One of the most frequently asked what-if questions that arise in Pittsburgh Steelers history is, what if the Immaculate Reception never happened? That question has a simple answer: Not many changes in Steeler's history had the play never happened.
The Steelers in 1972 were still missing several key players: Lynn Swann, Jack Lambert, John Stallworth, and Mike Webster. Even without the play, they would have still become a dynasty. The play is for the Steelers and is the equivalent of the tuck rule game for the Patriots. In both instances, the play ended up defining the dynasties.
The question that no one asks about the immaculate reception is, what if it had occurred in Oakland instead of Pittsburgh? Honestly, this is the more intriguing question. The play's outcome could have been more chaotic than what ensued in Pittsburgh following Franco Harris' touchdown. Having asked Frenchy Fuqua that exact question several years ago, his response was, "Jesus couldn't get a call to go his way in that joint."
What if the Pittsburgh Steelers' immaculate reception occurred in Oakland?
The first thing that would have happened is Oakland fans would have gone bonkers when Jack Tatum crunched French Fuqua, causing the ball to ricochet and causing most to celebrate a fantastic Raiders finish. In Pittsburgh, most had thought the game ended on the ricochet until they all saw Franco running with the ball. Even Art Rooney thought they had lost until someone told him about what he missed in the elevator ride to the locker room.
Hence, with Franco's touchdown reception, there was mass jubilation in the stands, knowing the Steelers had just beaten the Raiders; with fans rushing the field, In Oakland, there would have been mass pandemonium in the stands with fans booing the play and the referees.
Then, the non-clip call might have taken on more importance if the play had happened in Oakland. As Franco grabbed the ball out of the air and began running down the field toward the endzone, rookie tight end John McMakin laid a block on Phil Villapiano, the closest Raider to Franco Harris, as he galloped down the field.
Now, to this day, Villapiano claims McMakin clipped him on the block. If you search all the different replays on YouTube, you can find clear shots of the block, and in all of them, McMakin clearly hit Villapiano on his right side and not on his back. However, just like every Tom Brady sack was miraculously a roughing the passer call, it's easy to see a ref throwing a flag on the play if it had occurred in Oakland.
If that didn't happen, then John Madden would become more vocal as to whether the play was illegal due to Frenchy Fuqua touching the ball. Meanwhile, pandemonium and a question of whether it was a touchdown occurred to the point that official Fred Swearingen called the league office and spoke with Art McNally, who said, "Two on the crew said an opposing player touched the ball." McNally stated said everything was fine. Go ahead." This led John Madden years later to question whether Art McNally reviewed the video replay aiding Swearingen, but nothing has come to light indicating that it ever happened.
With the game in Oakland, there is a much longer discussion about whether Frenchy Touches the ball first, nullifying the touchdown. It is quite possible that the referees might have reached a different conclusion due to lobbying from Jack Tatum. Plus, John Madden swore that the referees never signaled a touchdown when Franco crossed the goal line despite video evidence to the contrary; it's also possible that if the game is in Oakland, the referee might not signal a touchdown, leading to more confusion.
Then there is the question of security for the officials if they had called it a touchdown. If that was a concern, which even Art McNally denies, it certainly might have been a concern with the game being played in the 'Black Hole' if the referees had called a touchdown.
The point is if the game and the play occurred in Oakland, enough things could have changed in the referee's decision-making that the Raiders might have actually won the game. Honestly, a Raiders win would have been the ultimate travesty, as in researching the play, all the evidence points to the fact that it was a legal play despite the crying of the Raiders in all the years since.
Frenchy has sworn he will take the secret as to who touched the ball to his grave however in my last discussion with Frenchy in presenting him a picture that clearly shows the ball overshooting his arms and headed clearly into Jack Tatum's shoulder pad; he responded to me, "I'll never tell," to which I responded, "Well, it's all sour grapes, my friend. The Raiders know they lost the game fair and square" at which point Frenchy responded with his trademark "HaHa."
So it's reasonable to assume that in all these years, Frenchy never touched the ball, which is what would have made a blown call in the Oakland Coliseum all the more heartbreaking. Still, It wouldn't have prevented the Steelers dynasty from winning its first Superbowl in 1974. Plus, perhaps the Steelers would have crushed the Raiders in the 1976 AFC championship game in a revenge matchup for the 1972 loss. Even if the Steelers had lost the 1972 playoff matchup against the Raiders, it's doubtful it would have altered their 1973 draft much. They still would have drafted J.T. Thomas.
So yes, the immaculate reception may undoubtedly have had a different outcome in Oakland, not that Steelers history would have changed much, and 52 years later, we would be talking about how the Raiders stole the game.