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A Hail Mary pass is a very long forward pass in American football, typically made in desperation, with an exceptionally small chance of achieving a completion. Due to the difficulty of a completion with this pass, it makes reference to the Catholic "
Hail Mary The Hail Mary ( la, Ave Maria) is a traditional Christian prayer addressing Mary, the mother of Jesus. The prayer is based on two biblical passages featured in the Gospel of Luke: the Angel Gabriel's visit to Mary (the Annunciation) and Mary's ...
" prayer for strength and help. The expression goes back at least to the 1930s, when it was used publicly by Elmer Layden and
Jim Crowley James Harold "Sleepy Jim" Crowley (September 10, 1902 – January 15, 1986) was an American football player and coach. He gained fame as one-fourth of the University of Notre Dame's legendary "Four Horsemen (American football), Four Horsemen" bac ...
, two former members of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish's Four Horsemen. Originally meaning any sort of desperation play, a Hail Mary pass gradually came to denote a long, low-probability pass, typically of the " alley-oop" variety, attempted at the end of a half when a team is too far from the end zone to execute a more conventional play, implying that it would take a miracle for the play to succeed. For more than 40 years, use of the term was largely confined to Notre Dame and other Catholic universities. The term became widespread after an
NFL The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the major ...
playoff game between the Dallas Cowboys and the Minnesota Vikings on December 28, 1975 (see
Cowboys–Vikings rivalry The Cowboys–Vikings rivalry is a rivalry between the Dallas Cowboys and Minnesota Vikings. One sportswriter named it the fourth-best NFL rivalry of the 1970s. The overall series is led by Dallas 19–15. The Cowboys and Vikings have played seve ...
), when Cowboys quarterback Roger Staubach said about his game-winning touchdown pass to wide receiver Drew Pearson, "I closed my eyes and said a Hail Mary."


Origins

Crowley often told the story of a game between Notre Dame and Georgia Tech on October 28, 1922, in which the Fighting Irish players said Hail Mary prayers together before scoring each of the touchdowns, before winning the game 13–3. According to Crowley, it was one of the team's linemen,
Noble Kizer Noble Earl "Nobe" Kizer Sr. (March 11, 1900 – June 13, 1940) was an American football and basketball player, football coach, and college athletics administrator. He served as the head football coach at Purdue University from 1930 to 1936. During ...
(a Presbyterian), who suggested praying before the first touchdown, which occurred on a fourth and goal play at the Georgia Tech 6-yard line during the second quarter. Quarterback Harry Stuhldreher, another of the Horsemen, threw a quick pass over the middle to
Paul Castner Paul Henry Castner (February 16, 1897 – March 3, 1986) was a professional baseball pitcher. He appeared in six games in Major League Baseball for the Chicago White Sox in 1923, all in relief. In 10 innings pitched, Castner gave up 14 hits and 5 ...
for the score. The ritual was repeated before a third and goal play, again at Georgia Tech's 6-yard line, in the fourth quarter. This time Stuhldreher ran for a touchdown, which sealed the win for Notre Dame. After the game, Kizer exclaimed to Crowley, "Say, that Hail Mary is the best play we've got." Crowley related this story many times in public speeches beginning in the 1930s. On November 2, 1935, with 32 seconds left in the so-called " Game of the Century" between Ohio State and Notre Dame, Irish halfback Bill Shakespeare found receiver Wayne Millner for a 19-yard, game-winning touchdown. Notre Dame head coach Elmer Layden, who had played in the 1922 Georgia Tech game, afterwards called it a "Hail Mary" play. An early appearance of the term was in an Associated Press story about the upcoming 1941 Orange Bowl between the Mississippi State Bulldogs and the Georgetown Hoyas. The piece appeared in several newspapers including the December 31, 1940, '' Daytona Beach Morning Journal'' under the headline, "Orange Bowl: eorgetownHoyas Put Faith in 'Hail Mary' Pass". As the article explained, "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." During an NBC broadcast in 1963, Staubach, then a Navy quarterback, described a pass play during his team's victory over Michigan that year as a "Hail Mary play". He scrambled to escape a pass rush, nearly getting sacked 20 yards behind the line of scrimmage before completing a desperation pass for a one-yard gain.


