Thursday was the 49th anniversary of the Immaculate Reception. It’s an iconic moment in Pittsburgh sports for a plethora of reasons.

It’s got a catchy name. A fan coined it; it was popularized by the late sportscaster Myron Cope.

It was thought to launch the Pittsburgh Steelers’ dynasty in the ’70s. That’s not true. That day’s 13-7 win over Oakland was, indeed, the team’s first playoff win. But the Steelers lost in the next week’s AFC championship game to Miami, which ultimately finished the season 17-0. The Steelers didn’t win their first Super Bowl till the 1974 season, two years later.

The Immaculate Reception did nothing to alter the team’s trajectory. It was just a stop along the way. If the Steelers lose that game, they still win four Super Bowls in the ’70s.

The game wasn’t televised in Pittsburgh. You had to be at Three Rivers Stadium to see it. A lot more claim to have attended than really did.

At the time, the NFL imposed a TV blackout within a 75-mile radius of the home team’s market. It applied even if the game was sold out. (That rule was changed in 1973.)

I was 11. I listened to the game on a transistor radio, which I smashed when Oakland quarterback Ken Stabler scored a go-ahead touchdown in the fourth quarter. I learned the game’s ultimate result second-hand.

I didn’t get to hear Jack Fleming’s historic call: “It’s caught out of the air! The ball is pulled in by Franco Harris! Harris is going for a touchdown for Pittsburgh!”

The Immaculate Reception is commemorated at the Pittsburgh International Airport by a mannequin of Harris catching the ball. A mannequin of George Washington is nearby. The likeness of Harris is photographed far more often.

JoAnne Harrop | Tribune-Review Franco Harris poses with his statue of the Immaculate Reception at the Pittsburgh International Airport on Thursday, Sept. 12, 2019, along with the statue of George Washington.  

There’s a team-erected monument at the exact spot where Harris made the catch. It’s located in a parking lot adjacent to Heinz Field.

But the most intriguing thing about the Immaculate Reception is that, almost 50 years later, nobody is 100% sure what happened.

In today’s NFL, the play would have been reviewed. A variety of camera angles would provide conclusive proof.

But no video of the Immaculate Reception reveals conclusively whether the ball went directly to Harris after ricocheting off his teammate, Frenchy Fuqua. (That was then illegal under NFL rules.) There’s also no film that confirms Harris made a clean catch, without the ball touching the ground.

If you’re a Steelers fan, it’s a good catch. If you’re a Raiders fan, you’re still crying. Then-Raiders coach John Madden still complains bitterly every time he discusses it.

Perhaps an informal review did occur: Referee Fred Swearingen got on a phone in one of Three Rivers Stadium’s dugouts and talked to NFL officiating boss Art McNally before signaling that the play was a touchdown. (McNally was in the press box.) Was video examined?

One story says Swearingen asked if security could assure the safety of the officials. The touchdown call was made when no guarantee was made.

Years later, McNally laughed off that anecdote. But what was said? Why was the phone call made? Did McNally look at video and tell Swearingen what to call?

Nobody knows. It’s all part of the play’s legend. What happened was hotly debated then and always will be as long there are people alive who saw it.

If you watch the video, the best guess is that the ball bounced off Raiders defensive back Jack Tatum when he hit Fuqua. The ball caromed to Harris, who appeared to catch it cleanly. The correct call got made: touchdown.

None of that is for sure. But that’s most likely and what the officials decided.

God couldn’t have saved them had they called otherwise. That’s home-field advantage.

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