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Michael Irvin says Franco Harris died suddenly

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Mike Florio and Chris Simms look back on the legacy of Franco Harris, who has died at 72 years old, and honor what made him special on and off the field.

In the short time since the unexpected passing of Hall of Fame running back Franco Harris, hardly any details have emerged as to the cause of his death.

Hall of Fame receiver Michael Irvin, who’ll call the Saturday night Raiders-Steelers game along with Rich Eisen, Kurt Warner, and Steve Mariucci, indicated during a Friday appearance on 93.7 The Fan in Pittsburgh that Franco died suddenly.

“His wife will tell you, the thing is, there was so much going on for him that he was telling everybody ‘Yes. He was giving everybody a ‘Yeah,’ because that’s the type of person he is, he wants to help everybody out,” Irvin said, via Andrew Fillipponi of 93.7 The Fan. “He came home one night, said he was exhausted, sat down and when she went to go brush her teeth, and when she came back, he moved from time to eternity.”

Franco was only 72 years old. The Steelers will retire his number, 32, on Saturday, one day after the fiftieth anniversary of the Immaculate Reception.

Maybe no one should ever wear No. 32 again, on any NFL team.