Wide receiver Barry Pearson caught 86 passes in his five-year NFL career. It was a pass he didn't catch that made him famous. Pearson, who was the intended target of Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Terry Bradshaw on the pivotal 1972 play known as the "Immaculate Reception," died Sunday, Aug. 16.
Pearson was a 22-year-old rookie when he took the field for his first NFL offensive snap in an AFC divisional playoff game on Dec. 23, 1972 between the Steelers and Oakland Raiders. He had spent most of the season on the practice squad, but was elevated to the active roster because of an injury to wide receiver Frank Lewis. It was a critical moment in a big game.
Pittsburgh trailed 7-6 and faced fourth-and-10 at its own 40-yard line with 22 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter. Steelers coach Chuck Noll drew the play up for Pearson, a 12-yard route, but Bradshaw couldn't get him the ball under pressure from the Raiders' defense. Bradshaw threw the ball toward running back John “Frenchy” Fuqua instead.
The pass was deflected, running back Franco Harris caught the ball, and ran 42 yards for the winning touchdown. Pearson spent the first two of his five NFL seasons in Pittsburgh. In 1973, his first full season on the active roster, he caught 23 passes for 317 yards and three touchdowns.
More news: Cowboys Super Bowl Guard, Pro Bowler Dies Traded to Kansas City prior to the 1974 season, Pearson caught 27 passes for 387 yards and a touchdown in his first season with the Chiefs. In 1975, he started 13 of 14 games and had his best season: 36 catches for 608 yards, an average of 16.9 yards per reception, and three touchdowns. After a knee injury abruptly cut short Pearson's 1976 season, he was forced to retire.
He caught 86 passes for 1,312 yards and seven touchdowns in 50 career NFL games. More news: Original Member of the AFL's Jets and Patriots Dies at 90 Pearson spent a year coaching wide receivers at Oklahoma State under Jimmie Johnson, the future Hall of Fame head coach. He then left football to work for HPC Foodservice, eventually becoming president and chief executive officer.
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