Alright, so, you wanna know about this Franco Harris fella and how he passed, huh? Well, lemme tell ya, it’s a sad story, real sad. Folks were sayin’ he just up and died in his sleep. Can ya believe it? Just went to sleep and never woke up. That’s what they call “natural causes”, I reckon.
Now, they didn’t say exactly what went wrong, like if his heart stopped or somethin’. But see, he was gettin’ on in years, 72 they said. That’s a good long life, but still, it ain’t right when someone just goes like that. They found him there in his own bed, in his house in Pennsylvania, Sewickley, I think they called it. Poor fella.
- He was a football player, see?
- A real good one, too.
- Folks called him a Hall of Famer. Guess that means he was somethin’ special.
They talked about some catch he made, somethin’ fancy called the “Immaculate Reception”. Sounded like a big deal. Happened a long time ago, fifty years they said, just a few days before he passed. Imagine that. Probably brought back a lot of memories for folks.
This Franco fella, he played for the Steelers most of his life, twelve years or so. People loved him, ‘specially them Italian folks in the city. They even called themselves “Franco’s Italian Army.” He had a black father and an Italian mother, they said. That’s somethin’, ain’t it?
Now, there was another fella, Franco, died a long time ago, back in ’75. That was in Spain, Madrid they said. This one died of heart failure, see? His family even told the doctors to, you know, let him go. Different Franco, different story, but both gone now.
This football Franco, though, his dyin’ was a surprise, real sudden like. Nobody expected it. One minute he’s there, the next he’s gone. His son, he’s the one who said it was natural causes. Just went to sleep and that was it. Makes ya think, don’t it? Life’s a fragile thing.
Folks were real upset, you know. He was a big deal, this Franco. They had a funeral and everythin’. Lots of people came to pay their respects. He played football real good, but more than that, he was a good man, I reckon. People don’t just show up for any old body, ya know?
It’s a shame, really. A good man gone too soon. But that’s life, I guess. Comes and goes as it pleases. We just gotta remember the good times, the good things he did. And that catch, the “Immaculate Reception,” folks will be talkin’ about that for years to come. That’s how you stay alive, even after you’re gone, I suppose. Through the stories, through the memories.
So, that’s the story of Franco Harris, the football player. Died in his sleep, natural causes they said. A sad story, but a life well-lived, I’d say. He left his mark on the world, that’s for sure.
Tags: [Franco Harris, Death, Immaculate Reception, Steelers, NFL, Hall of Fame, Obituary, Sewickley, Natural Causes]
