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Statement from Franco's family
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Had to be hard to release statements when everything is so fresh in their minds. 
But yes God bless them.
But yes God bless them.
Not that I read no.
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My top 5 nominees are:
- Smiling
- Laughing
- Being generous
- Being great
- Humility
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Guy Franco Harris was so excited and looking forward to having his number retired and all the festivities.
All this is just to surreal and hard to accept. He had been doing interviews for weeks and the one he did with Ron Cook a couple weeks ago is hard to listen to. The part where Ron asks him how he’s feeling and Franco says he’s feeling fine and looking forward to it all. Very difficult to hear that.
Franco in the interview was more concerned with the health of John Frenchy Fuqua and him being at the celebration.
Our Lord God had other plans for Franco. In a much better place now 32.
All this is just to surreal and hard to accept. He had been doing interviews for weeks and the one he did with Ron Cook a couple weeks ago is hard to listen to. The part where Ron asks him how he’s feeling and Franco says he’s feeling fine and looking forward to it all. Very difficult to hear that.
Franco in the interview was more concerned with the health of John Frenchy Fuqua and him being at the celebration.
Our Lord God had other plans for Franco. In a much better place now 32.
I saw a few articles listing natural causes, which is medical speak for they don't know yet.
Humble.
Before he had his own army, before he had his own car, Franco Harris used to take public transportation to work like the average Joe. In 1972, as a rookie on a Steelers team that hadn’t posted a winning record in eight seasons, Harris didn’t have to worry about signing many autographs on the bumpy ride to Three Rivers Stadium.
“I used to take the bus and even hitch a ride home after practice,” Harris laughs. “Half way into the season, people really started to recognize me.”
Before he had his own army, before he had his own car, Franco Harris used to take public transportation to work like the average Joe. In 1972, as a rookie on a Steelers team that hadn’t posted a winning record in eight seasons, Harris didn’t have to worry about signing many autographs on the bumpy ride to Three Rivers Stadium.
“I used to take the bus and even hitch a ride home after practice,” Harris laughs. “Half way into the season, people really started to recognize me.”
Maybe God waited long enough to finally meet and hang out with his favorite Steeler.
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We'll have to wait and see but my guess would be sudden cardiac arrest. It happens. Not just my customers but a good friend of ours three years ago. Helping his wife with some things around the house, said he didn't feel well, sat down and fell over, dropped dead. 59 years old, no history of heart trouble. Buried wearing a Penguins jersey.
My moms best friends husband who wasn't even 60 yet went fishing with his friend and had a massive heart attack in the middle of the steam and died. We had a guy in his 40s in my bowling league who was pretty fit and worked out have a massive heart attack on his treadmill. You just never know when it's your time
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Great post ZonaBurgh, thanks for this and the many more you have written.!
Players today need to thank those players of the past. FRANCO’s Italian army is an example of the attention players like Franco brought to the NFL. Those 70’s STEELERS teams are the heart of the birth of the popularity of what the NFL has become today. The rivalry with the Raiders was significant as ever. Something like 7 or 8 of the 10 AFCCG had at least one of these two teams in it.
thanks for the insight to the past ZonaBurgh
Salute the nation
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T*mmyb* died and went to heaven.
GOD met him at the Pearly Gates to give him a tour of heaven.
They were walking along and in the distance was a small bungalow in MIAMI Dolphin colors, very nice. GOD says this is for Larry Zonka and continue walking.
Next up they come to a way more nice HOUSE all decked out in 49ers colors and GOD says to t*mmyb*y,….. This is for Joe once he arrives And continues on their way
Now they come up on this patriot colored and boutique but VERY VERY nice looking house, one fit for a great football player and has a swimming pool. GOD pauses and say t*mmyb*y, this is your house….. how do you like it. t*mmyb*y replies about how great this is and the pool is fantastic along with the 7 bathrooms……..
GOD say lets continue I’ve got something special to show and welcome you to.
