Hail Mary

How a new football term entered the American sports lexicon in the final days of December, 1975

THE LEAD

My greatest honor as The Sports Time Traveler has not been having a write-up in Forbes magazine, or the acceptance of one of my books into the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown.

My greatest honor has been becoming acquainted with people I might have never met and having the privilege to touch their lives in a positive way.

The most honorable person with whom I’ve become acquainted during this journey is Retired Rear Admiral Tom Lynch. During Operation Desert Shield in 1990, Admiral Lynch commanded the entire Eisenhower Battle Group, a fleet of 10 ships.

Admiral Lynch is a 1964 graduate of the United States Naval Academy. At the Naval Academy, Admiral Lynch captained the football team and played center on offense.

When he hiked the ball in the 1963 football season, the man receiving it was Heisman Trophy winner Roger Staubach. This center - quarterback duo nearly led Navy to a national championship, coming up one game short in the defacto national title game at the Cotton Bowl. The pair, Admiral Lynch and Roger Staubach, have remained close friends to this day, with Admiral Lynch organizing the team reunions.

This week I asked Admiral Lynch if he could talk to Roger Staubach on my behalf, as Roger no longer participates in reporter interviews.

I wanted to find out Roger Staubach’s recollection of his most famous play.

It’s the pass of 50 yards he threw 50 years ago last week, on December 28, 1975.

It’s the pass that broke the hearts of the players and fans of the Minnesota Vikings.

It’s the pass that sent the Dallas Cowboys to the 1975 NFC Championship Game.

It’s the pass that created a new football term that sportscasters and writers still use today - “The Hail Mary.”

Admiral Lynch got right back to me.

“Roger told me, ‘I saw Drew (Pearson) and threw it as far as I could, and while the ball was in the air, I said a Hail Mary. After the game, I told a reporter the same, who then reported my conversation, and thus the Hail Mary pass became a part of our sports lexicon.’”

Wow! First hand feedback from the legendary QB himself.

Thank you Admiral Lynch! It’s been great getting to know you and sharing stories with you about Big Klu and the Cincinnati Reds.

The Hail Mary

Here’s the video tape, in slow motion, of the “Hail Mary” pass that Roger Staubach of the Dallas Cowboys threw to Drew Pearson with 24 seconds to defeat the Minnesota Vikings in the opening round of the 1975 playoffs.

For those of you who want to experience this event in the traditional style of The Sports Time Traveler, my full story of the game begins here:

BACKGROUND From The Sports Time Traveler

This is a story that I’ve been waiting patiently to write for the past 4 years.

When I started The Sports Time Traveler in 2022, I was focused on sporting events that took place precisely 50 years prior.

One of the moments I was looking forward to was nearly 4 years “in the future.” That is, it was nearly 4 years until it would be precisely 50 years ago when I could write about it per the rules of sports time travel.

And now I’m excited to finally take you back in time to the last few days of 1975.

METROPOLITAN STADIUM, BLOOMINGTON, MN - December 31, 1975

I have ventured back in time virtually to the end of December, 1975, and north to frozen Minneapolis to experience a classic NFL playoff game between the Dallas Cowboys and the Minnesota Vikings.

My Pre-Game Memories

I remember watching the game when it took place 50 years ago. I was enthralled by Cowboys’ 3rd year star wide receiver, Drew Pearson, who hailed from the tiny central New Jersey township of South River, just a couple of miles from where I grew up.

I also respected Cowboys’ QB Roger Staubach for his Navy service. Staubach gave up 5 years in his 20s to serve in Vietnam and didn’t become the starting QB for Dallas until he was 29, the year in which he guided the Cowboys to their first Super Bowl victory in January, 1972.

I also was a fan of the Minnesota Vikings, who in those days were affectionately known as “The Purple People Eaters.” I loved their great defense anchored by Carl Eller and Alan Page. Page is the first of only 2 defensive players ever to win the NFL’s MVP award.

