Editing Immaculate Reception (section)

== Referee call ==
[[File:FHarrisstatue.jpg|thumb|Statue of Harris making the "Immaculate Reception" at [[Pittsburgh International Airport]]]]
After the play, a critical question remained: who did the football touch in the Fuqua/Tatum collision? If it bounced off Fuqua without ever touching Tatum, then Harris' reception was illegal. If the ball bounced off only Tatum or if it bounced off both Fuqua and Tatum (in any order) then the reception was legal. The rule stated in the pertinent part that if an offensive player touches a pass first, he is the only offensive player eligible to catch the pass. "However, if a [defensive] player touches [the] pass first, or simultaneously with or subsequent to its having been touched by only one [offensive] player then all [offensive] players become and remain eligible" to catch the pass.<ref>{{cite news| work= Official Rules for Professional Football | year=1971| publisher= The National Football League| title= Rule 7, Section 5, Article 2, Item 1| pages= 44–45}}</ref><ref name="steel century">{{cite news| url= http://www.nydailynews.com/archives/sports/steel-century-twenty-five-years-immaculate-inimitable-article-1.770621| title= Steel of the Century! Twenty-Five Years Later, 'Immaculate' Still Inimitable| work= New York Daily News| first= Hank| last= Gola| date= December 21, 1997| access-date= December 28, 2017}}</ref> (This rule was rescinded in 1978.) If the reception was illegal, the Raiders would have gained possession (by a turnover on downs), clinching the victory.

One official, back judge [[Adrian Burk]], signaled that the play was a touchdown but the other game officials did not immediately make any signal.<ref name="sportingnews"/> When the officials huddled, Burk and another official, [[umpire]] [[Pat Harder]], thought the play was a touchdown because Tatum and Fuqua had both touched the ball, while three others said that they were not in a position to rule.<ref name="profootballresearchers.org">{{cite web| url= http://www.profootballresearchers.org/Coffin_Corner/20-04-755.pdf| title= The Immaculate Reception: Franco Catches Eternal Fame| publisher= profootballresearchers.org| work= The Coffin Corner| volume= 20| number= 4| year= 1998| first= Gene| last= Collier| url-status= dead| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20120807123614/http://www.profootballresearchers.org/Coffin_Corner/20-04-755.pdf| archive-date= 2012-08-07| access-date= 2009-08-05}}</ref><ref>{{cite news| title= Did Tatum Deflect the Pass?| work= [[Eugene Register-Guard]]| date= December 24, 1972| page= 3B}}</ref>

Referee [[Fred Swearingen]] approached Steelers sideline official Jim Boston and asked to be taken to a telephone. Boston took Swearingen to a baseball dugout in the stadium. There was a video monitor in the dugout but it was not used by Swearingen.<ref name="profootballresearchers.org"/> (Bradshaw's assertion that a special television was rigged up on the sideline so that Swearingen could watch the replay<ref name= Looking>{{cite book| last= Bradshaw| first= Terry| title= Looking Deep| publisher= Contemporary Books| location= Chicago| year= 1989| isbn= 0-8092-4266-4}}</ref>{{rp|16}} is not supported by other accounts.) From the dugout telephone, Boston put in a call to the press box to reach the NFL's supervisor of officials, [[Art McNally]]. Before the call, McNally had "an opinion from the get-go" that the ball had hit Tatum's chest, which he confirmed by looking "at one shot on [[instant replay]]".<ref name="steel century"/> In the press box the telephone was answered either by [[Dan Rooney]], son of Steelers owner [[Art Rooney]], or by Steelers public relations director Joe Gordon (reports vary) and McNally was put on the line.<ref name="profootballresearchers.org"/><ref>{{cite book| last= Rooney| first= Dan| title= My 75 Years With the Pittsburgh Steelers and the NFL| publisher= Da Capo Press| location= New York| year= 2007| isbn= 978-0-306-81569-0| page= [https://archive.org/details/danrooneymy75yea00roon/page/3 3]| url= https://archive.org/details/danrooneymy75yea00roon/page/3}}</ref><ref name="immaculate explanation">{{cite news|first= Myron| last= Cope| date= December 21, 1997| url= https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=980CE5D9173EF932A15751C1A961958260&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=all| title= Backtalk: An Immaculate Explanation of the Truth | work= The New York Times| access-date= December 28, 2017}}</ref> According to McNally, Swearingen "never asked me about the rule and never asked what I saw. All he said was, 'Two of my men say that opposing players touched the ball.' And I said, 'Everything's fine then, go ahead.'"<ref name="profootballresearchers.org"/><ref>{{cite news| url= http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2000/11/29/SP119667.DTL |title= Cold Reception: Raiders-Steelers rivalry is still Immaculate after all these years | first= Ira| last= Miller| website= sfgate.com| date= November 29, 2000 | access-date= December 28, 2017}}</ref> After Swearingen hung up the phone Boston asked, "What do we got?" "We got a touchdown,"<ref name="profootballresearchers.org"/><ref>{{cite news| url= https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1997-dec-28-sp-3035-story.html| title= An Immaculate Recollection – Incredible Touchdown Still Amazes Franco Harris 25 Years Later| work= Los Angeles Times| date= December 28, 1997| first= Alan| last= Robinson | agency= Associated Press| access-date= December 28, 2017}}</ref> answered Swearingen, who then went back onto the field to signal the ruling to the crowd.

