The Birth of the Aerial Era: A Look Back at 1907-1908 - College Football History

The forward pass was legalized in college football before the 1906 season. However, the adoption of this new rule was slow, and teams did not immediately start using it extensively in their offensive strategies. Some early innovators saw the potential of the forward pass to level the playing field against stronger opponents, but its incorporation into offenses was limited.
The first recorded forward pass took place in the 1876 Yale-Princeton game, but it was illegal at the time. In 1906, St. Louis quarterback Bradbury Robinson is generally credited with throwing the first legal forward pass during a game against Carroll College.
Eddie Cochems, the coach of St. Louis University, is considered one of the early pioneers in incorporating the forward pass fully into his team's offense. Cochems' team achieved significant success using the forward pass, and he is often referred to as the "father of the forward pass."
In 1907, a rule change penalized incomplete forward passes with a loss of 15 yards instead of a change of possession. This led to the rise of the Carlisle Indian Industrial School team, coached by Glenn "Pop" Warner, which effectively used the forward pass as a weapon against strong opponents.
However, defensive strategies evolved to counter the forward pass, leading to the 1908 rule change that prohibited the use of hands and arms by defensive players against opponents during a forward pass. This change saved the forward pass from being rendered ineffective.
The forward pass still faced challenges, as teams began using deceptive tactics to exploit weaknesses in defensive formations, resulting in mass plays directed at vulnerable tackle positions. The 1909 season witnessed high-profile deaths and injuries due to this style of play, leading to another crisis in college football.
The 1909 crisis, similar to the one in 1905, put football at risk of being abolished. The focus shifted to addressing the safety concerns, leading to further rule changes and the ongoing evolution of the game.
The events surrounding the early adoption of the forward pass and its impact on college football's development will be explored further in the next college football history video.
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