The Forward Pass

What do Teddy Roosevelt, Knute Rockne, George Carlin, the Atomic Bomb, the Hail Mary Prayer, Marcia Brady’s broken nose and “American Pie” all have in common? The Forward Pass.

As ubiquitous as it is now, throwing the football was once unimaginable. For the first four decades of football’s existence, the forward pass was illegal. However, with rising safety concerns surrounding the game of football, President Roosevelt intervened. It was his demand that rules makers open up the game by legalizing the forward pass that saved football from abolition and created the sport we love.

This one-hour documentary examines the implementation of the forward pass into the game of football and the profound affect it has had on the game and its players, as well as on how football is viewed in society. It also tells the story of one of North America’s greatest inventions and how it transformed football from a lackluster rugby-style game of running and kicking into the uniquely North American spectacle it has become.