Cliff Stoudt: “I remember in May in mini-camp, I watched Franco take a handoff and run 80 yards downfield into the endzone on his own. He was spinning and pretending to jump over guys. We asked him what he was doing and he told us he expected to score on every play. So the next day all the rookies started doing the same thing – just in warmups.”
John Dockery: “Franco – some thought he was quiet because he was just distancing himself from everyone else. But that wasn’t the case. He was one of my favorite players – he was such a warm guy. He was just quiet.”
Seth Myers: “When I hosted the NFL Honors Award Show, I got to meet Franco Harris. He told me that if I was ever in town to give him a call. Well I had a chance to take my dad with me to dinner with Franco in Pittsburgh. My dad has met Obama, but he could care less about that compared to meeting Franco! Giving that to my dad was a gift. And Franco – his integrity. He’s probably told many of his stories a million times, but when he tells them it doesn’t seem like it. Those stories are like gifts.”
Joe Greene: “Franco and his enthusiasm and ability to run and Shanklin were a big part of those wins too.”
Tom O’Malley: “Franco was really good at basketball– under-rated because he was so humble – he didn’t try to show off. He was one of my favorites.”
Joe Manganiello: “Franco Harris was also at my wedding. Ed O’Neill was there too and I remember Franco wanting to go and meet Al Bundy. Ed couldn’t believe it – seeing that was awesome”
Tony Dungy: “When I got to the Steelers I watched Franco practice. Every play they ran from the forty yard line he’d always run the ball into the endzone. If he didn’t have the ball he’d always sprint to where the ball was. That’s when I realized it wasn’t luck. The ball happened to bounce up but that was what Franco and all the backs did on every play in practice. They practiced and played at one-hundred percent all of the time.”
Tom Rooney: “We didn’t know what to do after Franco made the play. But right after it Art leaned back his chair and leaned back down and the chair landed on my foot. There was a spike on the chair leg and it went right through my shoe. But I had to catch my flight – so I had to run to the airport with a bloody foot and hole in my shoe! I had no time to get a new shoe or get it bandaged!”
Jack McGinley Jr. “Franco and Joe – my kids loved playing with them. They’d play little games with them all the time. “
Al Young: “I also remember Franco Harris. He was always the last guy to leave the practice field. That always stood out to me – even after a great rookie year, he was always working on extra stuff after practice.”
Billy Gardell: “And striking a great friendship with Franco – that was mind-blowing, just going out and getting a pizza with Franco Harris!”
Jack Deloplaine: “Franco…I don’t say this to demean him, but he wasn’t one of the fastest 40 guys. But all those fast teams we played in Dallas, the Raiders…. he ran away from them all. He was a gamer. He never ran below a 4.6 or 4.7.”
Vito Stellino: “There was no ESPN or internet then. They got recognized because they won so much. Heck, Franco used to cycle home – sometimes he even rode the bus.”
Craig Dunaway: “I took a little bit from a lot of people. Franco Harris was the consummate pro. “
Reggie Harrison: “I used to get on Franco for running out of bounds. He told me that the way I run, I won’t last. Taking lots of hits and giving hits out. Either way, you are taking hits he said. He told me it was like a bag of marbles. Say you have ten marbles. Every hit you take or give takes one away. Until you have none left.”
JT Thomas: “I had no idea I was going to Pittsburgh. Ironically, I was watching the Immaculate Reception game in Palo Alto at the East West Shrine game. We were watching the game at a restaurant and just to be different and controversial I bet the guys around me thirty dollars each that the Steelers would win. Keep in mind I had less than $100 in my pocket and it was a$900 bet! When they were losing I tried to sneak out (laughing) but the sous chefs there were as big as linemen and they saw me and told everyone not to let me leave. They put a chair to the door! All of the sudden, there goes Franco. I was never so excited about a football game! I got two cooking swords and pots from the kitchen and stood on the chair banging the pots, telling them no one can leave until I got my money!”
Donnie Shell: “I always tease Franco Harris by telling him they had a good team but they also needed the help of the 1974 class of rookies to be a great team.”
Paul Skansi: “I also remember Franco’s Halloween parties at his house – all the players dressed up. It was a good bonding thing.”
Walter Abercrombie: “The person who had the most immediate positive impact on me was Franco. He was the consummate team player.”
Dick Hoak: “My first year we drafted Franco Harris – he didn’t need a lot of coaching. He knew how to run and catch the ball – he was a great player.”
Joe Gordon: “Franco Harris did more for the community since he retired even though he did so much as a player”
Marv Kellum: “The opening kickoff of the second half of the Super Bowl – I recovered the fumble. Franco scored on that drive afterwards. I joked with Franco he should thank me because the drive should have been much longer.”
Sydney Thornton: “I was able to stay on the field because when they called Rocky, I would go on with him, and when they called Franco, I could play next to Franco too. I was on the field with Franco when he broke a number of his records.”