Without Franco Harris, there might not have ever been the 1970s Pittsburgh Steelers dynasty.
That’s how many former teammates of the Hall of Fame running back see things, including “Mean” Joe Greene.
Greene, who appeared on the Tony McGee Pro Football Plus Show Sunday, praised his late teammate for the impact he had in Pittsburgh.
“Franco was very, very special to the team and to Pittsburgh Steelers and the city of Pittsburgh, ’cause we didn’t win anything before Franco. And we ended up winning four Super Bowls with him,” Greene said, according to video via the show’s YouTube page. “We called him a big Hummer. He could get down. Franco….special man. Franco was so, so special. He never met a stranger. He treated everyone like I’ve been knowing you all my life. And smile for them. Give him hugs and take pictures and sign autographs.
“He wasn’t like me. I would growl sometimes. Franco was special.”
The 13th pick of the 1972 NFL Draft out of Penn State, Harris immediately helped turn the Steelers into a winner. In his rookie season, the Steelers went to the playoffs where Harris orchestrated one of the greatest plays of all time, the Immaculate Reception, in the divisional round against the Oakland Raiders.
After that moment, the Steelers were truly born.
Two years later, the Steelers won Super Bowl IX over the Minnesota Vikings and beat the Dallas Cowboys in Super Bowl X the following season. Then, in 1978 and 1979 the Steelers won Super Bowls XIII and XIV, capping one of the greatest dynasties in NFL history with four Super Bowls in the decade.
That the Steelers, who has been one of the league’s worst for the previous 40 years, didn’t start until Harris showed up was no coincidence. He was a winning player who worked hard and led by example. He was tough as nails, too, and was a great teammate by all accounts, and that had an impact in the locker room.
Once the locker room was in good shape, the winning started, and the Steelers went on to become one of the greatest dynasties in football history.
It wasn’t just what Franco Harris did on the field, either. He was a pillar in the Pittsburgh community until his death in 2022 at the age of 72, just days before his No. 32 jersey was officially retired by the franchise.
Without Franco, there likely is no Steelers’ dynasty, and the franchise doesn’t have the following or the global fan base that it enjoys today. Hard to boil down to one player, but that’s how Greene sees it, and when he speaks, you tend to listen.
Check out the full interview with “Mean” Joe Greene below.
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