And I enjoyed watching the scrambling of Vikings’ QB Fran Tarkenton, who had become the all-time leading touchdown passer in NFL history the prior week.

As a romantic sentimentalist, even when I was a kid, I appreciated the angst of vociferous Vikings fans who had yet to see their team win a Super Bowl after 3 crushing defeats. Here in 1975, the Vikings have lost 3 of the last 6 Super Bowls, including the last 2 in a row.

It’s The Vikings Year

This year, 1975, seemed like it was finally going to be the Vikings year. 7 of their players were named to the Pro Bowl - the most of any team. They finished as the #1 seed in the NFC at 12 - 2. They crushed teams all season by an average margin of 2 touchdowns, with the average score 27 - 13. They raced out to a 10 - 0 start to the season. And then they only lost by a single point at Washington in week 11, and then by just 7 points to the Lions in the 2nd to last week of the season when they had the division title clinched.

Carl Eller, the first team All-NFL Defensive End in 5 of the last 8 years proclaimed, “This is the year,” in a Minneapolis Star article last week. You can see that article below.

To win the Super Bowl, the Vikings first need to beat the Cowboys, and then the Rams in the NFC Championship game. Both games would be at home in Bloomington. (NOTE: the Rams beat the Cardinals the day before the Vikings / Cowboys game.)

That means the Vikings need to win 3 straight to win the Super Bowl. Eller had this to say about it near the end of the article, “I think we can win three straight games this playoff season. I like that number, and we’re thinking in those terms.”

On December 22nd, the Minneapolis Star ran an article that celebrated how good the Vikings were in 1975. They displayed the long list of franchise records set this season. The newspaper concluded, “it was the most productive season in the Vikings 15 year history.”

And that is saying a lot because the Vikings have been sensational for the past 7 seasons during which they’ve amassed a record of 76 - 22, best in the NFL, and outscored teams by 1,029 points.

Think about that, the Vikings have outscored their opponents by more than 10 points per game on average over the past 7 seasons.

And yet the Vikings have never won a Super Bowl.

It’s Not The Cowboys Year

The Cowboys have been nearly as good as the Vikings over the past 7 seasons. They’ve had a record of 70 - 27 - 1 over the past 7 seasons. And they’ve outscored opponents by 8 points per game. But this year the Cowboys have been in rebuilding mode with 12 rookies on the roster. They backed into the playoffs as a 10 - 4 wild card. And they allowed nearly 20 points per game.

But unlike the Vikings, the Cowboys have won a Super Bowl. And this is their 5th time reaching the NFC conference championship game, one more than the Vikings.

No teams in the NFL have won more games in the past 7 years than the Vikings or Cowboys, and that made this game a truly classic matchup.

A Fateful Stat

Looking at the Vikings 1975 record, and record setting, may be misleading according to analysis that William N. Wallace provided in his December 23, 1975 article in the New York Times.

It turns out the Cowboys had toughest schedule in football this year. Teams they played had a winning percentage of .437. While the Vikings had the easiest schedule with their opponents collectively having a winning percentage of just .298.

A Fateful Sign

The banner headline across the front page of the Minneapolis Star the day before the game was about defense in Metropolitan Stadium. But it was not about the Vikings’ or the Cowboys’ defense. It was about defending the goal posts when a delirious crowd storms the field after the Vikings beat the Cowboys.

Advantage Vikings

The Cowboys and Vikings did not face each other in the 1975 regular season. But in their last 4 matchups, the Vikings have won 3 and beaten Dallas by a combined score of 116 - 64, including a victory in the 1973 NFC Championship game. And in each of the past 3 head-to-head games the Vikings have rolled up over 300 yards of offense.

Between their superior record in 1975, their dominance of the Cowboys in 3 of the last 4 meetings, and their home field advantage, the Vikings have been established as an 8 point favorite according to the Los Angeles Times.

Game Time

You can watch a 2 minute highlight reel of the game at the link below.

2 Minutes of Highlights of the Entire Game

It began as a defensive battle with no scoring in the 1st quarter.

