Professional Football Researchers Association Forum

Can anyone tell me when pass interference became an official rule? Were they allowed to basically mug the receivers before the rule was enacted or was this some kind of progressive rule that adapted over time?
Thanks

Doug

There's always been a pass interference rule, but the guidelines of what is considered interference has changed over time. The rules concerning interference are always being tweaked, and in 99 percent of the cases, to favor the offense.

Intriguing question-- the NCAA was founded in 1906, when the forward pass was legalized, and the 1915 official rulebook (earliest I could find) included Rule XVII, which included a section that "No player of the side which did not put the ball in play shall, after the pass has been made, in any manner interfere with an opponent who has crossed the line of scrimmage until the ball has been touched, except in an actual attempt to catch the ball himself." The penalty originally was 10 yards from the line of scrimmage, rather than being based on the spot of the foul.