Examples

Arguably the most memorable and replayed Hail Mary pass came on November 23, 1984, in a game now known as " Hail Flutie".
Boston College Boston College (BC) is a private Jesuit research university in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. Founded in 1863, the university has more than 9,300 full-time undergraduates and nearly 5,000 graduate students. Although Boston College is classifie ...
was trailing Miami (FL) 45–41 with six seconds left, when their quarterback Doug Flutie threw a 63-yard touchdown pass to Gerard Phelan, succeeding primarily because Miami's secondary stood on the goal line to keep the receivers in front of them without covering a post route behind them. Miami's defense was based on the assumption that the five-foot-nine-inch Flutie could not throw the ball as far as the end zone: instead, Flutie hit Phelan in stride against a flatfooted defense a yard deep in the end zone as time expired. To commemorate the play, a statue of Flutie in his Hail Mary passing pose was unveiled outside Alumni Stadium at Boston College on November 7, 2008. Other noteworthy examples include: * December 19, 1980: Known as "The Miracle Bowl", Brigham Young University (BYU) quarterback
Jim McMahon James Robert McMahon Jr. (born August 21, 1959) is a former American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 15 seasons, most notably with the Chicago Bears. McMahon played college football at BYU, where he wa ...
threw a 41-yard touchdown pass to tight end Clay Brown to defeat Southern Methodist University in the
1980 Holiday Bowl The 1980 Holiday Bowl was a college football bowl game played December 19, 1980, in San Diego, California. It was part of the 1980 NCAA Division I-A football season. The game is famous due to a furious fourth quarter rally—including a last-secon ...
46–45, which completed Brigham Young's comeback from a 45–25 deficit with four minutes remaining. * September 24, 1994: Known as the "
Miracle at Michigan The Miracle at Michigan refers to the final play that occurred during the American football game played on September 24, 1994, between the Colorado Buffaloes and Michigan Wolverines at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor, Michigan. The game was decided ...
", Colorado quarterback Kordell Stewart threw a 64-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Michael Westbrook to beat Michigan 27–26. Stewart's pass had traveled 73 yards in the air from the Colorado 26 to the opposite 1-yard line, was tipped by Blake Anderson, then caught by Westbrook four yards deep in the end zone. * October 31, 1999: The Cleveland Browns' first win after returning as an expansion team came on a Hail Mary against the New Orleans Saints, when Browns quarterback Tim Couch avoided the Saints pass rush and launched a 56-yard pass that was tipped up in the air and caught by receiver
Kevin Johnson Kevin Johnson may refer to: Entertainment *Kevin Johnson (singer) (born 1942), Australian singer * Kevin Johnson (ventriloquist) (born 1970), ventriloquist on ''America's Got Talent'' * Kevin Royal Johnson (born 1961), American singer-songwriter a ...
near the pylon for a 21–16 Browns victory. * November 9, 2002: Known as the " Bluegrass Miracle", Louisiana State University quarterback Marcus Randall threw a 74-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver
Devery Henderson Devery Vaughn Henderson Jr. (born March 26, 1982) is a former American football wide receiver who spent 9 seasons with the New Orleans Saints of the National Football League (NFL). The Louisiana-born Henderson played for Louisiana State Univer ...
in the game to defeat Kentucky 33–30. * December 8, 2002: Three years after his first Hail Mary, Tim Couch won another game with a game-ender against the Jacksonville Jaguars. Couch launched a 50-yard Hail Mary that was caught by
Quincy Morgan Quincy Demond Earl Morgan (born September 23, 1977) is a former American football wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL) for the Cleveland Browns, Dallas Cowboys, Pittsburgh Steelers, and Denver Broncos. With the Steelers, he won S ...
, and the ensuing extra point gave the Browns a 21–20 win. Although he remains a hotly debated player - due to being picked #1 overall in the
1999 NFL Draft The 1999 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 17–18, 1999, at the Theater at M ...
and his injury-plagued career - Tim Couch remains the only NFL player to win two games on game-ending Hail Marys. * October 22, 2011: Known as "Rocket",
Michigan State Michigan State University (Michigan State, MSU) is a public land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the first of its kind in the United States. It i ...
