CLEVELAND: As Akron native and Kent State product James Harrison’s career came full circle Sunday with a Pittsburgh Steelers’ record he had been driven to reach, it all seemed too perfect.
Except, that is, for the one person who was missing.
The five-time Pro Bowl outside linebacker wished his father, James Harrison Sr., had been at FirstEnergy Stadium to see it, but the former chemical truck driver passed away on May 7.
So after Harrison became the Steelers’ all-time sack leader on the same field where he recorded his first, Harrison’s teammates were touched by his unusual display in the postgame locker room after a 24-9 victory over the Browns.
Apparently the 38-year-old, 14-year veteran couldn’t hold back the tears and neither could some of them.
“He probably won’t like me saying this, but he got a little emotional over it, so it’s pretty cool,” Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger said.
“I was thinking about my father, how he’s not here for it,” Harrison explained, his voice sounding as if it were about to crack.
Harrison, who attended Archbishop Hoban and Copley high schools, is a man of few words. After a 2007 game against the Ravens when he recorded three forced fumbles, 2½ sacks, an interception and a fumble recovery, he complained about the nearly 30 reporters crowded around his locker.
“A game like this makes me not want to have a game like this,” he said.
The scene was the same Sunday after his third-quarter sack of Browns quarterback Cody Kessler gave Harrison 77½ for his career, surpassing the franchise mark of 77 set by Jason Gildon from 1994-2004.
It was 12 years and six days after Harrison notched sack No. 1, dropping the Browns’ Jeff Garcia in Cleveland. That fact wasn’t lost on Harrison’s teammates as they spoke about the NFL’s 2008 Defensive Player of the Year.
“Oh, yeah, it’s a storybook. This is where he gets his first sack and this is where he breaks the record,” linebacker Arthur Moats said.
“Everybody was hyped about it. This is something all of us have been tracking since the season started. Not just defensively, [but] offensively as well. The O-line was like, ‘We’re definitely proud. Now we know you’re the best ever.’ ”
There was a touch of irony as well. Harrison could have tied the record last week at Heinz Field against the Cowboys, but a sack given to defensive end Stephon Tuitt instead of splitting it with Harrison was upheld by an Elias Sports Bureau review.
Against the Browns, Harrison nearly had another. On the home team’s first possession of the second half, perennial Pro Bowl left tackle Joe Thomas dragged Harrison to the ground as Harrison flew around the end.
“He’s playing as well as ever right now,” Thomas said of Harrison. “He’s found a fountain of youth. He looks outstanding out there. He’s definitely a major impact on their defense.”
Harrison’s teammates said they were honored to be part of history. Tuitt admitted he was emotional and motivated by what Harrison accomplished.
The standard of hard work Harrison set should long be remembered, even if Browns fans recall only his dirty hits and his style of living on the edge of NFL rules.
Thought to be too small coming out of Kent State in 2002, he went undrafted. He was cut several times by the Steelers and once by the Ravens before finally sticking in Pittsburgh in 2004. His sack of Garcia came in his first NFL start, given the opportunity when linebacker Joey Porter was ejected in a pregame fight with Browns running back William Green.
But that sack was Harrison’s only one in 2004. His highlight of 2005 may have been his body slam of a drunken Browns fan on Christmas Eve. Harrison didn’t come into his own until 2007, when he recorded 8½ sacks. He followed that up with a career-high 16 sacks as the Steelers won the Super Bowl.
Harrison spent 2013 in Cincinnati, then returned to Pittsburgh three games into the 2014 season when Jarvis Jones dislocated his wrist and the Steelers coaxed him out of retirement.
Harrison’s end is likely near. This season he has just three sacks in a backup role. His two-year contract is expiring. His fountain of youth, still flowing at 38, has to be harder and harder to sustain, although he may be saving something for the Jan. 1 rematch with the Browns.
If he has little left by then, perhaps Harrison will savor what seemed like a perfect finish Sunday. The Steelers realized the rarity of what they saw, not just the record and Harrison’s amazing longevity, but one of the league’s most menacing players laying bare his emotions.
Marla Ridenour can be reached at mridenour@thebeaconjournal.com. Read her blog at www.ohio.com/marla. Follow her on Twitter at www.twitter.com/MRidenourABJ.