The five most memorable Steelers players to wear jersey number 33
John “Frenchy” Fuqua- Rb 1970-1976
The number one player to wear number 33 hardly needs any introduction, thanks to his involvement in one of the most legendary plays in NFL history. He also made the NFL’s top 100 characters in the NFL landing at 79. We are talking about John “Frenchy” Fuqua.
The New York Giants drafted him in the 10th round of the 1969 draft from Morgan State. After one season in New York, the Giants traded him to Pittsburgh, and the rest they say is history. Upon his arrival, he dazzled fans with his flamboyant outfits. Something former teammate Tony Dungy vividly recalls. He never went by his name of John rather by his nickname Frenchy. He called himself a French count. His most famous outfit included platform shoes with plexiglass heels that had live fish in them to match the color of his outfit.
Upon the arrival of rookie Franco Harris, the Steelers had Franco’s Italian Army and Frenchy’s Foreign Legion. In 1970 he set the Steelers club mark of the highest single-game rushing mark of 218 yards against the Eagles, which stood until 2006 when Willie Parker ran for 223 yards against the Cleveland Browns.
His claim to fame came in the 1972 playoff game against the Raiders. On the final play of the game, the Raiders held a 7-6 lead. On the ensuing pass play, Bradshaw had intended to hit Barry Pearson; however, pass protection broke down, and Bradshaw rolled to his right and fired the ball to Frenchy, who also led the Steelers in receiving yardage that year. As the ball got to Frenchy, so did Raiders Jack Tatum, who collided viciously with French sending the ball flying through the air. Just before hitting the ground, Franco Harris snagged the ball out of the air, rambling 60 yards for a touchdown giving the Steelers their first playoff win in team history.
The play did not end there chaos ensued after the play. Per NFL rules, if the ball first touched an offensive player, another offensive player could not touch the ball. Meaning if Frenchy touched the ball first by rule Franco could not catch the ball, and the play would have been ruled incomplete. Referees could not determine who touched the ball first. Referees deliberated several minutes and finally ruled the play a touchdown. Raiders coach John Madden claims to this day; referees reviewed the video replay to try to determine the proper call. Referee Fred Swearington has denied this ever occurred.
To this day, Raider fans still argue the Raiders got hosed by the referees. Frenchy has stated he knows who touched the ball but made a vow to Art Rooney never to tell anyone what really happened. He still has not done so to this day. Though when you watch the original NBC footage, it appears the ball caromed of Tatum’s shoulder pad, but has not settled the debate.
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By the time Frenchy’s career ended in 1976, he had 719 rushes for 3031 yards and 21 touchdowns, although 2942 yards came in Pittsburgh. He also had 135 receptions and 1247 receiving yards with three touchdowns, with 132 receptions and 1236 yards with the Steelers. The Steelers have had a lot of memorable players over the years. Frenchy certainly belongs among them.