Today's Tidbit... 1876 IFA Rule #51: No Fair Catch OOB

This is #51 in a series covering football's original 61 rules adopted by the Intercollegiate Football Association in 1876. We review one rule each Friday.

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Rule 51 is the last of the 61 original rules with little relationship to today's rules. Rules 52 to 61, which we will review in the coming weeks, were eliminated or modified since 1876, but each contains a threat linking us to an element of football as played in 2023. Rule 51 has the slimmest such thread and also sucks because its main job is to modify earlier rules we've already covered. So, here it is:

Rule 51: A catch made in touch from a punt-out or a punt-on is not a fair catch; the ball must be then taken or thrown out of touch as provided by Rule 32. But if the catch be made in touch in goal the ball is at once dead and must be kicked out as provided in Rules 41 and 42.