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‘The Ball Didn’t Hit The Ground’: John Madden’s Son Admits What Dad Couldn’t About Immaculate Reception

Related Topics: John Madden, Franco Harris

One can make the case that John Madden is the greatest coach in the history of the NFL, but he could never get over the Immaculate Reception. On the losing end of the historic play between the Pittsburgh Steelers and his Oakland Raiders, he never accepted the ruling. Franco Harris caught the ball cleanly and scored (and it was a legal touch).

Madden’s son, Mike Madden, admitted as much while appearing on the Rich Eisen Show. After Eisen asked him about the Immaculate Reception, he paused for some time. “No, the ball didn’t hit the ground”, he ultimately said, going into John Madden’s position.