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Pittsburgh Courier NEW
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www.newpittsburghcourier.com Vol. 113 No. 52 Two Sections
DECEMBER 28-JANUARY 3, 2023
Remembering an all-time great, on and off the field Franco Harris passes at age 72 by Aubrey Bruce For New Pittsburgh Courier
The night before the game in which the “Immaculate Reception” occurred, the late Bill “Bubby” Nunn III, son of the Steelers super scout, H a l l - o f - Fa m er Bill Nunn Jr., gave the late John “Squirrel” M o s ley (one of the origi n a l members of the Roy Ayers group “Ubiquity” and a former member of the Isley Brothers’ horn section) and me tickets to the game. We were “bosom buddies” and alumni of the legendary Schenley High School. Late in the game, on Dec. 23, 1972, when the Oakland Raiders scored to take the lead, we decided to leave. After we exited Three Rivers Stadium, the remaining faithful cut loose
an ear-splitting roar. We assumed that it was from overly rambunctious and inebriated fans who were sore losers and so, we played it off. We almost blew our stack when we walked into the Alcatraz bar just a few blocks away from the stadium looking gloomy and sad, when the owner of the bar, “Mert,” as they called him, asked, “Weren’t you guys at the game?” We answered, “Yeah, but we left early.” He exposed his toothless
grin a n d said: “So that’s why yaw’ll looking so down in the dumps. We won the game on the last m____erf____n play.” John Mosley and I never stopped kicking ourselves in the rear end for our lack of faith in the team. After all, we missed the
most significant play in the history of the Pittsburgh Steelers and the history of the National Football League...and we had tickets. I consider it one of the greatest coincidences and maybe a solid premonition that the future 6-star general of “Franco’s Italian Army” was born at Fort Dix, New Jersey, on March 7, 1950. In my opinion, Fort Dix, N.J., was his birthplace and where his manger lay. That was indeed a sure sign that immacu-
late accomplishments would be part of his destiny. Franco Harris died in the late hours of Tuesday, Dec. 20. He was 72. I initially met Franco Harris one night in 1973 at the “Fantastic Plastic,” a BYOB-disco located in SEE HARRIS A8
FRANCO HARRIS WAS LOVED BY ALL. (PHOTO BY SEBASTIAN FOLTZ/NFL)
JACK AND JILL BALL 2022!
LONGTIME COURIER SPORTS COLUMNIST BILL NEAL REFLECTS ON THE LIFE OF FRANCO HARRIS. IN SPORTS, PAGE A8. (PHOTO BY KARL ROSER/PITTSBURGH STEELERS)
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THE PRESENTEES FOR THE ANNUAL JACK AND JILL CELEBRATION, HELD DEC. 17 AT THE OMNI WILLIAM PENN—MORRIS TURNER III, TOREY BULLOCK JR., QUINCY MCCORMICK, NOAH JORDAN, EVAN ALLEN, AMARI SMITH, JALEN HOLLINS. SEE MORE PHOTOS ON PAGES A4-5. (PHOTO BY GAIL MANKER)