John Fuqua

Last updated

John Fuqua
No. 29, 33
Position: Running back
Personal information
Born: (1947-09-12) September 12, 1947 (age 76)
Detroit, Michigan, U.S.
Height:5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
Weight:205 lb (93 kg)
Career information
High school: Detroit (MI) Eastern
College: Morgan State
NFL draft: 1969  / Round: 11 / Pick: 273
Career history
 * Offseason and/or practice squad member only
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics
Rushing yards:3,031
Rush attempts:719
Receptions:135
Rushing TDs:21
Games played:100
Player stats at PFR

John William Fuqua (born September 12, 1947), nicknamed "Frenchy", is a former professional American football running back who played from 1969 to 1976, for the New York Giants and Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL) and the New York Stars of the World Football League (WFL).

Contents

Biography

John Fuqua was born in Detroit, Michigan, on September 12, 1947. A 1965 graduate of Detroit's Eastern High School, Fuqua played college football at Morgan State University and was drafted in the eleventh round of the 1969 NFL/AFL draft by the New York Giants. The next season, Fuqua was traded to the Pittsburgh Steelers. It was while with the Steelers that Fuqua would become part of NFL history as the intended target for Terry Bradshaw's pass that resulted in the Immaculate Reception. Oakland Raiders safety Jack Tatum hit Fuqua just as the ball arrived. It has never been established whether the ball hit Fuqua or Tatum. This was critical, since under the rules of the time, once a pass touched an offensive player he was the only one eligible to catch the pass. If the ball had hit Fuqua without touching Tatum, the rules called for the play to be blown dead once Franco Harris touched the ball. Fuqua reportedly insists to this day that he knows whom the ball hit first, but will never tell. [1]

Fuqua nicknamed himself "The French Count". He is remembered for being one of the flashiest dressers in the NFL, and would occasionally appear in public wearing platform shoes having see-through heels that contained water and a live tropical fish selected from his aquarium to match the color of the day's outfit. [2] He won two Super Bowl titles during his Steelers tenure, which were also the first two championships in the team's history.

Over the course of his career, Fuqua played in 100 games, rushing for 3,031 yards and scoring 24 touchdowns. His best season was in 1970, his first with the Steelers, when he rushed for 691 yards and seven touchdowns. In this season, he set a then Steelers single-game rushing record of 218 yards against the Philadelphia Eagles. This was later surpassed in 2006 by Willie Parker when he gained 223 yards against the Cleveland Browns.

Teammate Franco Harris had his fanclub "Franco's Italian Army", and Fuqua had "Frenchy's Foreign Legion". [3]

In celebration of the 35th Anniversary of the Immaculate Reception, Fuqua created a candy bar called "The Immaculate Confection". [4]

In Episode 31 of the fantasy comedy television series The Good Place , demon Michael, while visiting Earth, tells people that his assistant Janet is named Lisa "Frenchy" Fuqua. [5]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Super Bowl IX</span> 1975 Edition of the Super Bowl

Super Bowl IX was an American football game played between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Pittsburgh Steelers and the National Football Conference (NFC) champion Minnesota Vikings to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion for the 1974 season. The game was played on January 12, 1975, at Tulane Stadium in New Orleans, Louisiana. The Steelers defeated the Vikings by the score of 16–6 to win their first Super Bowl championship.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Super Bowl X</span> 1976 Edition of the Super Bowl

Super Bowl X was an American football game between the National Football Conference (NFC) champion Dallas Cowboys and the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Pittsburgh Steelers to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion for the 1975 season. The Steelers defeated the Cowboys by the score of 21–17 to win their second consecutive Super Bowl. They were the third team to win back-to-back Super Bowls. It was also the first Super Bowl in which both participating teams had previously won a Super Bowl, as the Steelers were the defending champions and the Cowboys had won Super Bowl VI.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Super Bowl XIII</span> 1979 Edition of the Super Bowl