quarterback Kirk Cousins threw a 44-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver
Keith Nichol Keith Nichol (born December 24, 1988 in Lowell, Michigan) is a financial advisor and a former wide receiver. He played college football for Michigan State University. Before Michigan State, he played for the Oklahoma Sooners. Professional caree ...
to beat Wisconsin 37–31. * November 16, 2013: Known as the "
Prayer at Jordan–Hare The Prayer at Jordan-Hare was a game-winning Hail Mary pass thrown during a college football game between the Auburn Tigers and Georgia Bulldogs, played on November 16, 2013, at Jordan-Hare Stadium in Auburn in the 117th installment of the Deep ...
",
Auburn Auburn may refer to: Places Australia * Auburn, New South Wales * City of Auburn, the local government area *Electoral district of Auburn *Auburn, Queensland, a locality in the Western Downs Region *Auburn, South Australia *Auburn, Tasmania *Aub ...
quarterback
Nick Marshall Nicholas Deshawn Marshall Sr. (born June 30, 1992) is an American football cornerback for the Saskatchewan Roughriders of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Jacksonville Jaguars of the National Fo ...
threw a 73-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Ricardo Louis on fourth-and-18 with 36 seconds left to beat Georgia 43–38. Louis caught the ball after one Georgia defender tipped it away from another. * November 10, 2013: With the Baltimore Ravens leading 17–10 on the last play of their game against the
Cincinnati Bengals The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The c ...
, Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton launched a 51-yard Hail Mary to the end zone, where a Ravens player tipped the ball in the air directly to
A. J. Green Adriel Jeremiah Green (born July 31, 1988) is an American football wide receiver for the Arizona Cardinals of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Georgia Bulldogs football, Georgia and was drafted by the Cincinnati ...
for a touchdown. Despite this game-tying score, the Ravens won the game in overtime, 20–17. * September 5, 2015: Known as the "Miracle at Memorial", BYU quarterback
Tanner Mangum Tanner Mangum (born September 8, 1993) is an American football quarterback who is currently a free agent. He played college football for the BYU Cougars. Early years Mangum attended Timberline High School until the end of his sophomore year and ...
threw a desperate 42-yard pass to wide receiver Mitch Mathews as time expired to defeat Nebraska 33–28 at Memorial Stadium, and break a streak of 29 consecutive home opener victories for the
Cornhuskers The Nebraska Cornhuskers (often abbreviated to Huskers) are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. The university is a member of the Big Ten Conference, and the Cornhuskers compete in NCAA Divis ...
. Mangum, a freshman just two months removed from a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, was the backup to senior
Taysom Hill Taysom Shawn Hill (born August 23, 1990) is an American football utility player officially designated as a tight end for the New Orleans Saints of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at BYU and joined the Saints in 201 ...
, who had left the game earlier with a season-ending
Lisfranc injury A Lisfranc injury, also known as Lisfranc fracture, is an injury of the foot in which one or more of the metatarsal bones are displaced from the tarsus. The injury is named after Jacques Lisfranc de St. Martin, a French surgeon and gynecolo ...
, and was playing in his first organized football game in nearly four years. * December 3, 2015: Known as the " Miracle in Motown", a 15-yard defensive facemask penalty on the
Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) North Division. The team play their home games at Ford ...
as time expired gave the
Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. It ...
, who had been trailing the entire game, an additional untimed down. Green Bay quarterback
Aaron Rodgers Aaron Charles Rodgers (born December 2, 1983) is an American football quarterback for the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League (NFL). Rodgers began his college football career at Butte College in 2002 before transferring to the ...
threw a 61-yard touchdown pass which left his hand at Green Bay's 35-yard line and was caught four yards into the end zone by tight end Richard Rodgers II to give the Packers a 27–23 win. The total distance of 69 yards is the longest Hail Mary pass in NFL history. * January 16, 2016: In the postseason after the Miracle in Motown, Aaron Rodgers completed a second Hail Mary pass: faced with a 4th and 20 on his own 4-yard line and a 20–13 deficit against the
