50 years later, Terry Bradshaw vividly recalls pass that became the 'Immaculate Reception'

The play that would become the most controversial pitch-and-catch in NFL history sounded relatively mundane when Terry Bradshaw made the call in the Pittsburgh Steelers’ huddle on Dec. 23, 1972.

“The play was 66 circle option full right split,” Bradshaw, a Shreveport native, told The Times recently while in New York waiting to be inducted into the Broadcasters Hall of Fame. “Franco (Harris) was supposed to stay in and block. So, why did I have to scramble to the right? It’s because he didn’t block anybody. He just stood there.”

Bradshaw launched the pass that would later be known as the "Immaculate Reception" on fourth-and-10 with his Steelers trailing the Oakland Raiders 7-6 with 22 seconds remaining in the AFC divisional playoff game. What happened next created unbridled hatred between the Raiders and Steelers, launched Bradshaw’s career into the stratosphere and made a household name out of Harris, then a rookie fullback.

Five decades later, the Bradshaw throw - which may or may not have bounced off teammate Frenchy Fuqua before being allegedly plucked near the turf by Harris - is still being discussed with passion. The 50th anniversary of the play is Friday, and Bradshaw said a celebration party commemorating the milestone was recently held in Pittsburgh.

Bradshaw was hit on the play and knocked to the ground, so he didn’t see the spectacular result.

“But I heard the roar of the crowd while I was on the ground, so I knew it was a touchdown. I couldn’t quite figure out who I threw it to, though,” he said laughing.

The former Woodlawn High and Louisiana Tech quarterback, now 74, said he’s had a lot of fun discussing the play through the years and he’s asked about it several times annually. He claims he saw a black jersey in the open and quickly released the ball.

“Then I make up the story that I fired it right in there. What a perfect throw,” the NFL Hall of Famer said, chuckling. “I’m lying there thinking I’m a hero to millions and endorsements are coming in − commercials. Only then I stood up and start jogging, but everyone’s acting kind of strange, I asked what happened. I couldn’t get an answer to it for a while because it was so loud.”

Steelers owner Art Rooney didn’t see the play, either. He had gone to the locker room to congratulate his team on a "great" season he thought was completed.

“He came back out when he heard the cheers, too,” Bradshaw said. “He was shocked when he heard the roar.”

The fact that Harris was in a position to make the TD catch was a miracle in itself.

“Franco and I were talking about it a couple of weeks ago and he said he’d been taught by Joe Paterno at Penn State that when the ball’s in the air, you run to the ball. I’m not saying he ran to it, but you can see him take off in that direction. Then the ball comes, and he scoops it up.”

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A self-described black-and-gold bleeder, Shreveport’s Paul Tinker was living in Pittsburgh during the game but couldn’t watch it because the game wasn’t a sellout. At that time, an NFL game had to be sold out 48 hours before the kickoff for it to be televised locally. Just over 50,000 fans were in 59,000-seat Three Rivers Stadium that day.

“We listened to it on WTAE in Pittsburgh,” Tinker said. “Before this, the Steelers were laughable. They were terrible. But when that happened, this really started to change things in the Steel City. The fans who heard it and witnessed it are the backbone of all that is black and gold.”

Bradshaw said that what the Immaculate Reception created between the Raiders and Steelers was bigger than just the Steelers being able to move on to play undefeated and eventual Super Bowl VII champion Miami the following week.

“It did harm to the Oakland Raiders, because they accused us of an illegal touchdown to win a playoff game that kept them out of the Super Bowl,” Bradshaw said. “They’ve always been bitter. John Madden was bitter. They all still talk about it to this day.”

The bitterness between the Raiders and Steelers made the rematches intense.

“It was just brutal football, back when you could be brutal. You can’t be brutal now,” Bradshaw said. “When we played one another, it was God-awful, man. And it was all because of that play.”

Jimmy Watson covers Shreveport-Bossier area sports. Email him at jwatson@shreveporttimes.com and follow him on Twitter @JimmyWatson6.

This article originally appeared on Shreveport Times: Terry Bradshaw shares memories of Steelers' 'Immaculate Reception'