Immaculate Reception

About Immaculate Reception

The Immaculate Reception is the nickname given to one of the most famous plays in the history of American football. It occurred in the AFC divisional playoff game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Oakland Raiders at Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on December 23, 1972. NFL Films has chosen it as the greatest play of all time, as well as the most controversial. The play was a turning point for the Steelers, who reversed four decades of futility with their first playoff win ever, and went on to win four Super Bowls by the end of the decade. The play's name is a neologism derived from the Immaculate Conception, a dogma in the Roman Catholic Church that Mary, mother of Jesus, when conceived by her parents, bore no stain of original sin. The phrase was first used on air by Myron Cope, a Pittsburgh sportscaster who was reporting on the Steelers' victory. A Pittsburgh woman, Sharon Levosky, called Cope the night of the game and suggested the name, which was coined by her friend Michael Ord. Cope used the term on television and the phrase stuck. The term was apparently meant to imply that the play was miraculous or divine in nature (see Hail Mary pass for a similar term), though "immaculate" means "clean" or "pure."

After Raiders quarterback Ken Stabler scored a touchdown on a 30-yard run with 1:17 left to go, the Pittsburgh Steelers trailed the Oakland Raiders 7-6, facing fourth-and-10 on their own 40-yard line with 22 seconds remaining in the game and no time-outs. Head coach Chuck Noll called a pass play, 66 Circle Option, intended for receiver Barry Pearson, a rookie who was playing in his first NFL game. Steelers quarterback Terry Bradshaw, unable to find Pearson while avoiding two Raiders defenders, threw the ball to the Raiders' 35-yard line, toward fullback John "Frenchy" Fuqua. Raiders safety Jack Tatum collided with Fuqua just as the ball arrived. Tatum's hit knocked Fuqua to the ground and sent the ball sailing backward several yards, end over end. Steelers running back Franco Harris, after initially blocking on the play, had run downfield in case Bradshaw needed another eligible receiver. He scooped up the sailing ball just before it hit the ground, and ran the rest of the way downfield to score the touchdown that gave the Steelers a 12-7 lead and the game.

The critical question was: off whom did the ball bounce in the Fuqua/Tatum collision? If it bounced off Fuqua, and then Harris was the next to touch the ball, the reception was illegal since two offensive players could not touch a pass in succession (a rule that was changed in 1978). If the reception was illegal, the Raiders would have gained possession (via a turnover on downs), clinching a victory. If the ball bounced off Tatum, or if it bounced off Fuqua and then Tatum, the reception was legal, as a defensive player was the last to touch the ball.