It was the eve before the year 2017 was to begin. Around 1:30 p.m., myself and Courier photographer Thomas Sabol pulled into the Akron, Ohio driveway of Mrs. Mildred Harrison, the mother of former Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker, James Harrison. Unless you are a non-NFL fan or just maybe exiting from a sports hiatus, you probably know by now that Harrison currently sports the colors of the New England Patriots.
Johnnie Harrison, the older brother of James Harrison, greeted us with a firm handshake and a bright welcoming smile.
“Come on in and make yourself comfortable,” he said, as we made our way into the house. Mildred Harrison, mother of James Harrison, and I had become acquainted during the tenure of James with the Steelers and we exchanged our customary greeting hug.
“I’m glad you guys could make it,” she said, as Johnnie took our coats and we took a seat at the dining room table.
The first thing that we discussed was not the Pittsburgh Steelers nor linebacker James Henry Harrison Jr., but at that time, the recent passing of his father, James Henry Harrison Sr., who had passed in May 2016 from lung cancer. He was 76.
“I really miss my husband,” she said.
She knew that I could relate because several years before she lost her husband and James Henry Harrison Jr. lost his father, I had spoken with her about the sudden passing of my wife, Jennifer. I can’t help but remember the warm and heartfelt condolences that she had offered me. We reminisced about James Jr. and his father going out on fishing trips, just one of the activities that they loved to do as father and son. At that time I asked her if James Jr. had given her any indication his retirement was imminent.
“He wants to win another championship and then he will probably retire,” she told me.
The Harrison family shared their ups and downs, highs and lows as well as the good and bad with me. Everything that they shared is not for all eyes and ears, but gave me invaluable insight into the gene pool and origin of James Harrison Jr., and why he has evolved into one of the most storied players ever to don an NFL uniform. Mildred Harrison is one of the most honest and forthright people that I have ever met in over four decades as a journalist. She shared the baby and early elementary school photos of James Harrison. They shared their lives with me. When Thomas Sabol was shooting photos, Mildred Harrison made me laugh almost uncontrollably when she said, “Aubrey, come on over and take a photo with us, you don’t have to be scared.”
Fast forward to December 2017, a year later. Someone read the wrong tea leaves when it came to the competitive fire and spirit of linebacker James Henry Harrison Jr. Harrison did not even play during the AFC home-field clinching victory of the Patriots over the Steelers on Dec. 17 at Heinz Field. “If I didn’t play in the biggest game of the year that told me I wouldn’t get any more snaps. So all that lip service you gave me before didn’t matter,” Harrison said after the game.
A few days later, Christmas Day, actually, it seemed as if the personal fortune teller/palm reader answered Harrison directly when he asked her the question; Is my NFL career over?
One can only imagine her answer. James Henry Harrison Jr., your career will catch fire in the blizzard-laced tundra of New England. Wow, boys and girls, go figure.
(Aubrey Bruce can be reached at abruce@newpittsburghcourier.com.)
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