Super Bowl XIII was an American football game between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Pittsburgh Steelers and the National Football Conference (NFC) champion Dallas Cowboys to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion for the 1978 season. The Steelers defeated the Cowboys by the score of 35–31. The game was played on January 21, 1979, at the Miami Orange Bowl in Miami, Florida, the fifth and last time that the Super Bowl was played in that stadium.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Super Bowl XIV</span> 1980 Edition of the Super Bowl

Super Bowl XIV was an American football game between the National Football Conference (NFC) champion Los Angeles Rams and the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Pittsburgh Steelers to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion for the 1979 season. The Steelers defeated the Rams by the score of 31–19, becoming the first team to win four Super Bowls. The game was played on January 20, 1980, at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California, and was attended by a Super Bowl record 103,985 spectators. It was also the first Super Bowl where the game was played in the home market of one of the participants, as Pasadena is 10 miles (16 km) northeast of Downtown Los Angeles.

The Immaculate Reception is one of the most famous plays in the history of American gridiron football. It occurred in the AFC divisional playoff game of the National Football League (NFL), between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Oakland Raiders at Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on December 23, 1972.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Franco Harris</span> American football player (1950–2022)

Franco Harris was an American professional football player who was a running back for 13 seasons in the National Football League (NFL), primarily with the Pittsburgh Steelers. He played college football for the Penn State Nittany Lions and was selected by the Steelers in the first round of the 1972 NFL draft. Harris spent his first 12 seasons with Pittsburgh, earning nine Pro Bowl selections, and was a member of the Seattle Seahawks in his last.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Super Bowl XL</span> 2006 National Football League championship game

Super Bowl XL was an American football game between the National Football Conference (NFC) champion Seattle Seahawks and the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Pittsburgh Steelers to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion for the 2005 season. The Steelers defeated the Seahawks by the score of 21–10. The game was played on February 5, 2006, at Ford Field in Detroit, Michigan. It is the most recent Super Bowl broadcast on ABC who lost the rights to broadcast Super Bowl games in the next NFL television contract and the first where all aspects of the game itself were aired in HD. This was the last of 10 straight Super Bowls to feature a team seeking its first win.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jerome Bettis</span> American football player (born 1972)

Jerome Abram Bettis Sr. is an American former football running back who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 13 seasons, primarily with the Pittsburgh Steelers. Nicknamed "the Bus" due to his large size and forceful running style, he played college football for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and was selected 10th overall by the Los Angeles Rams in the 1993 NFL draft. Bettis was a member of the Rams for three seasons before being traded to the Steelers, where he spent the remainder of his career. A six-time Pro Bowl and two-time first-team All-Pro selection, he is regarded as one of the greatest power runners of all time and ranks eighth in NFL rushing yards. He retired in 2006 after helping the Steelers win a Super Bowl title in Super Bowl XL, the franchise's first in over two decades. Bettis was inducted to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2015.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jack Tatum</span> American football player (1948–2010)

John David Tatum was an American professional football safety who played 10 seasons, from 1971 through 1980 with the Oakland Raiders and the Houston Oilers in the National Football League (NFL). He was popularly known as "the Assassin" because of his playing style. Tatum was voted to three consecutive Pro Bowls (1973–1975) and played on one Super Bowl-winning team in nine seasons with the Raiders. He’s also known for a hit he made against New England Patriots wide receiver Darryl Stingley in a 1978 preseason game that paralyzed Stingley from the neck down. He won a national championship at Ohio State.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1972–73 NFL playoffs</span> NFL seasonal playoff games

The National Football League playoffs for the 1972 season began on December 23, 1972. The postseason tournament concluded with the Miami Dolphins defeating the Washington Redskins in Super Bowl VII, 14–7, on January 14, 1973, at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in Los Angeles, California, becoming the only NFL team to finish a championship season undefeated and untied.

