Safer but not "conducive" Both teams had played a previous game that same season. What made this second game unique was that it was a test of a proposed rule of play. During the game, each team's offense was required to gain ten yards instead of five yards in three downs to earn a new
first down. The experiment was considered a failure. Football legend
John H. Outland officiated the game and commented, "It seems to me that the distance required in three downs would almost eliminate touchdowns, except through fakes or flukes." The
Los Angeles Times reported that there was much kicking and that the game was considered much safer than regular play, but that the new rule was not "conducive to the sport."
Impact Three days later, 62 schools met in
New York City to discuss rule changes to make the game safer. As a result of that meeting, the Intercollegiate Athletic Association of the United States, later named the
National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), was formed and several other rule changes were made to improve safety for players, including the addition of the
forward pass.
First forward pass In his history of the sport of football,
David M. Nelson concluded that "the first
forward passes were thrown at the end of the 1905 season in a game between Fairmount and Washburn colleges in Kansas." According to Nelson, Washburn completed three passes, and Fairmount completed two. Credit for the first pass goes to Fairmount's Bill Davis, who completed a pass to Art Solter. ==See also==