Dolphins Hook and Lateral

[kryptonite]

What dispute?

Speculation on origins of names[edit]
Some proponents of the term "hook and lateral" claim that the "hook" refers to the pattern run by the receiver who catches the pass from the quarterback. The "lateral" refers to the pitching of the ball by the receiver to his teammate. This is not synonymous with a "ladder", which is a specific route (also called a "chair") in which a receiver cuts out before turning up the field along the sideline. If the "hook" receiver laterals the ball to a teammate running a ladder route, the play could accurately be described as a "hook and ladder".[citation needed] This would not be true of many hook and lateral plays; in the case of the play run by the Boise State Broncos in the 2007 Fiesta Bowl, the player who received the lateral from the "hook" receiver was running a slant route across the center of the field rather than a ladder route.

On the January 2, 2007 broadcast of ESPN's Around the Horn, sportswriter Woody Paige claimed, perhaps facetiously, that the name "hook and ladder" originated with NYC Firemen Football Team in ****'s Kitchen, New York. This was in response to the other panelists ridiculing his use of "hook and ladder" rather than "hook and lateral". The next day, Jay Mariotti claimed the phrase "hook and ladder" referred to coal mining in Pennsylvania in the 1930s — his research claims that coal miners need a hook and ladder when trapped in a mine. Another possible explanation is that "hook and ladder" is just a corruption of the phrase "hook and lateral".

A "hook and ladder" is a common name for a firetruck, which used to carry various hooks and ladders. The analogies that could be drawn to this play based on a "hook" route (with or without an actual "lateral") and a "hook and ladder" apparatus are numerous. Long extension ladders include two or more pieces, perhaps the first piece being a "hook" route, and the second piece being a run up the "ladder" to the end-zone. The second part of the play is sometimes accomplished with a hand-off, and not a lateral at all. Notwithstanding, there does not seem to be any definitive proof of what the play was originally called or why.[citation needed]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hook_and_ladder_(football)

 

[miamicanephins]

Again, what dispute? Just listen to the man involved with the play, Don Strock.


I recently read a story in The Herald-Whig in which a coach was quoted as using a "hook and ladder" play. There is no "hook and ladder" football play. It is a "hook and lateral." The receiver runs a hook pattern, catches the ball and laterals to a trailing teammate. The trailing teammate then attempts to run for a touchdown. He doesn't run to a three-alarm house fire or wash second-floor windows.


This reader describes the play perfectly. However, the name of the play remains in question.


One of the most famous plays in NFL history came in the 1982 AFC playoffs when the Miami Dolphins played the San Diego Chargers. With six seconds left in the first half, quarterback Don Strock threw a pass to wide receiver Duriel Harris in the middle of the field at the 25-yard line. Running back Tony Nathan then raced in front of Harris, who had Chargers defenders converging on him as he tossed the ball to Nathan racing toward the sideline. Nathan easily scored on the play.


Dave Hyde, a columnist for the Sun-Sentinel in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., called it the greatest play in team history.


The play even became part of a Dolphins ticket commercial a year ago. Strock was recognized by a kid who makes the common mistake of saying, "Oh, man, you did the hook and ladder play."


"Yeah, but it's the hook and lateral," Strock said.


In the Dolphins' playbook, it was the "87-circle-curl-lateral." However, in a video showing some of the NFL's greatest plays, NFL.com refers to it as the "hook and ladder."


NCAA.com lists the seven greatest trick plays in the history of college football. One of them was when Boise State scored on the last play in regulation during the 2007 Orange Bowl against Oklahoma to tie the score at 35. Quarterback Jared Zabransky threw 15 yards to Drisan James, who lateraled to Jerard Rabb for the final 35 yards.


It is referred to on the website as the "hook and ladder."


Merriam-Webster.com refers to a hook and ladder as "a piece of mobile fire apparatus carrying ladders and usually other firefighting and rescue equipment." Dictionary.com refers to it as "a fire engine, usually a tractor-trailer, fitted with long, extensible ladders and other equipment."


Neither makes any reference to the football play.


The play is referred to as the "hook and ladder" on the cover of EA Sports NCAA Football 2008. An entry at Wikipedia.com says that the term has been incorrectly used commonly by sportscasters, coaches and fans for years, but "there does not seem to be any definitive proof of what the play was originally called or why."


The Associated Press stylebook does not have an entry about the definition.