Arizona Cardinals The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Cardinals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) West division, and play t ...
in the final minute of the game, Rodgers threw a 60-yard completion to
Jeff Janis Jeffrey Ronald "Jeff" Janis (born June 24, 1991) is a former American football wide receiver. He played college football at Saginaw Valley State, and was drafted by the Green Bay Packers in the seventh round of the 2014 NFL Draft. Early year ...
. On the final play of regulation, he completed a 41-yard touchdown pass to Janis, making Green Bay the first postseason team ever to score a game-tying touchdown on the final play of the 4th quarter. Despite this, Arizona won the game in overtime largely through the efforts of Larry Fitzgerald, who went all the way to the Green Bay 4-yard line on a short pass he caught while wide open before scoring two plays afterwards. * September 10, 2016: After
Oklahoma State football The Oklahoma State Cowboys football program represents Oklahoma State University–Stillwater in college football. The team is a member of the Big 12 Conference and competes at the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision level. The Cowboys are ...
quarterback Mason Rudolph threw the ball up into the air as time expired, it was ruled intentional grounding: under college football rules, the game should have ended and Oklahoma State should have defeated Central Michigan 27–24. However, both on-field officials (from Central Michigan's home of the Mid-American Conference) and replay officials (from Oklahoma State's home of the Big 12 Conference) missed the call and gave Central Michigan an untimed down. CMU quarterback
Cooper Rush Cooper Robert Rush (born November 21, 1993) is an American football quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Central Michigan, and was signed by the Cowboys as an undrafted free age ...
threw a 49-yard Hail Mary to receiver Jesse Kroll, who then lateraled to Malik Fountain, who ran it into the end zone to win the game 30–27. * October 1, 2016: After a 47-yard touchdown pass with ten seconds remaining on the clock, a Georgia player took off his helmet during the celebration, resulting in a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty. The kickoff was returned to the Georgia 43-yard line: on the final play, Tennessee QB
Joshua Dobbs Robert Joshua Dobbs (born January 26, 1995) is an American football quarterback for the Tennessee Titans of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Tennessee, and was drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the fourth rou ...
threw a game-winning touchdown, caught by Juwon Jennings, as time expired to win 34–31. * January 8, 2017: In a wildcard playoff game between the Green Bay Packers and the New York Giants, Aaron Rodgers completed a 42-yard pass to Randall Cobb over a crowd of players from both teams on the last play before halftime. This gave Green Bay a 14–6 halftime lead, and they went on to win 38–13. * September 16, 2017: In a key Southeastern Conference matchup between the
Florida Gators The Florida Gators are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Florida, located in Gainesville. The University of Florida, its athletic program, its alumni and its sports fans are often collectively referred to as t ...
and the Tennessee Volunteers, Florida quarterback Feleipe Franks completed a 63-yard pass to
Tyrie Cleveland Tyrie Cleveland (born September 20, 1997) is an American football wide receiver for the Denver Broncos of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Florida. Early years Cleveland attended and played high school football ...
as time expired to give UF a 26–20 win. *November 15, 2020: In a week 10 game against the
Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. ...
, Kyler Murray completed a 43-yard touchdown pass to receiver DeAndre Hopkins in the final seconds of the game. Hopkins caught the ball over three Bills defenders for a touchdown to win the game 32–30. *September 17, 2022: During a '' College GameDay'' between
Appalachian State Appalachian State University (; Appalachian, App State, App, or ASU) is a public university in Boone, North Carolina. It was founded as a teachers college in 1899 by brothers B. B. and D. D. Dougherty and the latter's wife, Lillie Shull Dough ...
and Troy, Appalachian State quarterback,
Chase Brice Chase Brice (born January 27, 1998) is an American football quarterback. He played college football at Clemson, Duke, and Appalachian State, winning a national championship with the Tigers. College career Clemson After redshirting his true ...
, threw a 63 yard pass as time expired to Christan Horn who caught the pass for a touchdown, allowing Appalachian State to win, 32–28.


