{"id":427,"date":"2014-07-25T02:01:03","date_gmt":"2014-07-25T02:01:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/?p=427"},"modified":"2015-01-09T16:15:53","modified_gmt":"2015-01-09T21:15:53","slug":"franco-harris-autograph-remains-intact","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/2014\/07\/25\/franco-harris-autograph-remains-intact\/","title":{"rendered":"Franco Harris\u2019 autograph remains intact"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\" <\/a> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\n

At age 7, Mike Thuransky had the pleasure\u00a0of meeting and getting the signature of Pittsburgh Steelers Hall of Fame running back Franco Harris.<\/p>\n

\u201cI still have the autograph,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The picture was taken 40 years ago. Plenty\u00a0has changed since Harris propped his brief case up on his knee and took a pen to paper for a young fan\u00a0back in December 1974.<\/p>\n

The\u00a01970s Steelers, the\u00a0NFL\u2019s\u00a0powerhouse team of that decade, were on\u00a0their\u00a0way back to the\u00a0Steel\u00a0City after\u00a0claiming\u00a0their second\u00a0AFC\u00a0Central Division title in three years.\u00a0They downed the New England Patriots, 21-17,\u00a0and\u00a0Harris scored the game\u2019s first touchdown\u00a0en route to running\u00a0for 136 yards.<\/p>\n

\u201cI knew the Steelers were going to be there [in the airport],\u201d he said. \u201cI was also there because my mother was getting off a flight, so our grandmother had us there.\u201d<\/p>\n

Thuransky is a life-long Steelers\u2019 fan.\u00a0His birthday,\u00a0Jan. 21<\/span><\/span>, arrived each year just\u00a0as the dominant \u201970s Steelers seemed to\u00a0be contending for a Super Bowl. In fact, the franchise claimed its third Super Bowl on\u00a0Jan.\u00a021, 1979, Thuransky\u2019s 12th<\/sup>\u00a0birthday.<\/p>\n

With an image of a helmeted Harris catching the Immaculate Reception in most fans\u2019 minds, seeing him in street clothes seemed so bizarre to a young Thuransky.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou know I always saw him as a football player,\u201d he said. \u201cI saw him with a brief case and I was awe struck, I was like, \u2018What\u2019s he doing in those clothes?\u201d<\/p>\n

Thuransky said Harris was more than willing to sign an autograph for him and his brother. Mike, however, was the one captured by Pittsburgh Press photographer Anthony Kaminski.<\/p>\n

He still has that autograph, but he\u2019s been trying for several years to get another\u00a0from Harris.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have multiple pictures of the picture from the article,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019ve been trying to get Franco to sign the picture of him signing the autograph for me.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The picture was taken 40 years ago. Plenty has changed since Harris propped his brief case up on his knee.<\/p>\n

Look at the picturesFranco Harris\u2019 autograph remains intact<\/span><\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":21,"featured_media":428,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"gallery","meta":{"jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true},"categories":[944],"tags":[963,1198,1030,1035],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/07\/tumblr_n96nclMkGj1rr5swxo1_1280.jpg?fit=1280%2C844&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":8952,"url":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/2018\/06\/27\/remembering-al-vento-and-francos-italian-army\/","url_meta":{"origin":427,"position":0},"title":"Remembering Al Vento and Franco’s Italian Army","date":"June 27, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"It\u2019s not uncommon for Steelers players to become celebrities. 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