"Hail Mary" (1922, 1972, 1974, 1975)

Mon Jan 1 18:46:57 UTC 2007

Barry's been doing work like this for years. Thanks to the Internet, he's finally got a chance of getting some credit for it from others besides us. I hope they notice.

  Keep up the good work, Barry !

  JL

Bapopik at AOL.COM wrote:
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Sender: American Dialect Society
Poster: Bapopik at AOL.COM
Subject: "Hail Mary" (1922, 1972, 1974, 1975)
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Thanks for the kinds words about my website. Happy New Year to all.
...
My Dallas Cowboys really suck, losing at home to the worst team in football=20=
=20
after previously getting blown out twice at home, to New Orleans and =20
Philadelphia. They laid an egg on Christmas and then repeated it with anothe=
r on New=20
Year's Eve.
...
Here's a Texas "Hail Mary" entry with some new information about a 1922 =20
Notre Dame game.
...
...
_http://www.barrypopik.com/index.php/texas/entry/hail_mary_1975_roger_stauba=
ch
_pass/_=20
(http://www.barrypopik.com/index.php/texas/entry/hail_mary_1975_roger_stauba=
ch_pass/)=20
...
=20
Hail Mary (1975 Roger Staubach pass)
=20
The famous =E2=80=9CHail Mary=E2=80=9D pass was Dallas Cowboys quarterback R=
oger Staubach=E2=80=99s =20
throw to wide receiver Drew Pearson in a December 28, 1975 football game=20
against the Minnesota Vikings. The Cowboys had been losing 14-10, but that=20
last-second =E2=80=9CHail Mary=E2=80=9D pass play helped them to a 17-14 vi=
ctory. A football =E2=80=9CHail=20
Mary=E2=80=9D play is any last-second, long-shot, low-odds play, a =E2=80=
=9Cprayer=E2=80=9D that is=20
sometimes answered.=20

It=E2=80=99s not generally known, but Roger Staubach was quoted using the=20=
=E2=80=9CHail Mary
=E2=80=9D football terminology in 1972 and 1974. Also, Notre Dame has a =20=
=E2=80=9CHail Mary=E2=80=9D=20
tradition that began in a 1922 football game against Georgia Tech. =20

_Photo Gallery of Great Moments_=20
(http://www.ffbookmarks.com/photo_gallery_of_great_moments.htm) =20
NFC Divisional Playoff Game, Cowboys versus Vikings, December 28, 1975,=20
Metropolitan Stadium, Bloomington, MN =20
With less than two minutes to play and trailing 14-10 the Cowboys took over=20=
=20
possession of the ball on their own 9-yard line. QB Roger Staubach led the=20=
=20
Cowboys attack by hitting WR Drew Pearson on five different passes including=
a =20
clutch 22-yard forth down conversion at the 50-yard line. On second down, =20
and only 36 seconds remaining, Staubach threw a desperation pass to WR Pears=
on =20
who was being covered by CB Nate Wright. The pass was a bit under thrown =20
and there was some contact between Pearson and Wright. Wright fell to the =20
ground, Pearson bobbled the ball on the five-yard line. He eventually was =20=
able=20
to pin the ball against his right hip to gain possession of the ball. He t=
hen=20
strolled into the endzone for the winning touchdown. QB Roger Staubach, in=
=20
a post-game interview said =E2=80=9CIt was a Hail Mary pass.=E2=80=9D A moni=
ker that would=20
forever stick describing this particular catch and created a new lexicon fo=
r=20
all similar pass plays to follow. Sadly, Vikings QB Fran Tarkenton=E2=80=
=99s father=20
died of a heart attack while watching the game. His name was Dallas.. =20

_Wikipedia: Hail Mary pass_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hail_Mary_pass) =20
A Hail Mary pass or Hail Mary play in American football is a forward pass=20
made in desperation, with only a very small chance of success. The typical=20=
Hail=20
Mary is a very long forward heave thrown at or near the end of a half where=
=20
there is no realistic possibility for any other play to work, though the mo=
st=20
famous were thrown at the end of a game. The phrase derives from the name o=
f=20
a prominent Roman Catholic prayer to the Virgin Mary. The success of this=20
play is unlikely due to the general inaccuracy of the pass.=20