Metaphorical usage in other fields

The term "Hail Mary" is sometimes used to refer to any last-ditch effort with little chance of success. In military uses, General Norman Schwarzkopf described his strategy during the Persian Gulf War to bypass the bulk of Iraqi forces in Kuwait by attacking in a wide left sweep through their rear as a "Hail Mary" plan. This usage, however, did not refer to the plan's chances of success but to the movement of Coalition forces to the left side of the front lines prior to the attack, which reflected the formation for a Hail Mary pass in which all the offensive team's wide receivers line up on one side of the line of scrimmage. Various legal actions attempting to overturn Donald Trump's defeat in the
2020 U.S. presidential election The 2020 United States presidential election was the 59th quadrennial presidential election, held on Tuesday, November 3, 2020. The Democratic ticket of former vice president Joe Biden and the junior U.S. senator from California Kamala H ...
, in particular the ''
Texas v. Pennsylvania ''Texas v. Pennsylvania'', 592 U.S. ___ (2020), was a lawsuit filed at the United States Supreme Court contesting the administration of the 2020 presidential election in certain states, in which Joe Biden defeated incumbent Donald Trump. Fil ...
'' Supreme Court lawsuit, were described as "Hail Marys". There are similar usages in other fields, such as a "Hail Mary shot" in photography where a photographer holds the view finder of an SLR camera away from the eyes (so unable to compose the picture), usually high above the head, and takes a shot. This is often used in crowded situations. In computer security, a "Hail Mary attack" will throw every
exploit Exploit means to take advantage of something (a person, situation, etc.) for one's own end, especially unethically or unjustifiably. Exploit can mean: * Exploitation of natural resources *Exploit (computer security) * Video game exploit *Exploita ...
it has against a system to see whether any of them work. When the
Pennsylvania Republican Party The Pennsylvania Republican Party (PAGOP) is the affiliate of the Republican Party in the state of Pennsylvania. It is headquartered in Harrisburg. History Founding The party was founded on November 27, 1854, in Towanda ( Bradford County) b ...
sold its headquarters in Harrisburg to the Catholic Church, this was described by The New York Times as "a real-life Hail Mary". At the end of the
2022 Xfinity 500 The 2022 Xfinity 500 was a NASCAR Cup Series race held on October 30, 2022, at Martinsville Speedway in Ridgeway, Virginia. Contested over 500 laps on the .526 mile (.847 km) short track, it was the 35th race of the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series se ...
at Martinsville, Ross Chastain's wall-ride move to get the positions he needed to clinch a spot in the Championship 4 was given the name "Hail Melon", combining the name of the football pass play with Chastain's association with watermelons.


See also

*
Lateral pass In gridiron football, a lateral pass or lateral (officially backward pass in American football and onside pass in Canadian football) occurs when the ball carrier throws the football to a teammate in a direction parallel to or away from the oppon ...
, another football strategy that is similar in that it is generally only used in desperation by the losing team on the very last play * Gambit *
List of Hail Mary passes in American football This is a list, ordered by year, of famous Hail Mary plays from collegiate and professional football in the United States. College football Early use of the term * 1922 — On October 28, 1922, the term "Hail Mary play" was used by Knute Ro ...
* List of sports idioms *
NFL playoffs, 1975–76 The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the major ...
*
Aaron Rodgers Aaron Charles Rodgers (born December 2, 1983) is an American football quarterback for the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League (NFL). Rodgers began his college football career at Butte College in 2002 before transferring to the ...
*
Cowboys–Vikings rivalry The Cowboys–Vikings rivalry is a rivalry between the Dallas Cowboys and Minnesota Vikings. One sportswriter named it the fourth-best NFL rivalry of the 1970s. The overall series is led by Dallas 19–15. The Cowboys and Vikings have played seve ...
* Buzzer beater, similar application in basketball


References


External links

* * * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hail Mary, The American football plays Metaphors referring to sport Christianity and sports