Barry Pearson, the former Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver whose first offensive play in the NFL became part of football history, died Sunday, Aug. 16. He was 76.
A native of Geneseo, Illinois, Pearson began playing football at 10 and became a standout in several sports. He helped lead the Geneseo High School football team during a 52-game winning streak, eliciting multiple Division I scholarship offers and a congressional appointment to the Air Force Academy before choosing Northwestern University.
At Northwestern, Pearson became one of the Big Ten’s leading receivers. He earned first-team All-Big Ten honors in 1970 and 1971 after leading the conference in receiving both years. He was the Wildcats’ captain as a senior, and played in the North-South Bowl following his final NCAA season.
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The Steelers signed Pearson as an undrafted free agent shortly before his graduation. His first NFL season was spent largely on Pittsburgh’s practice squad, with occasional appearances on special teams. He did not played an offensive snap until Pittsburgh faced the Oakland Raiders in an AFC divisional playoff game on Dec. 23, 1972.
Barry Pearson dies: His role in the ‘Immaculate Reception’Pearson was elevated to the active roster prior to the game, a result of a late-season injury to Frank Lewis. With 22 seconds remaining against Oakland, Pittsburgh trailed 7-6 and faced fourth-and-10 at its own 40-yard line. Coach Chuck Noll sent Pearson into the game.
On the play, Terry Bradshaw came under pressure and could not get the ball to Pearson. He threw toward running back John “Frenchy” Fuqua. The pass was deflected, and Franco Harris caught the ball and ran 42 yards for the winning touchdown.
The “Immaculate Reception” instantly earned a place in the place of football lore.
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“Obviously we were all kind of stunned in some ways,” he told KWQC in 2022, “and yet you were kind of like a bunch of little kids running around there it was just one of those things you couldn’t believe it.”
In 1973, Pearson’s first full season on the Steelers’ active roster, he caught 23 passes for 317 yards and three touchdowns.
Barry Pearson dies: Played for Chiefs from 1974-76The Steelers drafted Lynn Swann and John Stallworth before the 1974 season, creating a logjam at wide receiver. They traded Pearson to the Kansas City Chiefs, where he gained a much larger role in the offense.
Pearson caught 27 passes for 387 yards and a touchdown in 1974. In 1975, he started 13 of 14 games and produced the best statistical season of his professional career (36 catches for 608 yards, three touchdowns).
A knee injury in 1976 effectively ended Pearson’s playing career. He retired with 86 receptions for 1,312 yards and seven touchdowns in 50 games over five seasons in Pittsburgh and Kansas City.
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In 1979, Pearson coached wide receivers at Oklahoma State under Jimmie Johnson, who was in his first season as the Cowboys’ head coach. He ultimately left coaching and returned to Connecticut to raise his family.
He was inducted into the Geneseo High School Hall of Fame in 2014, according to his online obituary. He retired from his job as President of HPC Foodservice in 2016.
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