3 minutes into the 2nd quarter, the Vikings punted.

At the 10 second mark on the tape you will see punt. The Cowboys’ Cliff Harris called for a fair catch on the 5 yard line. But Vikings’ Autrey Beamon appears to run into Harris, and the ball is recovered by the Vikings near the goal line.

The officials ruled it was a free ball because the ball hit Harris. But looking at the video, the only thing that seems to hit Harris is Beamon.

It’s an enormous break for the Vikings, as they score 3 plays later when Chuck Foreman rushes for the TD.

The Cowboys then mounted a drive to the Vikings’ 24 yard line where they had a 3rd and 1. They were stopped and decided to go for the yard on 4th down and were stopped again.

Dallas was shutout in the 1st half, even though they controlled the ball for most of the time.

Vikings 7 Cowboys 0 - HALFTIME

At the start of the 3rd quarter, the Cowboys mounted a sustained drive. At the 30 second mark on the tape you can see Staubach complete a pass for 15 yards to midfield. The 72 yard, 9 play drive that concluded with a game tying TD run at the 40 second mark on the tape. The game was now tied at 7.

Late in the 3rd quarter the Cowboys were driving again. Watch on the tape at the 45 second mark as Staubach completes a pass to Robert Newhouse down to the Vikings’ 20. Stay with the tape to see Staubach complete a pass down to the Vikings’ 7 yard line. But the Cowboys couldn’t punch it home and had to settle for a field goal on the 1st play of the 4th quarter.

Cowboys 10 Vikings 7 - EARLY 4TH QUARTER

Up to this point in the game, the Cowboys had dominated, even though they only had a 3 point lead. Through 3 quarters, Fran Tarkenton had just 6 completed passes, and All-Pro RB Chuck Foreman had rushed for only 26 yards on 13 carries.

And the Cowboys shut down the Vikings yet again on their 1st drive of the 4th quarter.

With 12 minutes remaining in the game, Dallas had a 3rd and 11 from their own 20 yard line. Staubach threw a bomb to Golden Richards.

Here’s what Roger Kaye wrote at this point in the game in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram:

If Richards had caught the ball, he would have waltzed into score, and the Cowboys would have held a commanding 17 - 7 lead.

Instead the Cowboys had to punt.

And now Fran Tarkenton led the Vikings on their most productive drive of the day. Watch at the 1:07 mark on the tape as Tarkenton completes a 20 yard pass to near mid-field. Then continue on the tape as Tarkenton hits Foreman again to get inside the Dallas 30. And at 1:25 on the tape, the Vikings gets into the end zone on a short rush to take the lead. It was a 70 yard, 11 play drive.

It was a dramatic turnaround in the contest. The Vikings offense, which had been held in check all afternoon, had suddenly thrust Minnesota into the lead.

Vikings 14 Cowboys 10 - 5:11 remaining in the game

After the kickoff, the Cowboys couldn’t do anything and had to punt the ball away, but the Vikings also couldn’t convert a 1st down either, and with 1:51 left in the game the Vikings punted back to the Cowboys.

The Cowboys’ took over at their own 15 yard line and were now in desperation mode.

They got a 1st down at their own 31 yard line with 1:10 to go when Staubach completed a pass to Drew Pearson. Until this drive, Staubach had not thrown to Pearson all afternoon despite the fact that he was the Cowboys’ leading receiver on the year.

On the next play, there was a bad snap and Staubach went down for a 7 yard loss back to the 24. The next 2 plays were incomplete passes and suddenly Dallas was down to their last play.

It was 4th down and 17 from their own 24 yard line with just 44 seconds to go.

The situation must have seemed nearly hopeless for the Cowboys, while Vikings’ fans must have been exuberant.

Watch on the tape at the 1:35 mark as Staubach drops back to pass on 4th down. Pearson makes a spectacular catch at midfield as he is falling out of bounds.

