A Short History of Onside Kicks

The original flying wedge debuted in 1892. A previous article described the play and its demise when an 1894 rule required the kickoff to travel 10 yards before the kicking team could recover the ball. That rule led most kicking teams to boot the ball as far downfield as possible, hoping to tackle the return man inside the 30-yard line. — www.footballarchaeology.com
The origins and the early history of onsode kicks is uncovered in this Football Archaeology piece by Timothy P. Brown.
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