Locals part of mural that honors Harris
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UNIVERSITY PARK -- When Brian Heckert thinks of the late Penn State great Franco Harris, there are often four words to describe him: man of the people.
The Reedsville man and long-time Penn State fan once met Harris after the 2016 Taxslayer Gator Bowl in Jacksonville, Fla., where Penn State lost to Georgia, 24-17, in head coach James Franklin's second season.
"After the game, we were walking out of the stadium with a small contingent of Penn State people," recalled Heckert, who attended the game with fiancée Tina Walls. "Tina and I kind of laid back. Other people were getting their pictures with him. And this lady came over and asked us if we wanted to have our picture taken with him?
"We were like, 'No, we don't want to bother him,'" he added. "She was like, 'He's fine. He won't care.'"
That lady was Harris' wife, Dana. Heckert had his photo taken that day. And he still treasures it to this very day as Harris died on Dec. 20, 2022, at age 72.
With the one-year anniversary of the running back's passing approaching in December, the Penn State All-Sports Museum decided to memorialize him with a photomosaic mural.
When asked by visitors if they planned to memorialize Harris, the staff at the All-Sports Museum came up with the photomosaic idea relatively quickly.
"One of the hallmarks of who Franco was and what Franco loved to do was take photographs with people," said Lew Lazarow, interim director of the Penn State All-Sports Museum, in a press release about the project. "Literally, anybody, anywhere would be able to (get a photo). If you saw Franco on the street or in the airport, on a cruise or at a game, he would absolutely stop whatever he was doing and would pose. He was the most gracious, kind and considerate soul there was."
And just like that, the idea was born.
"That's the memorial," Lazarow explained. "The memorial is the memory that every person who ever met him and got that photograph with him has. We wanted to give people an opportunity to share those photos."
And share they did. Since late December 2022, the All-Sports Museum has received more than 1,600 individual photos, but the mural can hold up to 7,500 photos. The museum will use the photos of fans with Harris to turn it into a larger than life photomosaic. It's expected to be hung in the main lobby and debut at the Nov. 11 game with Michigan at Beaver Stadium.
"It will be entirely comprised of people's photos with Franco over the years," Lazarow said.
Thus far, photos have come from everywhere. And they are from every era of Franco's life - from high school up to just a few days before his passing.
Franco's death came just days before the Steelers retired his No. 32 jersey on the 50th anniversary of the Immaculate Reception, considered to be the most iconic play in NFL history. On that play on Dec. 23, 1972, Harris "plucked the ball out of the air and raced down the sideline to the end zone to pull out a stunning playoff victory over the Oakland Raiders."
Franco, who was part of what's still the most famous running back duo in Nittany Lions history along with Lydell Mitchell before becoming an NFL and Pittsburgh legend with the Steelers.
Harris, a nine-time Pro Bowler and four-time Super Bowl champion, was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1990. At one time, his 12,000-plus yards ranked second on the all-time NFL rushing list to NFL great Jim Brown.
Aside from all the numbers and accolades, Franco was considered the consummate teammate. Heckert and J. Rex Naylor, of Lewistown, have a podcast on Pennsports.live and spoke with Franco's former Penn State and Steeler teammates - Mitchell, Charlie Pittman, Dennis "Dirt" Winston, John Skorupan, Bruce Bannon and Rocky Bleier - about the impact he had on their lives. Each of the men paid tribute to the fallen Nittany Lion.
Bleier recalled a moment during Super Bowl XIII when Franco felt former Dallas Cowboy Thomas "Hollywood" Henderson trash-talked Steelers quarterback Terry Bradshaw before the game then knocked the ball away from Bradshaw and taunted the Steelers. Harris had seen enough, and in the huddle, stated simply, "Give me the ball." Harris broke him off on the left side, up and scored on the play, Bleier recalled of the Steelers' 35-31 victory.
"It was an insight into Franco. He had a sense of emergency, he had a sense of rightness and his sense of taking care of the situation," Bleier recalled. "It was wrong with what "Hollywood" Henderson did, putting that ball in Bradshaw's face and thinking he was a hotshot. He took it personally. When Franco would say something, you listened because he meant it. Obviously, he showed it on that play."
Bleier also shared a story about Franco not buying a car immediately after signing a professional contract because he was concerned about how he was perceived as the No. 1 draft pick and how he was perceived by the public, especially younger fans.
Bleier explained, "Some of the young fans, the first thing they asked Franco was when they met him was, 'Hey, what kind of car about you driving? Are you driving a Lincoln? Are you driving a Cadillac?' In his mind, it was not acceptable that all of a sudden, the youth identified a number one pick and or a player by the car that he drove. So, he never got a car.
"That was the kind of Franco - the image not only he had but how it was perceived by young people. He really spent a lot of his time influencing young people. ... how important that was into the image of young people and how they viewed professional athletes."
So, Franco often took the bus to practice or bummed rides from teammates. He didn't buy a car until after he was named Rookie of the Year.
Franco was successful in everything he was involved in, not only in football, but as a Penn State advocate and businessman. He will be missed, but never forgotten, especially not with the photomosaic.
Heckert has been attending Penn State games since the age of 8 or 9, and Harris was one of the first superstars he saw play.
Heckert said Harris sensed that he was feeling dejected after the bowl game loss to Georgia. "He just told me, 'You know we're going to be OK," Heckert recalled. "They always said he was always the peace in the storm."
Photos are still being accepted. To upload a photo with Harris, visit livemosaics.com/upload/M5372799/p0.