Madden refuses to talk about Immaculate Reception

[NCBirdfan]

One of the biggest plays in Pittsburgh's history should never have been.

The conflict still resonates four decades later, with former Raiders coach John Madden refusing to be interviewed for the documentary.[/URL] In past comments on the topic, Madden has suggested that the outcome was determined via the unauthorized use of replay review. “That’s a helluva damn game that has to go down to someone up in the press box,” Madden is shown telling reporters immediately after the game.

...the biggest lingering question is whether the tip of the ball struck the ground just as Harris secured it.

Raiders safety George Atkinson insists the tip of the ball touched the ground. Terry Bradshaw believes that, because Franco Harris won’t clearly say he didn’t trap the ball against the ground, he probably did.

[Rael]

Link is broken.

[NCBirdfan]

Link is broken.

Thanks. I fixed it.

[pitt60]

Watched replay several times. Clearly Franco caught it off the ground, at shoe top level. Only issue is whether the ball was deflected off of Frenchy Fuqua, or by Jack Tatum.(rules at the time did not allow 2 offensive players to touch the ball consecutively.) Legend has it that one of the refs asked how many cops they could have if they ruled it wasn't a TD. "" None, " said the cop, at which time the ref said TD Pittsburgh!!

[NCBirdfan]

Watched replay several times. Clearly Franco caught it off the ground, at shoe top level. Only issue is whether the ball was deflected off of Frenchy Fuqua, or by Jack Tatum.(rules at the time did not allow 2 offensive players to touch the ball consecutively.) Legend has it that one of the refs asked how many cops they could have if they ruled it wasn't a TD. "" None, " said the cop, at which time the ref said TD Pittsburgh!!

Yeah, I heard that legend repeated several times. If it is true, that ref should have been fired the next day. But we know that refs have little accountability.

That call must really irk Madden for him to hang up the phone on NFL Films when he was requested to make comment on it. He obviously didn't agree with the call, then or now.

[JasonM]

Here are 2 1972 articles published within 24 hours of the play, Madden was talking about the replay already:

http://tinyurl.com/cxpsnbx

http://tinyurl.com/bovmwxb

[OriginalColtsFan]

Oh for Pete's sake, Madden. Get over it, man. Yeesh.

[cprenegade]

You guys don't get what Madden is doing. All of the Raiders involved in the play say Tatum didn't touch it and the ball hit the ground. Several of the Steelers involved are non-committal fueling conspiracy theories. Maddens is just going along with it all. Madden let it go years ago, and he got his superbowl ring a few years later. He's just messing with peoples minds by trying to act like it still bothers him.

[OriginalColtsFan]

You guys don't get what Madden is doing. All of the Raiders involved in the play say Tatum didn't touch it and the ball hit the ground. Several of the Steelers involved are non-committal fueling conspiracy theories. Maddens is just going along with it all. Madden let it go years ago, and he got his superbowl ring a few years later. He's just messing with peoples minds by trying to act like it still bothers him.

Madden is like the Yoda of the football world.

[DkBlue]

Chuck Noll told him to exlain using the laws of physics how the ball bounced back 20 yards unless Tatum hit it.

[johnpolitics]

If Tatum had not hit Fuqua the ball is incomplete.

[Fang]

Watched replay several times. Clearly Franco caught it off the ground, at shoe top level. Only issue is whether the ball was deflected off of Frenchy Fuqua, or by Jack Tatum.(rules at the time did not allow 2 offensive players to touch the ball consecutively.) Legend has it that one of the refs asked how many cops they could have if they ruled it wasn't a TD. "" None, " said the cop, at which time the ref said TD Pittsburgh!!

Thanks! That was my main question. The article didn't even explain that. I couldn't figure out why they were making a point that Oakland may or may not have touched the ball.

[Eastside Terp]

Here are 2 1972 articles published within 24 hours of the play, Madden was talking about the replay already:

http://tinyurl.com/cxpsnbx

http://tinyurl.com/bovmwxb

while taking a look at your 2 links, I spotted a little bit on the paper in the second link about someone I knew growing up in east baltimore .......

at the bottom of that Connecticut sports page from December 24, 1972 there is an article about the east winning the "soccer bowl" and Denny Wit of Loyola scoring a goal .......

he went to poly but was ahead of me and I watched him play for the bays quite a few times .......

small world .....