{"id":165090,"date":"2022-12-22T09:54:03","date_gmt":"2022-12-22T09:54:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/franco-harris-embraced-his-own-steelers-legend-through-final-hours\/"},"modified":"2022-12-22T09:54:03","modified_gmt":"2022-12-22T09:54:03","slug":"franco-harris-embraced-his-own-steelers-legend-through-final-hours","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/franco-harris-embraced-his-own-steelers-legend-through-final-hours\/","title":{"rendered":"Franco Harris embraced his own Steelers legend through final hours"},"content":{"rendered":"
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PITTSBURGH — Sitting in front of his 22-year-old likeness frozen in the moment of his history-defining play, Pittsburgh Steelers Hall of Fame running back Franco Harris grinned. He was recounting the tedious process of creating the mold used to sculpt his face for the iconic Immaculate Reception statues that greet visitors at Pittsburgh International Airport and the Western Pennsylvania Sports Museum.<\/p>\n

Harris remembered breathing through two straws stuck up his nose as dental alginate sat on his face, covering every pore for more than 20 minutes. As the plaster-like material hardened, it captured every wrinkle and crevasse of his face. The petroleum jelly he slathered on before the alginate was applied was supposed to make it easier to remove the dried cast, but some of his beard and eyebrow hairs remained embedded in the mask when artist Gerry Embelton carefully peeled it away.<\/p>\n

“It wasn’t bad until they tried to take it off, and then they’re taking my beard off with it,” Harris said with a chuckle. “My beard hair did grow back.”<\/p>\n