the Franco Harris statue in the Pittsburgh International Airport. He smiled thinking now how many times he’s passed it.
A generation gap and growing up on the West Coast kept Najee from knowing about Harris’ Hall of Fame career. What he learned quickly was what he meant to Pittsbugrh.
“For him being such a good guy in the community,” Najee Harris said. “And to be such an icon in the community. Franco is cool.”
Najee Harris remembered he was involved in a charity event this Fall and Franco just showed up out of the blue to help. What Najee found out was that Franco left the Steelers Alumni Weekend get-together because he wanted to assist in Najee raising money.
The two would text often, Najee laughed thinking about the last text he got from him a week ago. He said every once-in-a-while he would just get a random text from the Hall of Fame Steeler.
“He is like family,” Najee Harris said last Friday. “I like Franco, he’s a great guy.”
Little did any of us know he would be taken from us. Yes a great football player, but as former Steelers public relations head Joe Gordon would tell people, no Steeler did more community work than Franco Harris.
LISTEN: Mel Blount talks with Aditi about the Immaculate Reception and Franco Harris.
Asked by Aditi Kinkhabwala during Tuesday’s edition of “Off the Field” what exactly it is about Harris that makes him so popular, Mel Blount said, “Franco, and I tell people this all the time, he is the most genuine, the most decent human being that I have ever come across.”
“Franco is a good man, he’s a good person, but what Franco did, for all of us was he convinced us that we can win,” added Blount.