The Pittsburgh Steelers announced yesterday that President Art Rooney had a special announcement today, and today, that was revealed as the Steelers franchise announcing the retirement of No. 32, owned by Franco Harris, a legendary fullback of the Steelers from the 70's through to the early 80's. Harris contributed significantly to four Super Bowl victories, including Super Bowl IX, where Harris was named the MVP of the big game, and he's considered one of the best players to ever play for arguably the NFL's most successful franchise.
No. 32 was elected to 9 Pro Bowls over his career, as well as receiving 3 All-Pro selections in that time with Pittsburgh, and ended his iconic career with 12, 120 yards and 91 Touchdown's, as well as adding 2,287 receiving yards and 9 Touchdown's in the air. This ceremony was a long time coming, as Harris was already inducted into the Steelers Hall of Fame, as well as being elected to the NFL's All Decade Team in the 1970's, and if someone like him played in today's NFL, it's crazy to think of the damage that he'd do with the new rules.#Steelers President Art Rooney II just announced that @francoharrishof's No. 32 will be retired by the team at halftime of our Week 16 game against the Raiders. pic.twitter.com/5KYLOxVLsR
— Pittsburgh Steelers (@steelers) September 6, 2022
Harris will be the third Steeler in history to have his number retired, along with Mean Joe Greene's No. 75 and Ernie Stautner's No. 70, and while there's a few numbers that also belong up there, like No. 43, No. 36 and No. 12, it's hard to retire so many numbers. Harris thoroughly deserves this honour, because many see him as not only the best running back in franchise history, but one of the best players this organization has ever seen, and the iconic retirement ceremony will take place Week 16 at home against the Las Vegas Raiders.
Photo Credit: Rich Barnes-USA TODAY Sports
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