Franco Harris was born on March 7, 1950, at Fort Dix, N.J. His father, Cad, who was Black, met his mom, Gina Parenti, who was Italian, in Pisa, Italy, the place Cad was stationed as an Army medic. After graduating from Rancocas Valley Regional High School in Mount Holly, N.J., he performed fullback at Penn State, opening working lanes for the working again Lydell Mitchell.
The Steelers drafted him with the thirteenth choose within the first spherical of the 1972 N.F.L. draft. He made a right away affect, speeding for 1,055 yards and scoring 10 touchdowns in his first season and profitable offensive rookie of the yr honors from The Associated Press. In 1975, his most efficient yr, he rushed for 1,246 yards, second to O.J. Simpson, and scored 10 touchdowns.
His profession complete of 354 speeding yards in Super Bowls stays a report in the present day.
“All I know is, he’s dependable,” Bradshaw, the Steelers quarterback all through the Seventies, instructed The New York Times in 1983. “He’s a Rolls-Royce, and since I haven’t seen too many of them driving around the streets of Pittsburgh, it’s nice to know there’s one sitting right behind me on the field.”
The Steelers by no means had a shedding marketing campaign in Harris’s 12 seasons with them. His followers referred to as themselves Franco’s Italian Army, a nod to his mom’s ancestry.
Harris was launched by the Steelers after a contract squabble in 1984. He signed with the Seahawks and gained 170 yards in eight video games earlier than being reduce.
Although Harris left the Steelers, his recognition by no means flagged in Pittsburgh, the place a statue of his well-known catch, subsequent to certainly one of George Washington, greets guests at Pittsburgh International Airport. ((*72*) was moved to a extra distinguished place at the airport after information of his demise.) He opened a enterprise promoting nutritious baked items and one other promoting health gear, each primarily based within the metropolis.
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