Rest In Peace Franco Harris

1980 Topps Franco Harris

This is the toughest Sportscard Memory to do so far. Last week, we lost a true legend in the sport of football. To the best of my knowledge, he wasn't sick, he didn't have any kind of illness, he just passed away. Just days before his number would be retired on the 50th anniversary of the Immaculate Reception.

I'm not going to go into details of his career like everyone else has. You already know how good he was on and off the field. I want to talk about his 1980 Topps football card. Of all of his cards, it's my favorite.

The reason is kind of humorous. First of all, I was 11 years old when this card was released and I only bought football cards for fun, not value. My favorite team has been the Steelers pretty much all my life so I preferred to get Steelers in my packs. But I loved this card most and the reason is pretty crazy. He's wearing some kind of coat. Yep, I love this card because Franco is wearing a sideline coat. My guess is, I probably never noticed one of those before. Maybe that's why I loved the card from day one.

Every time I make one of these posts, it gets tougher and tougher. It's the real world. Franco Harris retired from the NFL nearly 40 years ago. It's nearly impossible to fathom that in my mind. We've already lost so many players from the Steelers dynasty, it hurts to lose more. I remember being upset when Dwight White was cut from the Steelers. And now I have to deal with their passing.

Thank you, Franco Harris for being there for my youth. I really enjoyed watching you lead my Steelers to the Super Bowl four times. Rest In Peace to a true legend of the game!