Unintended Consequences of the Fair Catch Signal
As football transitioned from rugby, it brought along rugby’s rules and traditions, including rugby’s fair catch, in which players signaled the fair catch by \"heeling in\" as they made the catch. Heeling in occurred when players struck the ground with the heel of their foot, creating a divot to mark the spot. Since heeling in occurred simultaneously with or just after the catch, the kicking team players covering the punt could not tackle the returner until they saw whether or not he heeled — www.footballarchaeology.com
The fair catch signal was derived from rugby and Football Archaeology dives into the history of this signal
