Today's Tidbit... Football Balks And Snapper Feints

Most people associate balks with baseball, but football twice had balks until they were outlawed each time. Football's first balks came in the 1880s when kickers set up for field goal attempts, and instead of fully kicking the ball, they sometimes dribble kicked or balked it, booting it a short distance, picking it up, and running with it.

(‘The New Football Rules,’ Sun (New York), April 10, 1887.)

Balking a field goal attempt sometimes made sense when scoring the touchdown near the sideline. Back...