Antedating of "Hail Mary pass" (1974)

[Dave Wilton]

It appears that Staubach did originate it.

I'm a bit surprised that HDAS only has it from '82. It's one of the all-time
classic plays in football and even a casual fan can date the term to 12 Dec
1975 when Staubach threw a desperation, last minute pass to Drew Pearson,
who caught it and ran it into the end zone. Dallas beat Minnesota, 17-14,
taking the Divisional Title. Vikings' Cornerback Nate Wright claimed that
Pearson committed offensive pass interference, but the officials never
called the foul. After the game, Staubach said, "it was just a Hail Mary
pass, a very, very lucky play." Evidently as Mr. Clements has discovered,
this was not the first time Staubach used the term. (Some years later,
Pearson admitted that he had indeed committed interference.)

The other famous '70s football play that uses Marian word play is the
"Immaculate Reception." 23 Dec 1972, losing 7-6 with about a minute left,
Steelers QB Terry Bradshaw threw a pass to halfback John Fuqua. Fuqua was
hit by Raider defenseman as he was catching the ball. It bounced off his
hands, hit another player, and bounced into the hands of Steeler running
back Franco Harris, who ran the ball 42 yards for a touchdown, winning the
game. Some claimed that the ball hit the ground before bouncing into
Harris's hands--which would have been the end of the play, but the refs
didn't call it and the camera angles are inconclusive. (Unlike Pearson,
Harris has never admitted the ball hit the ground, but he does smile and
wink when people bring up the subject.) The term "Immaculate Reception" was
first used by Myron Cope, the Steelers' radio announcer later that night.
The term was suggested by a fan, Michael Ord.

> -----Original Message-----
> From: American Dialect Society [mailto:ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU]On Behalf
> Of Sam Clements
> Sent: Wednesday, December 03, 2003 10:07 PM
> To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
> Subject: Antedating of "Hail Mary pass" (1974)
>
>
> Not in M-W or OED, unless I missed it.
>
> RHDAS has from 1982.
>
> From the Gettysburg (PA) Compiler, August 29, 1974:  page 14, col. 7:
>
>      <<Everyone is back from the team that won the National
> Conference West
> before losing at Dallas, 27-16, in the playoffs on what Cowboys'
> quarterback
> Roger Staubach calls "a couple of Hail Mary pass plays."  >>
>
> So did Staubach originate this phrase?
>
> If you aren't from the US, this is a desperation pass, whether football or
> basketball.  Probably comes from football.
>
>  Sam Clements
>
>