Triple threat man
Encyclopedia
In gridiron football
, the phrase triple-threat man refers to a player who excels at all three of the skills of running, passing, and kicking. In modern usage, such a player would be referred to as a utility player
.
Triple-threat men were the norm in the early days of football, as substitution rules were stringent. Thus, in addition to the need for passing
, running
, and kicking
skills, they were also required to play defense
. As injury awareness grew and substitution rules loosened, teams shifted to kicking specialists
, which made the triple-threat man obsolete. One of the last triple-threat men in professional football was George Blanda
, a quarterback
and kicker who last played for the Oakland Raiders
of the National Football League
in 1975. Danny White
, a quarterback and punter, retired in 1989. Since then, non-specialists have placekicked only extremely infrequently in the NFL. One instance occurred when Doug Flutie
—also adept at both running and passing as a "scrambling" quarterback—drop kick
ed an extra point in 2006 during the last play of his career. Defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh
of the Detroit Lions
attempted an extra point
in 2010 in place of an injured kicker, but the ball hit the right upright. Wide receiver Chad Ochocinco then of the Cincinnati Bengals
filled in at kicker during a 2009 preseason game for the injured Shayne Graham
. Danny White
of the Dallas Cowboys
was the last non-specialist to kick on a regular basis, as he served as the team's starting quarterback and punter from 1980 until 1984, after several years as backup to Roger Staubach
. There are, however, still dual-threat quarterbacks and wildcat
halfbacks, who can both run and pass.
For over forty years the NFL scoring record was held by a triple-threat man, Green Bay Packers Hall of Famer Paul Hornung
. Hornung set a record of 176 points in 1960 by scoring fifteen touchdowns, kicking forty-one extra points, and also kicking fifteen field goals. The record remained unbroken until 2006, when San Diego Chargers running back LaDainian Tomlinson
scored 186 points. Unlike Hornung, who scored points three different ways, Tomlinson's points all came from touchdowns scored as he set an NFL record with 28 rushing touchdowns and 31 total.
Saint Louis University
's Bradbury Robinson
, who threw the first legal forward pass
in football history in 1906, was undoubtedly the first "triple-threat man". He was the Blue and White's premier passer and sportswriters of the era reported that he "excelled" as a kicker and was an "electrifying" runner.
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
sportswriter Ed Wray (John Edward Wray, 1873–1961) covered SLU football throughout Robinson's career. In an October 1947 column, Wray declared that the title of "first triple-threat man" belonged to Robinson "because throughout the 1906 season (St. Louis coach Eddie Cochems
) used Robinson to pass, kick and run the ball... He was an A1 punter, too... And run!... This three way use of Robby added greatly to the team's offensive deception."
Referee H. B. Hackett of West Point was amazed by Robinson’s passing. Hackett officiated major college games for three decades and was a member of football's rules committee. The Minneapolis Star quoted Lt. Hackett as saying of Robinson: "Whew, that chap is a wonder! He beats anything I ever saw. He looks as though 40 yards is dead for him, and he's got accuracy with it."
Hall of Fame
coach David M. Nelson
(1920–1991) wrote that “St. Louis had a great passer in Brad Robinson.” In his book The Anatomy of a Game: Football, the Rules, and the Men Who Made the Game, Nelson marveled that Robinson threw a 67-yard pass in the 1906 season. “Considering the size, shape and weight of the ball”, Nelson concluded, such a pass was “extraordinary”.
Sports historian John Sayle Watterson agreed. In his book, College Football: History, Spectacle, Controversy, he described Robinson's long pass as "truly a breathtaking achievement". Professor Watterson added that, "Robinson ended up using passes that ranged from thirty to more than forty yards with devastating efficiency".
Robinson was also the Blue & White's principal kicker. One sports journalist of the time opined that, "of the local kickers, Robinson of St. Louis easily excels all others. He is good for at least 45 yards every time he puts his toe to the ball and some of his punts have gone 60 yards."
Robinson's prowess as a ballcarrier was particularly noted by a Columbia, Missouri
reporter after a November 11, 1904 victory over the University of Missouri
: "Robinson and (John) Kinney, the halfbacks of the visiting team were the fastest seen here in years and the Tigers seemed unable to stop them." Another writer at the game observed that Robinson's "offensive play was fast and in running back punts he gained much ground for his team, besides tackling well while on defensive." The St. Louis Globe-Democrat
added, "Robinson's return of punts electrified the spectators time and time again. He was always good for a gain of 20 yards or more."
