19 Dead, One Radical Idea: The True Origin of the Forward Pass

In 1905, 19 players were killed playing American football. The sport was on the verge of extinction. The solution that saved it — the forward pass — was so hated by the game's most powerful men that they buried it under rules designed to make it fail. Incomplete pass? Turnover. Wrong spot on the field? Turnover. Ball crosses the goal line in the air? Touchback. They legalized it and then did everything in their power to make sure nobody would use it. They failed. This video tells the complete forward pass history — from the 1905 death harvest that forced its legalization, through the innovators who built offenses around it before anyone else understood what they were doing, to the 1913 Notre Dame-Army game that convinced the Eastern establishment the pass was no gimmick, all the way to Mike Leach and the air raid offenses that define college football today. Eddie Cochems. Pop Warner. Knute Rockne. Gus Dorais. Dutch Meyer. Bill Walsh. Mike Leach. This is the story of how a desperate safety measure accidentally created the most exciting sport in America.Hardcore College Football History explores the forgotten stories and foundational moments that shaped the game we love. Subscribe for more documentary deep dives into college football history. 💥 WEB SITE - https://collegefootballhistory.football 💥 PATREON -   / hcfbh   💥 JON'S BOOKS: Been Dead, Never Been To Europe - Memoir About My Death And Recovery - https://amzn.to/3CgnmJP Manage Your Damage - Heart Attack Survivor - https://amzn.to/3MkIy6i The Mystery of the Dent in My Head - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CMKCB54P HCFBH is reader-supported. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.#ForwardPassHistory #CollegeFootballHistory #HistoryOfAmericanFootball #PopWarnerCarlisle #FootballRuleChanges #NotreDameArmy1913 #HardcoreCollegeFootballHistory