Harris crossed the goal line at approximately 3:29 PM EST. Fans immediately rushed the field; it took fifteen minutes to clear them so the extra point could be kicked to give the Steelers what turned out to be their final margin of victory, 13–7. Although this has been described as the first known use of television replay to confirm a call<ref>{{cite web| url= https://www.espn.com/espn/page2/story?page=tvmoments/060321| work= ESPN.com| title= Great moments, great TV| first= Jeff |last= Merron| access-date= December 28, 2017}}</ref><ref name="nytimes">{{cite news| url= https://www.nytimes.com/packages/html/sports/year_in_sports/12.23.html |work= The New York Times| title= This Day In Sports: The 'Immaculate Reception'| first= William N.| last= Wallace | date= December 23, 1972 | access-date= December 28, 2017}}</ref> (there was no instant replay review then), at the time the NFL denied that the decision was made in the press box or using a television replay.<ref>{{cite news| title= TV or Not TV?| work= The New York Times| date= December 24, 1972}}</ref> An ''[[Oakland Tribune]]'' article two days after the game reported that Gordon told reporters in the press box that the decision had been made using the replay.<ref name="LaMarre">{{cite news| last= LaMarre| first= Tom| title= Madden: Raiders Were Robbed| work= Oakland Tribune| date= December 25, 1972 }} (Reprinted in ''One for the Thumb: The New Steelers Reader'', University of Pittsburgh Press, 2006, {{ISBN|0-8229-5945-3}}, pp. 171–172)</ref> Gordon has dismissed this as "a total fabrication".<ref name="immaculate explanation"/> NFL officials Jim Kensil and [[Val Pinchbeck]], who were in the press box with McNally, also deny that replay was used in making the decision on the play.<ref name="LaMarre"/><ref>{{cite news| last= Smith| first= Red| title= How Fort Duquesne Repelled Raiders| work= The New York Times| date= December 24, 1972 }} (Reprinted in ''One for the Thumb: The New Steelers Reader'', University of Pittsburgh Press, 2006, {{ISBN|0-8229-5945-3}}, pp. 169–171)</ref>

In various [[NFL Films]] productions about the play years later, various Raiders have theorized that the real purpose of Swearingen's phone conversation was to see if there were enough police on hand to ensure the players' safety if the play was ruled incomplete. The theory claims there were too few police so the play was called for the Steelers out of fear. In one of the films, McNally laughs at the suggestion.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ohtdHLeWG3Q | title=The Conspiracies Behind the Immaculate Reception &#124; A Football Life | website=[[YouTube]] | date=21 December 2022 }}</ref>

The play is still disputed by those involved, particularly by living personnel from the Raiders and their fans, who insist the Raiders should have won. Tatum said that the ball did not bounce off him, both immediately after the game<ref name="nytimes"/> as well as later;<ref name="sportingnews"/> however, in his memoirs, Tatum equivocated, stating that he could not honestly say whether or not the ball hit him.<ref name="assassin">{{cite book| last= Tatum| first= Jack| title= They Call Me Assassin| publisher= Everest House| place= New York| year= 1979| isbn= 0-89696-060-9| page= [https://archive.org/details/theycallmeassass00tatu/page/145 145]| url= https://archive.org/details/theycallmeassass00tatu/page/145}}</ref> Villapiano, who was covering Harris at the time, maintains that the ball hit Fuqua.<ref name="thesuper70s">{{cite web| url= http://www.thesuper70s.com/excerpt1.html| work= TheSuper70s.com| title= Memories from Pro Football's Greatest Era| url-status= dead| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20071101044545/http://www.thesuper70s.com/excerpt1.html| archive-date= 2007-11-01| access-date= December 28, 2017}}</ref> Fuqua has been coy, supposedly saying he knows exactly what happened that day but will never tell.<ref>{{cite web| url= http://static.espn.go.com/nfl/playoffs98/news/1999/990106/01030879.html| work= ESPN.com| publisher= ESPN/Starwave Partners| title= Two words say it all: 'Immaculate Reception'| date= January 8, 1999| access-date= December 28, 2017}}</ref> Villapiano has also stated that he was illegally blocked by McMakin as he was pursuing Harris following the reception and he would have tackled Harris without it.<ref name="sportingnews"/><ref name="thesuper70s"/> Raiders coach Madden echoed this complaint.<ref name="LaMarre"/> According to Raiders defensive back [[George Atkinson (safety)|George Atkinson]], the play is known by the Raiders and their fans as the "Immaculate Deception" because "the public was deceived, the officials were deceived, and we got deceived."<ref>{{Cite episode |title=The Immaculate Reception |series=A Football Life |series-link=A Football Life |network=[[NFL Network]] |date=December 19, 2012 |season=2 |number=13 |minutes= |time= |transcript= |transcript-url= |quote= |language=}}</ref>

