Whether it’s on television or social media Sunday, you’ll probably be hit with a few reminders of the greatest moment in Steelers history.
The Steelers are playing the Raiders. Any time that happens — even if they aren’t in Oakland anymore — you are going to see some highlights of the 1972 Immaculate Reception authored by Franco Harris.
“The miracle of all miracles.”
The original broadcast of The Immaculate Reception. (Dec. 23, 1972) #PITvsOAK@steelerspic.twitter.com/ivzvTwyK4o
— NFL Legacy (@NFLLegacy) December 9, 2018
Sunday is also the 64th anniversary of Bill Mazeroski’s game-winning home run to end the 1960 World Series to beat the fabled New York Yankees in the bottom of the ninth of Game 7.
A Game 7 World Series-ending walk-off homer has never been done before or since. That’s a fact not lost on baseball historian Wayne Stewart who just recently published a new book on the topic entitled “1960: When the Pittsburgh Pirates Had Them All The Way.”
“I’ve always thought that the New York media is very unfair and absurd when they say that Bobby Thomson’s ‘Shot Heard Round the World’ in 1951 (for the New York Giants) was more dramatic than Maz’s. Thompson wins a pennant. Maz walks off a World Series. There is no comparison,” Stewart said during Thursday’s “Breakfast With Benz” podcast.
There certainly is a comparison between the Immaculate Reception and Maz’s homer in terms of impact on Pittsburgh sports, though.
With apologies to Ben Roethlisberger, Santonio Holmes, James Harrison and Marc-Andre Fleury, without a doubt, those are the two greatest moments in the city’s sports history. One play launched a dynasty. The other won a championship.
“Maz liked high pitches. The first pitch (from Ralph Terry) comes in high. His catcher, Johnny Blanchard, went out to the mound and said, bring the ball down. But the next pitch was up there and Maz salivates and crushes it,” Stewart recalled.
Of course, there were a few differences between the plays. Maz’s shot brought Pittsburgh a title. The Steelers lost the next week to Miami in the AFC Championship Game and didn’t win a Super Bowl for two more years.
Also, contrary to popular belief, technically, the Immaculate Reception wasn’t a “walk-off TD.” The game didn’t end on that play. After a lengthy delay from the officials to decide if the TD should’ve counted, the Steelers kicked an extra point and the Raiders tried one more heave down the field with five seconds remaining which fell incomplete. You can see it at the 19-minute mark of this clip from the Raiders website.
On Sunday, as is tradition on the anniversary of the homer, a group of Pirates fans (The Game 7 Gang) are planning to congregate at the Forbes Field wall in Oakland to listen to a replay of the radio broadcast from the game in 1960.
That’ll start at 1 p.m., and Maz will homer at roughly 3:36 p.m. The Steelers and Raiders will take the field about half an hour later.
If, with 22 seconds left in the fourth quarter, Najee Harris catches a ball that bounces off of Connor Heyw….uh, I mean…a random Raiders defensive back and goes the distance for a touchdown, we will truly know there is a God and that Yinzer Pope has been onto something all these years.
Eh, I’d settle for a Chris Boswell chip shot to make it a nine-point spread at this point.
But, yeah, that other scenario would be more fun.
Tim Benz is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Tim at tbenz@triblive.com or via X. All tweets could be reposted. All emails are subject to publication unless specified otherwise.