New Jersey - Franco Harris

New Jersey - Franco Harris

A plethora of NFL greats were born in New Jersey, including Hall of Famers, Dave Robinson and Elvin Bethea as well as Joe Flacco, Greg Olsen, Victor Cruz, and more. But, they can't outshine the highly-decorated NFL career of famed Pittsburgh Steeler running back, Franco Harris. The Hall of Famer played his college football at Penn State University where he racked up a total of 24 touchdowns in three seasons.

Harris then went on to be selected 13th overall in the 1972 NFL Draft by the Pittsburgh Steelers were he would play twelve out of his thirteen seasons in the NFL before hanging up his cleats for good as a Seattle Seahawk in 1984. The combination of Harris' power running and the Steelers' immensely talented defense led to a Super Bowl run that resulted in four victories including Super Bowls IX, X, XIII, and XIV. With four rings and a rushing career amounting to over 12,000 yards, and 91 touchdowns, Harris is tied with his Steelers' alumni Jerome Bettis for most rushing touchdowns in NFL history.

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Did You Know...

I

Most of your favorite celebrities either studied acting in college or went straight from high school into a life of the arts. But, hey, not all of them. Some celebrities actually have advanced college degrees.

II

Turns out Mayim Bialik is just as much of a genius as the one she plays on The Big Bang Theory. She earned her Ph.D. in neuroscience from the University of California, Los Angeles, focusing on obsessive compulsive disorder among people with Prader-Willi syndrome, a rare condition in which the hypothalamus malfunctions.

III

Little known fact: Natalie Portman skipped the premiere of Star Wars: Phantom Menace because she was studying for her high school exams. She had two papers published in scientific journals while she was still in high school, and graduated from Harvard University with a B.A. in Psychology.

IV

Before he was looking for answers on X-Files, David Duchovny was just trying to find the answers for English finals at Princeton University90. David graduated from Princeton in 1982 with a B.A in English. He continued to feed his love of literature by receiving a master’s degree in English Literature at Yale University. David was an excellent writer and poet. His work consistently received praise by his fellow classmates and teachers at Yale. His writing was even nominated for a college prize by the Academy of American Poets.

V

Sigourney Weaver graduated from Stanford University in 1971 with a bachelor’s in Literature. It was while studying at Stanford that Sigourney realized her true passion in life was to become an actress. Shortly after graduation, she attended Yale for their well-known drama program. She would go on to receive a master’s in Acting from Yale University and become friends with fellow famous actress Meryl Streep.

VI

Meryl Streep is considered one of the most successful actresses of all time. She is also one of the most highly educated. Before collecting an array of Oscars, Meryl collected diplomas. She graduated from Vassar College with a B.A. in 1971. Meryl has a habit of being unsatisfied with impressive accomplishments as her acting career has shown, so she attended Yale University and earned a master’s degree in Acting.

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