The Hail Mary (American football game)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

In American football, The Hail Mary refers to a play that resulted in the winning score in the 1975 NFC Divisional Playoff Game between the Dallas Cowboys and Minnesota Vikings, played on December 28, 1975 at Metropolitan Stadium in Bloomington, Minnesota. It is also notable for being the first time that a last-second desperation pass was referred to as a "Hail Mary".

1 The Play
2 Reactions
3 Aftermath
4 See also
5 References

[edit] The Play

Dallas Cowboys quarterback Roger Staubach throws the desperation pass known as the "Hail Mary"

Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Drew Pearson makes the catch against Minnesota Vikings cornerback Nate Wright

The Dallas Cowboys started with the ball on its own 15-yard line, losing 14-10, with one minute and fifty-one seconds left in the fourth quarter. Cowboys quarterback Roger Staubach managed a nine play drive to midfield against the Minnesota Vikings defense. From midfield, with 24 seconds now remaining, Staubach lined up in the shotgun formation, took the snap, pump-faked left, then turned to his right and threw a desperation pass to wide receiver Drew Pearson, who was being covered by Minnesota Vikings cornerback Nate Wright. As the two players were running side by side downfield, it appeared that Pearson may have pushed off on Wright to gain an unfair position advantage to catch the ball, which is offensive pass interference—a violation of the rules. As the ball decended downward, Pearson caught the ball by trapping it against his right hip at the 5-yard line and ran into the end zone to make the score 16-14 in favor of Dallas, and what would eventually be the winning touchdown. Wright was unable to defend the pass, as he had tripped over Pearson's leg just as the ball came down.

[edit] Reactions

As Pearson strode into the end zone for the score, free safety Paul Krause complained to field judge Armen Terzian that an interference penalty on Pearson should had been called. An orange, thrown by a spectator in the stands, whizzed by Pearson at the goal line. The orange is visible on NFL Films footage of the play and was initially confused by some as a penalty flag. More debris was thrown from the stands by angry Vikings fans enraged over no penalty called on Dallas. Defensive tackle Alan Page argued with officials and was assessed a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on the ensuing kickoff. On Minnesota's next possession with 14 seconds left to play, a whiskey bottle was thrown, striking Armen Terzian in the head at Minnesota's own 10-yard line, creating a large forehead gash and rendering him unconscious. Terzian had to wear a bandage, later requiring 11 stitches, as he walked off the field and replaced by substitute official Charley Musser for the final two plays. A popular misconception among Viking fans is that Armen Terzian was solely responsible for judging the legality of the Hail Mary play. Head linesman Jerry Bergman was actually the responsible official on the play and ruled the play legal. Terzian was standing about 15 yards away from the catch, agreed with Bergman's non-interference call, saying, "Both men were going for the ball. It's just one of those plays."

[edit] Aftermath

The term "Hail Mary pass" is believed to been used for the first time by Roger Staubach following the game in a post-game interview. Previous to this play, a last-second desperation pass had been called several names, most notably the "Alley-Oop". As Staubach, who had been hit immediately after throwing the ball and didn't see its ending, was asked about the play and he said, "You mean [Pearson] caught the ball and ran in for the touchdown? It was just a Hail Mary pass; a very, very lucky play." Staubach told reporters that he closed his eyes, threw the ball as hard as he could, and said a Hail Mary prayer. Shortly after the game concluded, Vikings quarterback Fran Tarkenton was informed that his father had died of a heart attack during the third quarter while watching the game on television at his Savannah, Georgia home. In an ironic twist, his first name was Dallas. After some time had passed, Drew Pearson admitted to former Viking running back Chuck Foreman that he did intentionally commit offensive pass interference against Nate Wright.

It was a disappointing end to a spectacular season for the Vikings. They had finished the season with an NFC best 12-2 record and quarterback Fran Tarkenton won the NFL Most Valuable Player Award, and the NFL Offensive Player of the Year Award, while Foreman amassed 1,761 total yards and 22 touchdowns. As for the Dallas Cowboys, they defeated the Los Angeles Rams in the NFC Championship Game and advanced to Super Bowl X, where they lost to the Pittsburgh Steelers, 21-17.