The National Football League playoffs for the 1975 season began on December 27, 1975. The postseason tournament concluded with the Pittsburgh Steelers defeating the Dallas Cowboys in Super Bowl X, 21–17, on January 18, 1976, at the Orange Bowl in Miami.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1977–78 NFL playoffs</span> NFL seasonal playoff games

The National Football League playoffs for the 1977 season began on December 24, 1977. The postseason tournament concluded with the Dallas Cowboys defeating the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl XII, 27–10, on January 15, 1978, at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Henry Johnson</span> American gridiron football player (1929–2011)

John Henry Johnson was an American professional football player who was a running back. He was known for his excellence at the fullback position as both a runner and a blocker. His first professional stint was in Canada in the Western Interprovincial Football Union for one season with the Calgary Stampeders. He then played in the National Football League (NFL) for the San Francisco 49ers, Detroit Lions, and Pittsburgh Steelers before spending his final season in the American Football League (AFL) with the Houston Oilers. Commonly referred to as simply John Henry, an allusion to the folk hero of the same name, Johnson was a tough and tenacious player who performed at a high level well into the tail end of his career.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Willie Parker</span> American football player (born 1980)

Willie Everett Parker Jr. is an American former professional football player who was a running back for six seasons for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL). After playing college football for North Carolina, he was signed by the Steelers as an undrafted free agent in 2004.

George Henry Atkinson II is an American former professional football safety and return specialist who played in the American Football League (AFL) and National Football League (NFL) for the Oakland Raiders from 1968 to 1977. He played college football at Morris Brown and was drafted by the Raiders in the seventh round of the 1968 NFL/AFL draft.

The former Reggie Harrison is a former professional American football running back for four seasons in the National Football League (NFL) for the Pittsburgh Steelers and St. Louis Cardinals. In 2000, he changed his name to Kamal Ali Salaam-El in an effort to embrace his Moorish heritage.

John Garvin McMakin is a former professional American football tight end who played five seasons in the National Football League (NFL) from 1972 to 1976 for the Pittsburgh Steelers, the Detroit Lions and the Seattle Seahawks. His brother, David McMakin, was an Alabama player from 1971-1973 under legendary coach, Paul "Bear" Bryant. He was a member of the Steelers first World Championship, Super Bowl IX over the Minnesota Vikings. He was the Steelers' 3rd round draft pick in the 1972 NFL Draft.

The 1977 Denver Broncos season was the team's 18th year in professional football and its eighth with the National Football League (NFL).

Fred Swearingen was a former official in the National Football League (NFL), serving as both a referee and field judge from 1960 through 1980. He wore uniform number 21 for the majority of his career. He worked Super Bowl XIII as a field judge, where he called a controversial pass interference against the Dallas Cowboys' Benny Barnes.

The 1975 AFC Championship Game was the sixth title game of the American Football Conference (AFC). Played on January 4, 1976, the game was hosted by the AFC Central champion and defending AFC and Super Bowl champion Pittsburgh Steelers who, in a rematch of the 1974 title game, played the AFC West champion Oakland Raiders at Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Along with the 1975 NFC Championship Game played on the same day, this game constituted the penultimate round of the 1975–76 NFL playoffs which had followed the 1975 regular season of the National Football League (NFL).

References

  1. ↑ Two Words Say It all: "Immaculate Reception"
  2. ↑ 12/24/73 Sports Illustrated, People Section.
  3. ↑ "Official site of the Pittsburgh Steelers - Article". Archived from the original on September 26, 2007. Retrieved October 9, 2009.
  4. ↑ "Home ~ John "Frenchy" Fuqua, Former Pittsburgh Steeler Pro Football Player, Presents the Immaculate Confection ~ Official Candy Bar". frenchyfuqua.com. Archived from the original on August 16, 2011. Retrieved January 12, 2022.
  5. ↑ "03x04 - Jeremy Bearimy - Transcripts - Forever Dreaming". transcripts.foreverdreaming.org. Retrieved January 21, 2023.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.