Today's Tidbit… IFA Rule #28 Fair Catch

This is #28 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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Only those catching punts or kickoffs can fair catch the ball today, but the fair catch applied to four other situations in early football. In addition, the fair catch signal differed from today and was often unclear, leading to a new signal and rule change.

Rule 28: A fair catch is a catch made direct from a kick or a throw forward, or a knock on by one of the opposite side, or from a punt-out or punt-on (see Rules 29 and 30), provided the catcher makes a mark with his heel at the spot where he made the catch and no other of his side touch the ball. (See Rules 43 and 44.)

Like today, a fair catch could occur on a punt or kickoff. As we saw last week when covering Rule 27, a fair catch applied when an opponent threw the ball forward or knocked it on. Besides those situations, a fair catch could occur on puntouts or punt-ons, defined by Rules 29 and 30, which we will cover in the next two weeks.