The Forward Pass, the Onside Kick, and the Ingenuity of Yale Engineering

This Sunday’s Super Bowl matchup features two of the best passers in the NFL, Patrick Mahomes and Tom Brady. Without a good forward pass, it’s pretty difficult for any team to get far these days.  

And for it, we can (maybe) thank the innovative thinkers of Yale Engineering. Specifically, it was quarterback Paul Veeder, a student in the Sheffield Scientific School - an antecedent to the School of Engineering & Applied Science - who threw what is considered the first forward pass in a major football game, on Nov. 24, 1906. (Collectors, take note - a ticket stub to this game is currently going for $69.95 on eBay).

Indeed, the forward-thinking strategy served Veeder and the team well, as Yale went on to beat Harvard 6-0 to cap off a very impressive 9-0-1 season. The forward pass had recently become a legal play in football, and Veeder made good use of it. The key play was a 30-yard pass that landed Yale at Harvard’s 3-yard line. From there, the team scored the game’s only touchdown. 

The play, which went on to make national headlines, was made with the encouragement of legendary coach Walter Camp. In her biography of Camp, historian Julie des Jardins writes that the coach “instructed Paul Veeder to go back as if to dropkick, but when he received the ball, Veeder, according to plan, ran sideways, eluded the Crimson forwards, and launched a throw to a man who stood alone near the goal line.”

History, of course, is a famously messy business, and such claims rarely go unchallenged. In this case, some point to St. Louis University as the true pioneer of the forward pass. Earlier that season, records indicate that the St. Louis team completed its first forward pass in a game against Carroll College.  

Others note though, that it was inevitable that numerous teams would employ the forward pass since it had been newly legalized in the sport. Yale’s claim to this particular historical turf is that Veeder’s forward pass was first completed in a major game. There’s some subjectivity involved in what defines “major,” but certainly, a game against Harvard - more than three decades into the famous rivalry - before 32,000 fans should qualify. The game was also notable as perhaps the first to feature tailgating parties - a claim that, naturally, has its own set of rival contenders. 

In addition to his contribution to the forward pass, Veeder was also an innovator of the onside kick - that is, a kickoff designed to allow the kicking team to retain possession. In 1907, the New York Times praised Veeder’s early use of it, noting that he “worked the kick so cleverly that in nearly every case, the scrubs retained possession of the ball.” 

The multitalented Veeder also served as a punter and a defensive back for the football team, as well as a pitcher for the Yale baseball team. After graduating, he went on to join Yale’s coaching staff. In another forward-thinking move, he later co-founded the Boyce Moto-Meter Company, which manufactured dashboard gauges for automobiles and served as its vice-president until he retired in 1928.