Ever since the passing of Franco Harris late Tuesday night, the sports world has been sharing their fondest memories of the Steelers' legend.
This includes current players who, if they were unaware of Mr. Harris' indelible legacy in Pittsburgh, are now finding out about it.
Cornerback Arthur Maulet has a unique anecdote about how he learned of No. 32 before last season.
"So I'm coming in, I'm thinking about a jersey number I'm trying to get, right?" Maulet told me Thursday on the South Side. "And I'm like, 'yo, you got 32?' and they all laughed at me. They all start laughing at me, like, 'ha ha ha, you must not know the history about that number.' And that's how I found out about Franco Harris. I wound up with 35."
He just did not know at that point. After all, Maulet is from New Orleans, played his college football at Memphis, and previously played in the NFL for New Orleans, Indianapolis, and the New York Jets. He wore No. 32 while playing with the Colts in 2018, and reversed it to No. 23 while with the Jets in 2019 and 2020 before coming to Pittsburgh in 2021.
(Maulet wore No. 8 in college. While Maulet played with the Jets, Blake Countess donned No. 32 in 2019, and Ashtyn Davis had it in 2020.)
After the point of getting laughed at for asking the Steelers for No. 32, Maulet did his diligence about the Immaculate Reception and the storied career Mr. Harris experienced here in Pittsburgh.
"I soon learned about the catch and all of that stuff and all of the things that he did for Pittsburgh and the city and all of that," Maulet said. "It's an honor to represent this guy. I'm mad that we can't get him his flowers while he's on earth, but we're definitely going to do what we have to do to try to represent him well."
Maulet later went on to tell me that Saints safety Tyrann Mathieu is his favorite NFL player, and that is why he likes to wear No. 32.
"I wanted 32 because of that, but obviously, can't get it. Not here," Maulet said.
