[Ads-l] Hail Mary pass/play/shot

Fri Feb 23 20:35:16 UTC 2018

I just posted a piece on my blog about the origins of the "Hail Mary pass," with credit to Bill Mullin and Garson O'Toole who posted about the expression here in January.  I found some additional information on Gary Ashwill's AgateType blog<http://agatetype.typepad.com/agate_type/2010/10/hail-mary.html>, http://agatetype.typepad.com/agate_type/2010/10/hail-mary.html .

I did find one slight antedating of "Hail Mary" in sports.  In January, Bill Mullins posted an example of a "Hail Mary shot" in basketball dated March 4, 1931, which was then the earliest example of a sports-related "Hail Mary", so it was unclear which came first - basketball or football.

http://listserv.linguistlist.org/pipermail/ads-l/2018-January/150581.html

The earliest football "Hail Mary" was Jim Crowley's frequently-told anecdote about saying "Hail mary" in the huddle of a 1922 Notre Dame win over Georgia Tech.

Bill Mullins posted an example of the story from 1934.  The earliest example of that story I found dates to 1932. Democrat and Chronicle (Rochester, New York) January 1, 1932, page 28.

But I also found a different story, about a charity game between Notre Dame and the New York Football Giants featuring a reunion of the Four Horsemen of Notre Dame.  Notre Dame was severly outmatched and resorted to  saying "Hail Mary's" in the huddle to catch their breath before the next beating.  This story appeared a couple months before the basketball example, so it is possible that the football "Hail Mary" may have predated the basketball "Hail Mary."

Green Bay Press-Gazette, January 3, 1931, page 15:

"Crowley said that after a few minutes of that game the Four Horsemen stalled on every play by saying four or five “Hail marys” in the huddle; but that after a while they could not do any better than the “Amen.”"

[END]

Interestingly, Jim Crowley played under Coach Curly Lambeau in high school, at Green Bay's East High, and during one season playing for the Packers, and he coached Vince Lombardi for four years at Fordham.

Peter Reitan

________________________________
From: American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU> on behalf of ADSGarson O'Toole <adsgarsonotoole at GMAIL.COM>
Sent: Wednesday, January 17, 2018 2:22 AM
To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
Subject: Re: Hail Mary pass/play/shot

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Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
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Subject:      Re: Hail Mary pass/play/shot
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Excellent work, Bill. Individuals interested in the evolution of "Hail
Mary pass" and "Hail Mary shot" may enjoy the citations below for
"prayer shot" which seems to be a precursor.

Date: December 26, 1916
Newspaper: The Scranton Republican
Newspaper Location: Scranton, Pennsylvania
Article: Local Quints Divide Honors
Quote Page 10, Column 6
Database: Newspapers.com

[Begin excerpt]
Scranton was first to score in the nightcap, a foul goal by Long
making the totals 11 to 10. Muller followed with a prayer shot for a
deuce that sent Nanticoke ahead but Berger came through with a two
pointer that again changed the leadership.
[End excerpt]

Date: December 14, 1921
Newspaper: The New Castle Herald
Newspaper Location: New Castle, Pennsylvania
Article: Castles Take Wampum Over In Fast Game
Quote Page 13, Column 5
Database: Newspapers.com

[Begin excerpt]
The third quarter Wampum made some "prayer" shots and were fighting
hard to win, but could not overcome the lead and the quarter ended
with the score at 30 to 21.
[End excerpt]

Date: January 3, 1922
Newspaper: The New Castle Herald
Newspaper Location: New Castle, Pennsylvania
Article: Castles Take Wampum Over In Fast Game
Quote Page 13, Column 5
Database: Newspapers.com

[Begin excerpt]
At the beginning of the second extra period, Kraft put his team in the
lead with a field goal, but Bessemer plugged on and tossed in two
"prayer" shots winning out 24-22.
[End excerpt]

Date: December 12, 1929
Newspaper: Green Bay Press-Gazette
Newspaper Location: Green Bay, Wisconsin
Article: Fort Howard. Morley Cage Quintets Win
Quote Page 13, Column 5
Database: Newspapers.com
Note: The page image states year 1927, but the previous and next
images have 1929

[Begin excerpt]
Finding the Fort Howard defense invulnerable, the railroaders
abandoned their floor game early in the contest and took to the air
with long distant "prayer shots."
[End excerpt]

Garson

On Wed, Jan 17, 2018 at 3:24 AM, Bill Mullins <amcombill at hotmail.com> wrote=
:
>
> From NPR yesterday:
>
> " You've heard of the Hail Mary pass, right? Well, you can think the Viki=
ngs for that. The phrase Hail Mary pass was first used in 1975 after the Da=
llas Cowboys' last-second miracle touchdown pass beat the Vikings."
>
> OED has 1972 for "Hail Mary play", 1982 for "Hail Mary touchdown pass", b=
ut nothing for specifically "Hail Mary pass".  In the ADS-L archives, Sam C=
lements found "Hail Mary pass plays" 8/29/1974; Ben Zimmer found "Hail Mary=
 shot" 12/20/1965 (and clipped on Newspapers.com 12/17/1971 for "Hail Mary =
play").  Barry Popik has found "Hail Mary play" (with a literal Hail Mary) =
in 1939.
>
>
> Hail Mary play
>
> Monroe LA _Monroe News-Star_ 11/5/1934 p 5 col 5
>
> "Presbyterian Finds 'Hail Mary' Play Notre Dame's Best" [headline -- this=
 is the same literal usage as Barry's 1939 cite.]
>
>
> _Philadelphia Daily News_ 11/8/1971 p 64 col 5
>
> "Another sideline discussion led to what the sandlotters call the 'Hail, =
Mary' play -- a long pass and a prayer."
>
>
> Hail Mary pass
>
> St. Petersburg FL _Tampa Bay Times_ 12/31/1940 p 11 col 6
>
> "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."
>
>
> _Hartford Courant_ 10/13/1959 p 19 col 1
>
> ""They call it their Martin Luther play," the Yale scout said. "The same =
thing at Notre Dame would be called the Hail Mary pass.""
>
>
> Hail Mary shot
>
> New Brunswick NJ _Central New Jersey Home News_ 3/4/1931 p 13 col 4
>
> "Sister Helen Rose, at St. Peter's High, calls Miss Virginia Bahash's sho=
ts, "Hail Mary shots."  You know the kind -- given 'em a fling and breathe =
a prayer."  [basketball]
>
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