Paul Veeder
completed a 20 to 30-yard pass in a 6-0 win over Harvard
. As an outstanding runner and Yale's kicking specialist during his career, Veeder may have assumed the mantle of "triple threat" that Saturday before a crowd of some 32,000 at New Haven
.
The development of a true triple-threat man among the Eastern powers awaited their adoption of the forward pass
as it had been pioneered at St. Louis. Knute Rockne
, who popularized the forward pass at Notre Dame
in the mid 1910s, observed, “One would have thought that so effective a play would have been instantly copied and become the vogue. The East, however, had not learned much or cared much about Midwest and Western football. Indeed, the East scarcely realized that football existed beyond the Alleghanies…”.
Coach Nelson writes that the concept really took hold in 1912 when Carlisle
coach Pop Warner
"sprang his single wing or 'Carlisle' formation on the football world, and the triple-threat back was born."
The term "triple threat" was used frequently by sportwriters in the 1920s and thereafter. A 1920 New York Times article reports that such a player
The term "triple-threat man" subsequently became popular as a way of describing any man with three conspicuous talents. For example:
, the expression triple threat can describe a performer who is talented at singing, acting, and dancing. Another example:
Gridiron football
Gridiron football , sometimes known as North American football, is an umbrella term for related codes of football primarily played in the United States and Canada. The predominant forms of gridiron football are American football and Canadian football...
, the phrase triple-threat man refers to a player who excels at all three of the skills of running, passing, and kicking. In modern usage, such a player would be referred to as a utility player
Utility player
In sport, a utility player is one who can play several positions competently, a sort of jack of all trades. Sports in which the term is often used include association football , baseball, rugby, rugby league, water polo and softball....
.
Triple-threat men were the norm in the early days of football, as substitution rules were stringent. Thus, in addition to the need for passing
Forward pass
In several forms of football a forward pass is when the ball is thrown in the direction that the offensive team is trying to move, towards the defensive team's goal line...
, running
Rush (American football)
Rushing has two different meanings in gridiron football .-Offense:The first is an action taken by the offensive team that means to advance the ball by running, as opposed to passing. A run is technically any play that does not involve a forward pass...
, and kicking
Kick (football)
Kicking is a method used by many types of football, including:* Association football* Australian rules football* International rules football* American football* Canadian football* Gaelic football* Rugby league* Rugby union...
skills, they were also required to play defense
One-platoon system
The one-platoon system, also known as iron man football, was a system in American football where players played on both offense and defense. It was the result of rules that limited player substitutions. The alternative system is known as the "two-platoon system", or simply the "platoon system",...
. As injury awareness grew and substitution rules loosened, teams shifted to kicking specialists
Placekicker
Placekicker, or simply kicker , is the title of the player in American and Canadian football who is responsible for the kicking duties of field goals, extra points...
, which made the triple-threat man obsolete. One of the last triple-threat men in professional football was George Blanda
George Blanda
George Frederick Blanda was a collegiate and professional football quarterback and placekicker...
, a quarterback
Quarterback
Quarterback is a position in American and Canadian football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive team and line up directly behind the offensive line...
and kicker who last played for the Oakland Raiders
Oakland Raiders
The Oakland Raiders are a professional American football team based in Oakland, California. They currently play in the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
of the National Football League
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
in 1975. Danny White
Danny White
Wilford Daniel "Danny" White is a former quarterback and punter for the Dallas Cowboys, an American football coach in the Arena Football League and also occasionally appears as an analyst on broadcasts of college football games. He was named the head coach of the Arena Football League expansion...
, a quarterback and punter, retired in 1989. Since then, non-specialists have placekicked only extremely infrequently in the NFL. One instance occurred when Doug Flutie
Doug Flutie
Douglas Richard "Doug" Flutie is a former American and Canadian football quarterback. Flutie played college football at Boston College, and played professionally in the National Football League, Canadian Football League, and United States Football League...
—also adept at both running and passing as a "scrambling" quarterback—drop kick
Drop kick
A drop kick is a type of kick in various codes of football. It involves a player dropping the ball and then kicking it when it bounces off the ground. It contrasts to a punt, wherein the player kicks the ball without letting it hit the ground first....
ed an extra point in 2006 during the last play of his career. Defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh
Ndamukong Suh
Ndamukong Suh is an American football defensive tackle for the Detroit Lions of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Lions 2nd overall in the 2010 NFL Draft. He played college football at Nebraska....
of the Detroit Lions
Detroit Lions
The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit, Michigan. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League , and play their home games at Ford Field in Downtown Detroit.Originally based in Portsmouth, Ohio and...
