John Fuqua

Who is John Fuqua?

John William "Frenchy" Fuqua is a retired professional American football running back in the National Football League from 1969 to 1976. A 1965 graduate of Detroit's Eastern High School, Fuqua played college football at Morgan State University and was drafted in the eleventh round of the 1969 NFL Draft by the New York Giants.

The next season, Fuqua was traded to the Pittsburgh Steelers. It was while with the Steelers that Fuqua would become part of NFL history as the intended target for Terry Bradshaw's pass that resulted in the Immaculate Reception. Oakland Raiders safety Jack Tatum hit Fuqua just as the ball arrived. It has never been established whether the ball hit Fuqua or Tatum. This was critical, since under the rules of the time, once a pass touched an offensive player he was the only one eligible to catch the pass. If the ball had hit Fuqua without touching Tatum, the rules called for the play to be blown dead once Franco Harris touched the ball. Fuqua reportedly insists to this day that he knows whom the ball hit first, but will never tell.

Fuqua nicknamed himself "The French Count".