It was the kind of play that would have been challenged back in 2026. But it was ruled a catch, and the Cowboys still had life with a 1st down at the 50 yard line

Staubach then threw an incomplete pass and now there were just 32 ticks left on the clock.

The Hail Mary

Watch next on the tape at the 1:45 mark to see the Hail Mary pass, this time from the view that I had as a kid watching the game on CBS television. This is a different angle than the slow-mo tape from earlier in this article.

Drew Pearson’s catch and run into the end zone completed the improbable play and put the Cowboys ahead 17 - 14.

Here is the link again to the highlight reel. The Hail Mary is at the 1:45 mark:

2 Minutes of Highlights of the Entire Game

NOTE From The Sports Time Traveler

I’ve come back to the present time to let you know that 50 years ago at this moment in real life I was jumping up and down repeatedly in front of the little TV set on which I was watching the game. I couldn’t contain myself, nor did I want to.

Given my age at the time, (I was 12), and my feeling of connection with Drew Pearson, who was essentially from my hometown, the level of excitement I felt in that moment when Staubach completed the pass to Pearson and the Cowboys went ahead is perhaps unparalleled with any other moment of live sports I ever watched on television. I was on a high that lasted all the way through the NFC Championship game the following week.

Now back to 1975.

The Game Was Not Over

The Cowboys had gone 85 yards in 8 plays in just 91 seconds.

But the game was not over. There were still 24 seconds left when the Cowboys kicked off.

After the Vikings ran a play and were pinned at their own 1 yard line, a Vikings’ fan threw a wine bottle onto the field that whacked one of the officials on the head. It was a scary moment as the official was down for several minutes, but he was okay.

And then the final 2 play were run. The game ended with Tarkenton being sacked at his own 4 yard line by Dallas defenders Harvey Martin and Ed “Too Tall” Jones.

The Cowboys had pulled off one of the greatest last minute miracles in NFL history with the spectacular Hail Mary pass by Staubach and the incredible catch by Drew Pearson.

Cowboys 17 Vikings 14 - FINAL SCORE

Analyzing the Hail Mary Pass and Reception

The Hail Mary pass itself was nothing special according to Roger Staubach. He told Roger Kaye of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram:

But Staubach didn’t give himself quite enough credit. For starters, he deftly faked a pass down the left side of the field and kept his eyes in that direction, which helped keep Pearson in a one-on-one coverage situation.

Then Staubach turned and looked towards Pearson and planted his back foot just past his own 40 yard line and launched a spiral 55 yards to the Vikings’ 5.

Pearson’s catch on the other hand was truly something special. In fact it was quite magical. Contending for the ball with the Vikings’ Nate Wright, Pearson felt it hit his hands and then slide down his arm, and then he pinned it between his right elbow and his hip. He then grabbed onto it with his right hand and strutted into the end zone for the score. He told Kaye, “It was the biggest catch I ever made because it was the most miraculous.”

The Controversy

On the losing side of the play, the Vikings thought they were robbed. Guard Ed White actually said that. He told a reporter, “Losing like this is like having your house robbed and watching it happen.”

The Vikings’ defender on the play, Nate Wright, and head coach Bud Grant insisted that Drew Pearson had pushed Wright out of the way and committed offensive pass interference.

Wright told Jim Klobuchar of the Minneapolis Star, “I thought I had an interception. I had position. I wasn’t thinking anything else. I felt myself pushed. I slipped forward and I tried to hold my balance. All of a sudden, I was lying on the ground.”

On the video tape, Pearson even appears to look guilty for a second, as he doesn’t immediately celebrate after crossing the goal line.

Head coach Bud Grant told the AP’s Brent Kallestad, “It was just as clear as day and night” that Pearson pushed off on Nate Wright.

But it wasn’t as clear as Grant says it was. And there is no compelling case for the overturning the call on the field.

The case for the Cowboys

First of all, Grant’s rant should be discounted. Vikings’ head coach Bud Grant was on the far side of the field. He had to be at least 75 yards away from the play, and without any elevation, he had to have at least a partially obstructed view.