attempted an extra point
Extra Point
Extra Point is a twice-daily, two-minute segment on ESPN Radio that covers generic sports-related topical news and opinion. The AM edition airs Monday through Saturday at various times between 6 a.m. and 10 a.m. ET, and the PM edition airs Monday through Friday between 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. ET...
in 2010 in place of an injured kicker, but the ball hit the right upright. Wide receiver Chad Ochocinco then of the Cincinnati Bengals
Cincinnati Bengals
The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional football team based in Cincinnati, Ohio. They are members of the AFC's North Division in the National Football League . The Bengals began play in 1968 as an expansion team in the American Football League , and joined the NFL in 1970 in the AFL-NFL...
filled in at kicker during a 2009 preseason game for the injured Shayne Graham
Shayne Graham
Michael Shayne Graham is an American football placekicker. He was signed by the New Orleans Saints as an undrafted free agent in 2000, and most recently played with the New England Patriots...
. Danny White
Danny White
Wilford Daniel "Danny" White is a former quarterback and punter for the Dallas Cowboys, an American football coach in the Arena Football League and also occasionally appears as an analyst on broadcasts of college football games. He was named the head coach of the Arena Football League expansion...
of the Dallas Cowboys
Dallas Cowboys
The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football franchise which plays in the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference of the National Football League . They are headquartered in Valley Ranch in Irving, Texas, a suburb of Dallas...
was the last non-specialist to kick on a regular basis, as he served as the team's starting quarterback and punter from 1980 until 1984, after several years as backup to Roger Staubach
Roger Staubach
Roger Thomas Staubach is a businessman, Heisman Trophy winner and legendary Hall of Fame former quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys from 1969 until 1979. Staubach was instrumental in developing the Cowboys into becoming one of the best teams of the 1970s and led the team to nine of the Cowboys'...
. There are, however, still dual-threat quarterbacks and wildcat
Wildcat offense
|- style="text-align:center;"| || |- style="text-align:center;"| Base Wildcat || Speed Sweep|- style="text-align:center;"| || |- style="text-align:center;"| QB Counter || Split Zone|- style="text-align:center;"...
halfbacks, who can both run and pass.
For over forty years the NFL scoring record was held by a triple-threat man, Green Bay Packers Hall of Famer Paul Hornung
Paul Hornung
Paul Vernon Hornung is a retired Hall of Fame professional football player who played for the Green Bay Packers from 1957-66...
. Hornung set a record of 176 points in 1960 by scoring fifteen touchdowns, kicking forty-one extra points, and also kicking fifteen field goals. The record remained unbroken until 2006, when San Diego Chargers running back LaDainian Tomlinson
LaDainian Tomlinson
LaDainian Tramayne Tomlinson is an American football running back for the New York Jets of the National Football League. He was drafted by the San Diego Chargers fifth overall in the 2001 NFL Draft. He played college football at Texas Christian.Tomlinson, often referred to by his initials, L...
scored 186 points. Unlike Hornung, who scored points three different ways, Tomlinson's points all came from touchdowns scored as he set an NFL record with 28 rushing touchdowns and 31 total.
Football's first triple threat
Saint Louis Billikens
The Saint Louis Billikens are the collegiate athletic teams from Saint Louis University. This NCAA Division I program has teams in soccer, basketball, baseball, softball, volleyball, swimming and diving, cross country, tennis, track and field, and field hockey...
's Bradbury Robinson
Bradbury Robinson
Bradbury Norton Robinson, Jr. was a pioneering American football player, physician, and local politician. He played college football at the University of Wisconsin in 1903 and at Saint Louis University from 1904 to 1907. In 1904, though personal connections to Wisconsin governor Robert M. La...
, who threw the first legal forward pass
Forward pass
In several forms of football a forward pass is when the ball is thrown in the direction that the offensive team is trying to move, towards the defensive team's goal line...
in football history in 1906, was undoubtedly the first "triple-threat man". He was the Blue and White's premier passer and sportswriters of the era reported that he "excelled" as a kicker and was an "electrifying" runner.
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch is the major city-wide newspaper in St. Louis, Missouri. Although written to serve Greater St. Louis, the Post-Dispatch is one of the largest newspapers in the Midwestern United States, and is available and read as far west as Kansas City, Missouri, as far south as...
sportswriter Ed Wray (John Edward Wray, 1873–1961) covered SLU football throughout Robinson's career. In an October 1947 column, Wray declared that the title of "first triple-threat man" belonged to Robinson "because throughout the 1906 season (St. Louis coach Eddie Cochems
Eddie Cochems
Edward Bulwer "Eddie" Cochems was an American football player and coach. He played football for the University of Wisconsin from 1898 to 1901 and was the head football coach at North Dakota State , Clemson , Saint Louis University , and Maine . During his three years at St...
