2009 James Harrison Super Bowl XLIII "Immaculate Interception" Game Worn Pittsburgh Steelers Jersey with Multiple Photo Matche...

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2009 James Harrison Super Bowl XLIII "Immaculate Interception" Game Worn Pittsburgh Steelers Jersey with Multiple Photo Matches from The James Harrison Collection. It's been said that lightning never strikes twice, but you'll never convince a Pittsburgh Steelers fan of that maxim, as they've seen proof to the contrary with their own eyes. Two days before Christmas of 1972, the Steelers found themselves at the brink of the abyss, trailing the Oakland Raiders in the AFC Divisional and facing fourth-and-ten at their own forty yard line with just twenty-two seconds remaining. Terry Bradshaw launched a pass toward receiver John "Frenchy" Fuqua, that ball arriving at the same moment as a brutal hit from Raiders safety Jack Tatum. The impact sent the ball bounding back in the direction of the line of scrimmage, by all appearances a game-ending incompletion. But Hall of Fame fullback Franco Harris (may he rest in peace) rescued the ball inches from the turf and rumbled into the end zone to stun the football world and send the Steelers to the AFC Championship Game. It's considered the greatest play in NFL history, "The Immaculate Reception."

Just over thirty-six years later, it was James Harrison who sent Steeler Nation into joyous pandemonium, this time in the biggest game of them all. After the Cardinals intercepted Ben Roethlisberger at the two-minute warning of the first half, Kurt Warner marched his Cardinals to the one-yard line for first-and-goal with eighteen seconds to play. It seemed virtually certain that the Cards would claim their first lead of the game just before Bruce Springsteen took the field in Tampa, but Harrison the sack machine faked the blitz Warner was certain would come and jumped the pass, intercepting it at the goal line.

Check the video at our online listing and you'll see it took every last ounce of energy for the 240-pound linebacker to rumble the full length of the field and crash into the opposite end zone as time expired, a fourteen-point swing that effectively sealed the eventual 27-13 victory for Pittsburgh.

This is the jersey Harrison was wearing for that play he dubbed "The Immaculate Interception," rated number seven in the NFL's 100 Greatest Plays of All-Time, and the longest in Super Bowl history until Jacoby Jones took a kickoff to the house for 109 yards seven years later. Like the other Harrison jerseys in this Platinum Night auction, this one saw extensive wear prior to the Super Bowl, its vast array of team repairs serving as important data points for the match to this historic moment. Other photo matches are 10/5 vs. Jaguars, 10/19 vs. Bengals, 11/3 vs. Redskins, 11/30 vs. Patriots, 12/14 vs. Ravens, 12/21 vs. Titans and Super Bowl media day on 1/27.

Number "92" is applied in black tackle twill to chest, shoulders and verso, where "Harrison" stands in two-tone block lettering. Logo patches of Super Bowl XLIII and the Steelers appear at right and left upper chest respectively. Interior collar reveals "08-44" swatch. Cuffs and hem are elasticized per Harrison's custom format. Unquestionably one of the best Steelers jerseys of the twenty-first century, if not the very best bar none. Letter of provenance from James Harrison. Photo match LOA from Sports Investors Authentication. LOA from Heritage Auctions.