Second, in the videotape you can see the official who made the TD call is not more than 10 yards away, and he is squarely facing the players. He was in a perfect position to make the call. And in 1975, there is no instant replay, so there is no second guessing a perfectly positioned official.

Third, Pearson never takes his eye off the ball as it nears him. Not once does he look at Nate Wright. All of Pearson’s movements are towards the ball. Any contact Pearson made was in an effort to corral the ball.

Fourth, neither of the video tape angles provides a conclusive view. Neither of the videos were shot from the perfect angle that the official had facing the players. What could be construed as Pearson pushing Wright on the video can’t be discerned from Pearson simply reaching for the ball, which is what Pearson said he was doing.

One More Perspective from Another United States Naval Academy Graduate

My last point in defense of the catch comes from one of my best lifelong buddies, Greg McGiffney, who was also a graduate of the United States Naval Academy, and is also an acquaintance of Admiral Tom Lynch.

Greg and I first met over 50 years ago when we played little league baseball on “The Senators.” I was the pitcher and Greg was the catcher.

Greg is also my resident expert on football as he is a true student of the game. He analyzed the Hail Mary pass and catch and has a perspective that I didn’t see from any of the sportswriters in the newspaper archives. Greg asserts the ball hit Nate Wright, and once it did, all football contact after that was fair. So even if Pearson had pushed off, it could not be construed as offensive pass interference.

I’d like to thank Greg for that piece of analysis.

I also would like to express my condolences to Greg as he lost his father this week. Greg, we lost a great man this week. Your dad had to be a great man to produce the fine person you are. Please accept my deepest sympathy.

Dallas Deserving of Victory

One thing was clear to the Cowboys fans. Even though they needed a miracle to win the game, it was a deserving victory.

Roger Kaye summed up the Dallas point of view well in his article in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram:

An Exclusive Interview with Drew Pearson

Two days after the game, an old acquaintance of mine, Mike Weber of the Newark Star-Ledger, conducted a phone interview with Pearson.

Pearson said, “I thought I had been called for interference when I looked at the ground and saw what turned out to be an orange peel thrown by someone in the stands.”

So Pearson’s goal line look of guilt was because he thought he saw a flag thrown on the play. On the video tape, you can see what looks like a penalty flag. But the alleged penalty flag turned out to be an orange peel thrown by an unruly fan.

Pearson went on to say, “You hate to see this kind of thing happen to Nate (Wright). He isn’t like a lot of cornerbacks who try to intimidate you with a lot of different words from the vocabulary that can’t be repeated. Wright just plays football and he played me tough.”

The Invention of a New Football Term

By far the most lasting legacy of the game is not who won or lost, but the coining of the phrase, “Hail Mary,” to describe a last minute desperation pass.

Roger Staubach gave rise to the now iconic term with this postgame comment:

“I closed my eyes and said a Hail Mary.”

Several reporters heard Staubach say this.

AP reporter Brent Kallestad used the quote in his article about the game that ran nationwide on December 29th.

But in most versions of the Kallestad article, the “Hail Mary” quote, which was near the end of the piece, was cut off, likely by local newspaper sports editors who needed to observe space requirements.

Only one newspaper I can find used the term “Hail Mary” in the headline of their article on the game. That was the Miami News which ran this headline the day after the game:

2 days later, on December 31, 1975, Denne H. Freeman, the Texas Sports Editor for the AP, a reporter who was not in the locker room after the game, authored an article on the Cowboys as they prepared for the NFC Championship Game against the Rams. Freeman’s article was distributed nationwide and mentioned the “Hail Mary” pass. And this time, the term Hail Mary appeared in every published version.

This was the 3rd paragraph of the article:

I believe this article by Denne H. Freeman, which was viewed by a vast audience nationwide, was most responsible for the phrase “Hail Mary” becoming famous.

The Sports Time Traveler will continue following the NFL playoffs from the 1975 season.