It’s hard to beat this awesome shot of Fritz Crisler: Is that Fritz Crisler dropping the ball? No way man – he’s demonstrating the dropkick. Back in 1958, Crisler was chairman of the NCAA rules committee and a major change for that year was the introduction of the 2 point conversion. Coaches weren’t sure what the impact would be—many thought teams would go for 2 after TDs early in the game and then see how things played out. But it was quickly figured out that hitting paydirt with one play from the three-yard line was far from a 50/50 proposition (one source had the success rate in 1958 was around 35%), and most coaches defaulted to kicking the extra point. Bringing us back to the photo, it was also suggested that having the option of the two point conversion might result end up in more teams trying the old dropkick. I think the scenario was that you’d see teams effectively lining up in a triple threat position where the offense could try to run or pass for 2, or execute the drop kick for 1…but that really didn’t happen. (Heck, it hadn’t even happened in pro football since 1941 and until Doug Flutie’s epic dropkick in 2007). From a June 1923 athletic department publication, that’s a shot of one of the…
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50th Anniversary: The Two Point Conversion
I found this article on the prolific York Daily Record website pointing out that we’re upon the 50th anniversary of the two point conversion in college football. It’s a great read, definitely check it out. So why is this on MVictors? Look who pushed for the rule change: Among those on the committee who liked the idea and were part of the unanimous approval were Oklahoma coach Bud Wilkinson and former Alabama and Duke coach Wallace Wade. But the leading proponent was Michigan coach Fritz Crisler. He said after the rules committee meeting that the two-point play “will add drama to what has been the dullest, most stupid play in the game.” Once the rule kicked in the following season teams went two-point crazy until they came to their senses, perhaps with the help of an egghead in the math department: In 1958, teams quickly became infatuated with the opportunity to score more points. That season, there were more two-point conversation attempts than extra-point kicking tries. In 578 games that season, teams went for two 1,371 times, converting 613 for 44.7 percent, and attempted 1,295 kicking extra points. The fad faded as the math evidence piled up. Over the long haul, the one-pointer was a better bet than the two , and by 1965, college football was down to 331…