) used Robinson to pass, kick and run the ball... He was an A1 punter, too... And run!... This three way use of Robby added greatly to the team's offensive deception."
Referee H. B. Hackett of West Point was amazed by Robinson’s passing. Hackett officiated major college games for three decades and was a member of football's rules committee. The Minneapolis Star quoted Lt. Hackett as saying of Robinson: "Whew, that chap is a wonder! He beats anything I ever saw. He looks as though 40 yards is dead for him, and he's got accuracy with it."
Hall of Fame
College Football Hall of Fame
The College Football Hall of Fame is a hall of fame and museum devoted to college football. Located in South Bend, Indiana, it is connected to a convention center and situated in the city's renovated downtown district, two miles south of the University of Notre Dame campus. It is slated to move...
coach David M. Nelson
David M. Nelson
David Moir Nelson was an American football player, coach, college athletics administrator, author, and authority on college football playing rules...
(1920–1991) wrote that “St. Louis had a great passer in Brad Robinson.” In his book The Anatomy of a Game: Football, the Rules, and the Men Who Made the Game, Nelson marveled that Robinson threw a 67-yard pass in the 1906 season. “Considering the size, shape and weight of the ball”, Nelson concluded, such a pass was “extraordinary”.
Sports historian John Sayle Watterson agreed. In his book, College Football: History, Spectacle, Controversy, he described Robinson's long pass as "truly a breathtaking achievement". Professor Watterson added that, "Robinson ended up using passes that ranged from thirty to more than forty yards with devastating efficiency".
Robinson was also the Blue & White's principal kicker. One sports journalist of the time opined that, "of the local kickers, Robinson of St. Louis easily excels all others. He is good for at least 45 yards every time he puts his toe to the ball and some of his punts have gone 60 yards."
Robinson's prowess as a ballcarrier was particularly noted by a Columbia, Missouri
Columbia, Missouri
Columbia is the fifth-largest city in Missouri, and the largest city in Mid-Missouri. With a population of 108,500 as of the 2010 Census, it is the principal municipality of the Columbia Metropolitan Area, a region of 164,283 residents. The city serves as the county seat of Boone County and as the...
reporter after a November 11, 1904 victory over the University of Missouri
Missouri Tigers football
The Missouri Tigers football team represents the University of Missouri in NCAA Division I FBS college football. The team has competed in the North Division of the Big 12 Conference since the conference's inception in 1996...
: "Robinson and (John) Kinney, the halfbacks of the visiting team were the fastest seen here in years and the Tigers seemed unable to stop them." Another writer at the game observed that Robinson's "offensive play was fast and in running back punts he gained much ground for his team, besides tackling well while on defensive." The St. Louis Globe-Democrat
St. Louis Globe-Democrat
The St. Louis Globe-Democrat was originally a daily print newspaper based in St. Louis, Missouri from 1852 until 1986...
added, "Robinson's return of punts electrified the spectators time and time again. He was always good for a gain of 20 yards or more."
Triple threat in the East
On November 24, 1906, Yale'sYale Bulldogs
The Yale Bulldogs are the athletic teams of the Yale University. The school sponsors 35 varsity sports. The school has won two NCAA national championships in women's fencing, four in men's swimming and diving, and twenty one in men's golf.-Men's baseball:...
Paul Veeder
Paul Veeder
Paul L. Veeder was an All-American football player for Yale University. Veeder played halfback, fullback, quarterback and punter for the Yale Bulldogs from 1904–1906 and was selected as an All-American in 1906.-Biography:...
completed a 20 to 30-yard pass in a 6-0 win over Harvard
Harvard Crimson
The Harvard Crimson are the athletic teams of Harvard University. The school's teams compete in NCAA Division I. As of 2006, there were 41 Division I intercollegiate varsity sports teams for women and men at Harvard, more than at any other NCAA Division I college in the country...
. As an outstanding runner and Yale's kicking specialist during his career, Veeder may have assumed the mantle of "triple threat" that Saturday before a crowd of some 32,000 at New Haven
New Haven, Connecticut
New Haven is the second-largest city in Connecticut and the sixth-largest in New England. According to the 2010 Census, New Haven's population increased by 5.0% between 2000 and 2010, a rate higher than that of the State of Connecticut, and higher than that of the state's five largest cities, and...
.
