Frank Hering, The Overhand Spiral, and Mother's Day

Frank Hering played football for the University of Chicago in 1893 and 1894, the second and third years of the school and team's existence. He was positioned deep on defense as the team's quarterback, so he was often there to catch and return punts. On some punt returns, he employed a trick, as Stagg recalled 60 years later.

According to Stagg, Hering had developed the ability to throw the overhand spiral pass. On some punt returns, Hering fielded the ball, turned, and threw it to a teammate across the field but behind him, so the throw was lateral. Field Yost employed a technique similar to that with his teams in the 1890s, but Hering appears to be the first player known to have thrown the overhand spiral pass.

The 1894 Chicago team with Hering on one knee at right. (1895 Chicago yearbook)

His 1894 Chicago squad became the first football team to cross the Rockies when they traveled west for four games over Christmas. A few items pop out from the news coverage of their Christmas Day game with Stanford. First, the illustration includes a cool image of players rushing into the fence in the scramble for a fumbled ball that went out of bounds. (Balls going out of bounds remained live in those days.)

('A Rush Into The Fence,' San Francisco Chronicle, December 26, 1894.)

Second, Hering disagreed with a call that failed to give Chicago credit for a first-half touchdown, leading Hering to let Umpire Warren Olney Jr. know of his error as halftime began. Olney, who played for Cal a few years earlier, responded by punching Hering, so Hering returned the favor. The fight ended there, as did Olney's day, since they replaced him with a new umpire for the second half.