The 'Gilliam' to whom you refer to as 'Terry' was, actually named 'Joe'. And you're wrong in stating that the 'Immaculate Reception' was an illegal forward pass because it wasn't. On the play as a result of the collision between Jack Tatum(Raiders) and Frenchy Fuqua(Steelers) the ball bounced BACK towards Franco Harris thereby, in effect being a 'lateral'. A perfectly legal play in American Football.

Yes, Joe Gilliam, I got 'Terry' happy.

The rule about eligibilty however I stand by. If Fuqua had caught the ball and tossed it back then it would have been a lateral but he did not, it bounced off of someone. The rule was changed some time back but at the time it was illegal for one offensive player to catch a forward pass that had been touched by a different offensive player unless a defensive player touched it in between. The question that was debated was who had the ball bounced off of. If Tatum no problem, if Fuqua then it should not have been a catch. Of course there was no review process so it was an academic argument but there was still a hot debate and Raider fans felt cheated.