John Madden, coach of the 1972 Raiders, maintained (until his death) that he would never get over the play, and has indicated that he was bothered more by the delay between the end of the play and the final call than by which player the ball actually hit. After the game, he said that from his view the football had indeed touched Tatum.<ref name="nytimes"/> A few days later, however, Madden indicated that the Raiders' game films showed that the ball hit Fuqua's shoulder pads,<ref name="LaMarre"/> Tatum conceded that "even after we viewed the game films with stop action, nobody could tell who the ball hit on that moment of impact."<ref name="assassin"/> Years later Madden wrote, "No matter how many times I watch the films of the 'immaculate reception' play, I never know for sure what happened."<ref>{{cite book| last= Madden| first= John| title= Hey Wait a Minute, I Wrote a Book| publisher= Villard Books| place= New York| year= 1984| page= 238| isbn= 0-394-53109-4}}</ref>

In 1998, during halftime of the [[1997–98 NFL playoffs#AFC: Denver Broncos 24, Pittsburgh Steelers 21|AFC Championship Game]], [[NBC]] showed a replay from its original broadcast. The replay presented a different angle than the NFL Films clip that is most often shown. According to a writer for the ''[[New York Daily News]]'', "NBC's replay showed the ball clearly hit one and only one man[:] Oakland DB Jack Tatum."<ref>{{cite news| last= Raissman| first= Bob| title= With NFL, Networks Can't Win for Losing| work= New York Daily News| date= January 13, 1998| page= 57}}</ref> [[Curt Gowdy]], doing the live television play-by-play, called it as having been deflected by Tatum, and reiterated that during the video replay.<ref>NBC broadcast of 1972 AFC Divisional Playoff</ref>

Pittsburgh sportscaster [[Myron Cope]], in a 1997 ''[[New York Times]]'' article<ref name="immaculate explanation"/> and in his 2002 book ''Quintuple Yoi!'',<ref>{{cite book| last= Cope| first= Myron| title= Quintuple Yoi!| publisher= Sports Publishing| year= 2002| isbn= 1-58261-548-9| page= 179}}</ref> related that two days after the game he reviewed film taken by local Pittsburgh TV station [[WTAE-TV]] which showed "[n]o question about it – Bradshaw's pass struck Tatum squarely on his right shoulder." Cope stated that WTAE's film would be next to impossible to find again because of inadequate filing procedures at the station.

In 2004, John Fetkovich, an emeritus professor of physics at [[Carnegie Mellon University]], analyzed the NFL Films clip of the play. He concluded, based on the trajectory of the bounced ball and conservation of momentum, that the ball must have bounced off Tatum, who was running upfield at the time, rather than Fuqua, who was running across and down the field.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/04292/397451.stm |title=The physics of the matter say the Immaculate Reception ball hit Tatum |publisher=Post-gazette.com |date=2004-10-18 |access-date=2019-01-17}}</ref> Fetkovich also performed experiments by throwing a football against a brick wall at a velocity greater than {{convert|60|ft/sec|m/sec|abbr=off|sp=us}}, twice the speed Fetkovich calculated that Bradshaw's pass was traveling when it reached Tatum and Fuqua. Fetkovitch achieved a maximum rebound of {{convert|10|ft|m|abbr=off|sp=us}} when the ball hit point first and {{convert|15|ft|m}} when the ball hit belly first, both less than the {{convert|24|ft|m}} that the ball rebounded during the play. Timothy Gay, a physics professor and a longtime Raiders fan,<ref>{{cite news| url= http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/04278/389980.stm| title= Pigskin physics and the Immaculate Reception| work= Pittsburgh Post-Gazette| date= October 4, 2004| first= Byron| last= Spice| access-date= December 28, 2017}}</ref> cited Fetkovich's work with approval in his book ''The Physics of Football'' and concluded that "the referees made the right call in the Immaculate Reception."<ref>{{cite book| last= Gay| first= Timothy| title= The Physics of Football| publisher= HarperCollins| location= New York| year= 2005| isbn= 978-0-06-082634-5| page= [https://archive.org/details/physicsoffootbal0000gayt/page/17 17]| url= https://archive.org/details/physicsoffootbal0000gayt/page/17}}</ref>

Bradshaw himself had made points similar to those of Fetkovich fifteen years earlier, stating that he did not think that he had thrown the ball hard enough for it to bounce that far back off Fuqua and that since Fuqua was running across the field, the ball would have veered to the right if it had hit him. Bradshaw opined that the ball must have bounced off the upfield-moving Tatum – if that had happened then "Tatum's momentum carries the ball backward."<ref name= Looking />{{rp|14–15}}