Terminology... Pass, Forward Pass, Complete, Uncomplete, Incomplete, and Incompletion

This is article #5 in a series covering the origins of football’s terminology. All are available under the Terminology tab above. My book, Hut! Hut! Hike! describes the emergence of more than 400 football terms.

---

Pass and Forward Pass

Passes were common in football before 1906 and the legalization of the forward pass. As a descendant of rugby, a pass occurred whenever a player handed or tossed the ball to a teammate. For example, the first football rules passed in 1876 included Rule 26:

Throwing back. It is lawful for any player who has the ball to throw it backward toward his own goal, or to pass it back to any player of his side who is at the time behind him, in accordance with the rules of on side.

Tossing the ball to a teammate positioned behind the passer ensured the ball went to an onside player (one closer to their goal than the passer). While some passes went forward, doing so was illegal, leading to the loss of possession when called.

A quarterback passes the ball back to a running back during an early Army-Navy game.

Seeking to open up the game and give offenses more options to move the ball, the 1906 rule-makers allowed tossing the ball to a teammate positioned forward of the pass (closer to the opponent’s goal than the passer). Though heavily restricted, the forward pass was revolutionary because it violated one of rugby’s fundamental rules, the onside rule.