The development of a true triple-threat man among the Eastern powers awaited their adoption of the forward pass
Forward pass
In several forms of football a forward pass is when the ball is thrown in the direction that the offensive team is trying to move, towards the defensive team's goal line...
as it had been pioneered at St. Louis. Knute Rockne
Knute Rockne
Knute Kenneth Rockne was an American football player and coach. He is regarded as one of the greatest coaches in college football history...
, who popularized the forward pass at Notre Dame
Notre Dame Fighting Irish football
Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team is the football team of the University of Notre Dame. The team is currently coached by Brian Kelly.Notre Dame competes as an Independent at the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision level, and is a founding member of the Bowl Championship Series coalition. It is an...
in the mid 1910s, observed, “One would have thought that so effective a play would have been instantly copied and become the vogue. The East, however, had not learned much or cared much about Midwest and Western football. Indeed, the East scarcely realized that football existed beyond the Alleghanies…”.
Coach Nelson writes that the concept really took hold in 1912 when Carlisle
Carlisle Indian Industrial School
Carlisle Indian Industrial School was an Indian boarding school in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1879 at Carlisle, Pennsylvania by Captain Richard Henry Pratt, the school was the first off-reservation boarding school, and it became a model for Indian boarding schools in other locations...
coach Pop Warner
Glenn Scobey Warner
Glenn Scobey Warner , most commonly known as Pop Warner, was an American football player and coach...
"sprang his single wing or 'Carlisle' formation on the football world, and the triple-threat back was born."
The term "triple threat" was used frequently by sportwriters in the 1920s and thereafter. A 1920 New York Times article reports that such a player
- is well built, tall, and possessed apparently of natural football ability. He is a first-class punter, an excellent drop kicker, an adept thrower of forward passes and a hard, fast runner. He would be the ideal triple-threat man for the backfield.
Other uses of the term
Another usage of the term occurs in basketball, where a triple threat describes a player with the ball is in a position near the three-point line from which he can launch three different offensives. The player may shoot from the current position, pass to another player closer to the basket, or drive the ball themselves to score a closer shot.The term "triple-threat man" subsequently became popular as a way of describing any man with three conspicuous talents. For example:
"Sail Away," the first of the new season's big musical, berths Tuesday night at the Broadhurst, there will be a program line you don't see often these days. It is the crediting of words, music, and direction to a single name. The name in this instance—and of course—is Noël Coward, a triple threat from 'way back."Triple threat" can also be used to describe anything that the phrase fits literally or metaphorically. In the performing arts
Performing arts
The performing arts are those forms art which differ from the plastic arts insofar as the former uses the artist's own body, face, and presence as a medium, and the latter uses materials such as clay, metal or paint which can be molded or transformed to create some physical art object...
, the expression triple threat can describe a performer who is talented at singing, acting, and dancing. Another example:
Islam is often portrayed as a triple threat: political, civilizational, and demographic.
See also
- Bradbury RobinsonBradbury RobinsonBradbury Norton Robinson, Jr. was a pioneering American football player, physician, and local politician. He played college football at the University of Wisconsin in 1903 and at Saint Louis University from 1904 to 1907. In 1904, though personal connections to Wisconsin governor Robert M. La...
- A Triple Threat ManThe Letter of the Law"The Letter of the Law" is a short story by P. G. Wodehouse, which first appeared in the United States in the February 1936 edition of Redbook, and in the United Kingdom in the April 1936 issue of the Strand. It was included in the UK collection Lord Emsworth and Others , and in the U.S. edition of...
(story by P. G. WodehouseP. G. WodehouseSir Pelham Grenville Wodehouse, KBE was an English humorist, whose body of work includes novels, short stories, plays, poems, song lyrics, and numerous pieces of journalism. He enjoyed enormous popular success during a career that lasted more than seventy years and his many writings continue to be...
) - Vic JanowiczVic JanowiczVictor Felix "Vic" Janowicz was an American football halfback in the National Football League for the Washington Redskins. He played college football at Ohio State University and was drafted in the seventh round of the 1952 NFL Draft...
- Chic HarleyChic HarleyCharles William "Chic" Harley was one of the outstanding American football players of the first half of the 20th century and the player who first brought the Ohio State University football program to national attention. Harley was Ohio State's first consensus first-team All-America selection and...
Sources
- Saint Louis UniversitySaint Louis UniversitySaint Louis University is a private, co-educational Jesuit university located in St. Louis, Missouri, United States. Founded in 1818 by the Most Reverend Louis Guillaume Valentin Dubourg SLU is the oldest university west of the Mississippi River. It is one of 28 member institutions of the...
archives - Memoirs and scrapbook of Bradbury Robinson, 1903–1949