(Oxford English Dictionary)=20
Hail Mary, phr. and n.=20
Chiefly N. Amer. Sport. A desperate play or manoeuvre having a very low=20
likelihood of success; (Amer. Football) a long pass thrown into or near the=
end=20
zone by a losing team as time is running out. Chiefly attrib.=20
1972 Sporting News 15 Jan. 8/2, I asked if he really saw Pat or if he was=20
throwing it away. He [sc. Roger Staubach] said, =E2=80=98Let=E2=80=99s just=
call it my Hail=20
Mary Play.=E2=80=99=20

10 January 1932, Portsmouth (OH) Times, pg. 12, col. 2:=20
=E2=80=9CHail Mary=E2=80=9D=20
Play Wins=20
Football Game=20

NEW YORK, Jan. 9=E2=80=94Gus Welch retained the =E2=80=9CBrown Derby=E2=80=
=9D at the annual banquet=20
of the American Football Coaches=E2=80=99 association, but Jim (Sleepy) Cro=
wley, one=20
of the Four Horsemen of Notre Dame and now a coach at Michigan State,=20
brought down the hall with this one: =20

=E2=80=9CIn 1922 Notre Dame had nine sophomores on the team that went to Atl=
anta to=20
play Georgia Tech,=E2=80=9D Crowley related. =E2=80=9CIn the first half Tech=
got a field goal=20
and things looked pretty dark for us. In the third period Layden punted to=20
Red Barron, who muffed. We recovered on the 20-yard line and tried three pl=
ays=20
in vain. It was fourth down.=20

=E2=80=9CIt so happened that we had a Presbyterian on the team. He stopped=20=
play and=20
said to us, =E2=80=98Boys, let=E2=80=99s have a Hail Mary.=E2=80=99 Well, w=
e prayed, and Layden soon=20
went over for a touchdown.=20

=E2=80=9CBelieve it or not, the formula was repeated. Again Layden kicked,=20=
again=20
Barron fumbled, again we tried three plays in vain. =E2=80=98Let=E2=80=99s=20=
have another Hail=20
Mary,=E2=80=99 said the Presbyterian. Well, again Layden went over for a to=
uchdown.=20

=E2=80=9CAfter the game I discussed the strange series of events with our=20
Presbyterian. =E2=80=98Say, that Hail Mary is the best play we=E2=80=99ve g=
ot,=E2=80=99 he exclaimed.=E2=80=9D=20

20 December 1939, Charleston (WV) , pg. 18, col. 4:=20
Crowley related humorous slants on...the 1922 game with Georgia Tech won by=
=20
Notre Dame 14-3 on what the Presbyterian quarterback said was due to his=20=
=E2=80=9C
hail Mary=E2=80=9D play.=20

20 December 1965, Ironwood (MI) Daily Globe, pg. 10, col. 4:=20
Tom Flynn called it his =E2=80=9CHail Mary shot=E2=80=9D and here=E2=80=99s=
how he described it: =E2=80=9C
I just grabbed it and threw it,=E2=80=9D said the Marquette captain whose s=
hot in the=20
final two seconds gave Marquette a 75-74 basketball victory over Washington=
=20
Saturday night and the Milwaukee Classic championship.=20

15 January 1972, Sporting News, pg. 8, col. 2:=20
Hardin Recalls Feat=20
His former Navy coach, Wayne Hardin, recalled recently: =E2=80=9CI remember=
a game=20
at Michigan. We were on the 20 and Roger rolled right and got hammered in.=20=
He=20
was bobbing and weaving and kept retreating, back to the 30. He was=20
surrounded and upended.=20

=E2=80=9CHe was parallel to the ground, his feet in mid-air and he threw a=20=
pass to=20
Pat Donnelly, who made a one-yard gain. Afterward, I asked if he really sa=
w=20
Pat or if he was throwing it away.=20

=E2=80=9CHe said, =E2=80=98Let=E2=80=99s just call it my Hail Mary Play.=E2=
=80=99=E2=80=9D =20

So the Cowboys have got Staubach and his =E2=80=9CHail Mary=E2=80=9D plays,=20=
they=E2=80=99ve got =20
running backs like Duane Thomas and Calvin Hill, they=E2=80=99ve got top rec=
eivers, a =20
talented offensive line and the Doomsday Defense.=20

29 August 1974, Gettysburg (PA) Compiler, pg. 14, col. 7:=20
Everyone is back from the team that won the National Conference West before=
=20
losing at Dallas, 27-16, in the playoffs on what Cowboys=E2=80=99 quarterba=
ck Roger=20
Staubach calls =E2=80=9Ca couple of Hail Mary pass plays.=E2=80=9D=20

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