Steelers running back legend Franco Harris dies at age 72

Franco Harris (Center) (Tom Wolf, Wikimedia Commons)

According to Scott Thompson of FOX News, Pittsburgh Steelers fullback Franco Harris of Fort Dix, New Jersey passed away at the age of 72. Harris was with the Steelers for 12 seasons from 1972 to 1983 and the Seattle Seahawks in 1984.

In 13 NFL seasons, Harris played in 173 games and had 2949 rushes for 12120 yards and 91 rushing touchdowns. He also had 307 catches for 2287 yards and nine touchdown catches. Harris is the Steelers all-time leader in rushing yards (11950) and rushing touchdowns (91).

Harris was selected to the Pro Bowl nine straight seasons from 1972 to 1980. In his rookie season of 1972, he was the Associated Press Offensive Rookie of the Year. That season he had 1055 rushing yards and 10 touchdown rushes.

In 1975, Harris has a career high 1246 rushing yards. That was the second most rushing yards in the National Football League that year. Only O.J. Simpson of San Francisco, California, who had 1817 rushing yards with the Buffalo Bills in 1975, had more rushing yards than Harris.

In 1976, Harris led the NFL with 14 rushing touchdowns. He had one more rushing touchdown that year than Chuck Foreman of the Minnesota Vikings (known as the Purple People Eaters at the time) and Walter Payton of the Chicago Bears, who had 13 touchdown rushes each. We have Payton as the sixth best NFL player of all-time. 

However it was in the postseason, Harris made a huge contribution to the Steelers franchise too. He was part of four Steelers teams that won the 1974, 1975, 1978, and 1979 Super Bowls. In the playoffs, Harris had 400 rushes for 1556 yards and 16 rushing touchdowns, alongside 51 catches for 504 yards and another major score. Harris was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1990.

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