Archaic Football: The Puntout

Football's evolutionary tree includes branches that thrived and others that died. Archaic elements of football include techniques, equipment, procedures, and other aspects that were normal parts of the game before disappearing from use. The puntout, once a common and critical part of the game, was removed from the rules in 1920.

Most football fans today have never heard of a puntout, much less seen one in action. The image in the banner at the top of the page is the next best thing. It shows a play from Purdue's 1907 visit to Illinois. Take a close look at the image. The player at the right appears to be readying himself to punt or dropkick the ball. The team wearing white headgear stands on the goal line with the white goal posts to their right, seemingly ready to sprint forward. (The goal posts are difficult to distinguish from the side of the stadium in the background, but the goal posts' location is clear from other game images.) To the far left, players whose headgear matches the punter's ready themselves to do something, but what? As you might guess, the image shows Illinois executing a puntout against Purdue. We'll spend the rest of this article explaining the mechanics of the puntout before discussing its implications and demise.

I first heard of puntouts in 2015 when I found them mentioned in newspaper reports of games during the WWI era. Not being familiar with puntouts, I approached the issue like anyone living in the 21st Century and Googled "puntout" and "punt-out" since both spellings appeared in period writing. None of the sources proved helpful, but I soon gained access to period NCAA rule books and other sources that helped me understand the role and mechanics of puntouts. 

Here's what I learned. Before 1920, the process of executing the "goal from touchdown," what most people now call the extra point, differed from today. Back then, the scoring team received the ball for their goal from touchdown attempt at the spot the ball crossed the goal line during the touchdown play. If they scored in the middle of the field, they received the ball in the middle of the field. If they score three yards from the sideline, they received the ball three yards from the sideline.