PITTSBURGH — Pittsburgh Steelers retire Franco Harris’ jersey with family, former teammates days after his death
“It wasn’t supposed to be like this.”
Steelers owner Art Rooney II uttered those words before the crowd at Acrisure Stadium on Saturday night, at the ceremony to retire Franco Harris’ jersey.
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Harris died earlier this week, just days before the jersey retirement, and the 50th anniversary of the Immaculate Reception.
“Franco brought us joy for 50 years, and so in recognition of his many contributions both on and off the field, it’s my honor to declare number 32 as officially retired,” Rooney said.
Harris’ wife, Dana, and his son, Dok, were on the podium with Rooney, as he remembered Franco, and presented the family with the jersey, retiring Franco’s number. The crowd broke into chants of “Franco, Franco.”
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Many of Harris’ teammates from the 1972 team were present, including John “Frenchy” Fuqua and Mean Joe Greene.
There were other tributes as well. Cameron Heyward was introduced while waving a giant 32 flag. Kenny Pickett used “Franco, Franco” as his cadence on a quarterback sneak in the second quarter.
Harris is just the third Steelers player to have his jersey retired, along with Joe Greene and Ernie Stautner.
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