The Immaculate Reception

I have been making trips to Pittsburgh recently. It's a surprisingly interesting city, known for old steel industry and Heinz ketchup.

Upon arrival at Pittsburgh's airport, you're greeted by statues of George Washington and Franco Harris. They symbolize two epic battles that were fought in Pittsburgh.

The battle at Fort Duquesne began on the morning of July 3, 1753. George Washington was sent to the the junction of the Ohio, Monongahela, and Allegheny rivers, now downtown Pittsburgh, to confront the French who were building a fort. Despite their superior numbers, the French refrained from a direct assault and fired from wooded areas surrounding Wahington's position. Expecting to die, the defenders broke into rum rations at the stockade and drank themselves into a stupor. Late that afternoon, to Washington's surprise, the French offered to negotiate and offered generous terms. Faced with dwindling supplies, wet powder, and drunken soldiers, Washington agreed.

The other battle occurred on the same spot in a playoff game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Oakland Raiders at Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh, on December 23, 1972. The game is known for one of the most famous plays in football: the immaculate reception. 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. Steelers quarterback Terry Bradshaw, unable to find his intended receiver 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 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.