Immaculate Reception
Deflected ball, scored
The Immaculate Reception is a famous play in American football history, occurring in a 1972 NFL playoff game when Pittsburgh Steelers running back Franco Harris caught a deflected pass just before it hit the ground and ran it in for a touchdown.
The name playfully echoes the Immaculate Conception, the Catholic doctrine about the Virgin Mary.
The play remains controversial—whether the catch was legal depends on who touched the ball first.
The term now occasionally describes any improbable, last-second catch or save: That was his immaculate reception—he grabbed the vase right before it shattered.
- Pittsburgh SteelersPennsylvania professional football team
- Oakland RaidersFormer California football team
- touchdownSix-point gridiron play
- deflectionChange in trajectory
- 1972Early seventies date
Franco Harris · playoffs · miracle · catch · scramble · controversy · football · NFL · Bradshaw · desperation · ricochet · ball carrier · sideline · endzone · last second · Christmas · AFC Championship · legendary
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