Pearson said later that he thought he had dropped the ball only to find it pinned against his hip and then "I just waltzed right into the end zone." With the extra point, Dallas went up by a field goal – 17–14, which was the final score. He then turned and scored standing up with 24 seconds left. Wright fell down, allowing Pearson to make the catch by trapping the ball against his right hip at the 5-yard line with his back to the end zone. Then, with 32 seconds remaining Staubach again lined up in the shotgun formation, took the snap, pump-faked left, then turned to his right and unloaded a desperation pass to Drew Pearson who was being covered by All-Pro cornerback Nate Wright. After a spectacular catch by Pearson on fourth and 17 brought the Cowboys to midfield with just 37 seconds left, Staubach then tried to hit running back Preston Pearson (no relation to Drew) with a short pass over the middle, but the ball fell incomplete. The Cowboys started the game-winning drive with the ball on their own 15-yard line, trailing 14–10 with 1:50 left in the game. It stemmed from a post-game interview with Staubach who described his desperation by referencing the term from his Catholic faith. The term "Hail Mary pass" was introduced into the modern-day lexicon by the sporting press to characterize the famous Staubach-to-Pearson pass. As the article explained, "A ‘hail Mary’ pass, in the talk of the Washington eleven, is one that is thrown with a prayer because the odds against completion are big."ĭuring an NBC broadcast in 1963, Roger Staubach, then a Navy quarterback, described a pass play during his team’s victory over Michigan that year as a “Hail Mary play.” He scrambled to escape a pass rush, nearly getting sacked 20 yards behind the line of scrimmage before completing a desperation pass for a one-yard gain. Īn early appearance of the term was in an Associated Press story about the upcoming 1941 Orange Bowl, appearing in several newspapers including the DecemDaytona Beach Morning Journal under the headline, "Orange Bowl: Hoyas Put Faith in 'Hail Mary' Pass"). Notre Dame head coach Elmer Layden (who had played in the 1922 Georgia Tech game) afterwards called it a “Hail Mary” play. On November 2, 1935, with 32 seconds left in the so-called " Game of the Century" between Ohio State and Notre Dame, Irish halfback Bill Shakespeare found receiver Wayne Millner for a 19-yard, game-winning touchdown. After the game, Kizer exclaimed to Crowley, “Say, that Hail Mary is the best play we’ve got.” Crowley related this story many times in public speeches beginning in the 1930s. This time Stuhldreher ran for a touchdown, which sealed the win for Notre Dame. The ritual was repeated before a third and goal play, again at Tech’s six, in the fourth quarter. Quarterback Harry Stuhldreher, another of the Horsemen, threw a quick pass over the middle to Paul Castner for the score. According to Crowley, it was one of the team’s linemen, Noble Kizer (a Presbyterian), who suggested praying before the first touchdown, which occurred on a fourth and goal play at the Tech 6-yard line during the second quarter. The former Notre Dame halfback Jim Crowley often told the story of an October 28, 1922, game between Notre Dame and Georgia Tech in which the Fighting Irish players said Hail Mary prayers together before scoring each of the touchdowns, winning the game 13 to 3. The term became widespread after Dallas Cowboys quarterback Roger Staubach (a Roman Catholic) said about his game-winning touchdown pass to wide receiver Drew Pearson in a Decemplayoff game against the Minnesota Vikings, "I closed my eyes and said a Hail Mary." For more than forty years use of the term was largely confined to Notre Dame and other Catholic universities. Originally meaning any sort of desperation play, a "Hail Mary" gradually came to denote a long, low-probability pass attempted at the end of a half when a team is too far from the end zone to execute a more conventional play. The expression goes back at least to the 1930s, being used publicly in that decade by two former members of Notre Dame's Four Horsemen, Elmer Layden and Jim Crowley. (January 2010)Ī Hail Mary pass or Hail Mary route in American football is any very long forward pass made in desperation with only a small chance of success, especially at or near the end of a half. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. This article needs additional citations for verification.
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