ARTIFACT
Franco's Italian Army
By Nicholas Ciotola
Curator, Italian American Collection
knows that the
Steelers' colors are black
and gold. In the 1970s,
however, the most dedicated
Steelers fans wore red, white, and
green. Franco's Italian Army
marched onto the Pittsburgh
sporting scene just as the Steelers
were embarking on their successful quest for four Super Bowl
victories. But Franco's Italian
Army was more than a football
fan club; the Italian Americans
who comprised its ranks were
using professional sports as the
vehicle to express nostalgia for
the Italian neighborhoods of
their youth, and pride in their
Everyone
Italian immigrant past.
•
As expected, the rookie
from Penn State performed
admirably and, by mid-season,
had rushed for 100 yards or
more in six consecutive games.
It was then that the city's Italian
Americans learned of Harris'
Italian heritage and created a
fan group inhis honor.
Franco's Italian Army made
its debut at a November 12,
1972, home game between the
Steelers and Kansas City Chiefs.
Wearing surplus helmet liners
painted withItalian flags and the
words "Franco's Italian Army,"
army members paraded into
Three Rivers Stadium and established a cheering section below
The catalyst for this interestthe press boxes in stadium secThis Franco's Italian Army helmet (actually the inside liner)
tions 29 and 30. Over the next
ing aspect of Pittsburgh's sportby John Danzilli is displayed in the History Center's
worn
ing history was running back
five seasons, this unlikely locaPoints InTime exhibit.
Harris,
Franco
who would
tion served as the hub of the
city's football fanaticism.
become one of the greatest
players in the history of professional football. Born March 7,
Army members relied on distinctive Italian American symbol1950, in Fort Dix, N.J., Harris was the third child born to an ism when cheering for the Steelers, a practice that reveals the
African American serviceman and an Italian immigrant war intersection of ethnic pride and sports spectatorship. The
bride. After a stellar high school football career, Harris was quintessential symbols, of course, were the red, white, and green
recruited by Joe Paterno and accepted a fullscholarship to play colors of the Italian flag, used not only on helmets, but also on
at Penn State. Four years later, in 1972, the Pittsburgh Steelers
banners produced for display at the stadium.
drafted Harris in the first round.
Italian American food was another important aspect ofFranco's
Italian Army. Prior to each home game, army members gathered
10
WESTERN PENNSYLVANIA HISTORY
| WINTER 2001-02
ARTIFACT
hoagies of salami, prosciutto, capicolla, and provolone
as halftime snacks. Imported Italian cheeses, pepperoni, olives, and
wine were consumed in great quantities, as were regional Italian
dishes like baked manicotti and stuffed eggplant prepared by the
wives of army members.
The army also imported aspects of Italian American folklore
into their cheering section. Many members carried horn-shaped
amulets used to place the malocchio, or "evil eye," on opposing
teams. Italian folklore was so central to the Italian Army's antics
that when Franco Harris made his famous Immaculate
Reception, some army members commented that it was most
certainly the result of an army- initiated malocchio curse.
Almost immediately after its formation, Franco's Italian Army
attracted national media attention. By the end of the 1972 season,
the army began to market armbands, T-shirts, sweatshirts, flags,
and seat cushions to raise money for charity. As a result, the stands
of Three Rivers Stadium were regularly awash in red, white, and
green. Army membership, meanwhile, grew into the thousands as
more Italian Americans chose to express their ethnic pride through
sports. By December 1972, the army had even recruited Frank
Sinatra as an honorary member.
to prepare
Representatives of Franco's Italian Army
at a Pittsburgh charity event, c. 1973.
From left: Armand Zottola, Al Vento, Jr.,
AlVento, Sr., Franco Harris, Dominic
Stagno, and Tony Stagno.
12
WESTERN PENNSYLVANIA HISTORY
| WINTER 2001-02
Frank Sinatra gets inducted into Franco's Italian
Army in Palm Springs, Calif., December 1972.
Non-Italians reacted to this phenomenon
in a number of ways. Pittsburgh's Polish
Americans formed the Polish Armed Forces,
thus allowing the descendants of another
prominent ethnic group to also express
ethnicity through sports. The city's Slovak
Americans, meanwhile, created a fan group
in honor of Jack Ham and named the group
Dobre Sunka, or "Great Ham." Whereas
Americans of European descent reacted to this
widespread display of ethnicity by emulating
Franco's Italian Army, the city's African
Americans openly challenged the Italians'
claiming ownership of Franco Harris — a man
who, after all, was part black.
Franco's Italian Army was quite unlike fan
groups in other cities, such as the Cleveland
Browns' Dawg Pounders, the Green Bay
Packers' Cheeseheads, and the Washington
Redskins' Hogettes. Unlike those fan groups
—largely media creations in which fans try to
—
upstage one another for television airtime
Franco's Italian Army was a grassroots
phenomenon in which expression of Italian
heritage and ancestral pride was always at the
forefront. The fact that the red, white, and
green of the Italian flag, not the Steelers sacred
black and gold, adorned army dress and
signage reveals that the army was, at its heart,
not about football, but about providing an
outlet for ethnic expression. The history of
Franco's Italian Army, therefore, reveals the
close relationship between sports and ethnicity,
two subjects that have long fascinated scholars
ofAmerican social history. 0
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