As they crest the hillside, it comes into view. A HUGE Mansion glowing and bright. A monster of a sight with towering castle like abutments, multiple ponds / swimming pools / yards / flowers / and the works with nothing to spare………ALL decked out in STEELERS colors and banners .
t*mmy boy looking very upset says to GOD………. GOD, I’ve won so many SBs and games and set so many records………. Why does BEN get such a huge ”IMMACULATE” place and I get a modest home as you‘ve shown……
GOD, steps back and says. “That’s not BEN’s home, that’s MINE”
FRANCO is staying in GOD’s house.
Salute the nation
GOD met him at the Pearly Gates to give him a tour of heaven.
They were walking along and in the distance was a small bungalow in MIAMI Dolphin colors, very nice. GOD says this is for Larry Zonka and continue walking.
Next up they come to a way more nice HOUSE all decked out in 49ers colors and GOD says to t*mmyb*y,….. This is for Joe once he arrives And continues on their way
Now they come up on this patriot colored and boutique but VERY VERY nice looking house, one fit for a great football player and has a swimming pool. GOD pauses and say t*mmyb*y, this is your house….. how do you like it. t*mmyb*y replies about how great this is and the pool is fantastic along with the 7 bathrooms……..
GOD say lets continue I’ve got something special to show and welcome you to.
As they crest the hillside, it comes into view. A HUGE Mansion glowing and bright. A monster of a sight with towering castle like abutments, multiple ponds / swimming pools / yards / flowers / and the works with nothing to spare………ALL decked out in STEELERS colors and banners .
t*mmy boy looking very upset says to GOD………. GOD, I’ve won so many SBs and games and set so many records………. Why does BEN get such a huge ”IMMACULATE” place and I get a modest home as you‘ve shown……
GOD, steps back and says. “That’s not BEN’s home, that’s MINE”
FRANCO is staying in GOD’s house.
Salute the nation
Younger folks, meaning anyone under 50, may not grasp the fact that at that time in Pittsburgh and most cities baseball was the big game in town. Football, hockey, and basketball were just pleasant diversions until baseball season started again.
We know that the Immaculate Reception game was blacked out in Pittsburgh and not sold out but at that time the blackout had nothing to do with not being sold out. No one put home games on TV because they didn't want to depress attendance. In every city you could just walk up on game day and buy a ticket at the window. A few years later the NFL changed the blackout rules to televise home games IF they were sold out 48 hours before the game.
NFL popularity started ramping up with homeboy Broadway Joe Namath winning the Super Bowl after the 1969 season (played in 1970) and Monday Night Football beginning in the1970 season with Howard Cosell and Dandy Don Meredith.
The Steelers were mostly pretty bad for their first 39 years and didn't have their own stadium until Three Rivers opened in 1970, they played at Pitt Stadium.
Of course now if I look back 40 years I was in college and it doesn't seem so long ago and me talking about watching Franco and Terry Bradshaw is the equivalent of my Dad telling me about Bobby Layne and Elbie Nickel.
Beginning in 1973 the Steelers sold out every home game through the present day and by the end of the 70's were the big game in town.
I remember a local dealership gave him a car to drive (VW Beetle?) and when he won ROTH he won an AMC Javelin.
He was never a Ferrari, Porsche type guy, which earned him the admiration of many in the area.
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Yeah. Franco's brother died of a heart attack at 59. So he has family history. Bottom line I feel like obviously foul play and I'm assuming suicide are ruled out here. So basically what does the COD matter? And on the first two it's always a head gawk by an accident but really none of my damn business.
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It's not our business, but it's often a topic when someone dies. Just a cultural thing.
I agree. And I'm not high and mighty. I'm curious about it too. But honestly it's pretty easy dots to connect. It's cardio pulmonary or aneurysm. There is a pretty small list of cardio vascular things when someone dies like this. I'm sure there are many other things but I'm saying like 98 percent.
Heart disease, cancer (some people conceal their diagnosis), strokes, respiratory, infections..all of these can take you quick. A decent amount of people get cancer or some sort of disease that weakens the immune system. Opening the door for conditions to sweep in and take you quickly. Sepsis, Pneumonia, etc. But heart disease is the Huckleberry of all the causes of death. With lung cancer peeking in.
He didn't do a podcast in the afternoon and die of cancer or anything else on that list suddenly.
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