In November of 2007, Dawson lined up for the game tying 51-yard kick against the Baltimore Ravens. The NFL then added another 10 feet to the top of the uprights to extend to 20 feet.
The Colts argued that the ball did not align inside the vertical lines of the extension of the uprights, but to no avail. The 1965 Western Division playoff between the Baltimore Colts and Green Bay Packers saw s last-second kick by the Packers Don Chandler sail over the top of the upright for a good field goal. That rule was later changed to any pass that strikes the crossbar or uprights is an incomplete pass. Washington would lose to the Rams by one point. Washington QB Sammy Baugh dropped back in his own end zone and passed left which hit the upright. The 1945 NFL Championship Game between the Washington Redskins and the Cleveland Rams was played in bitter cold conditions. Another goal post company, AAE Sports, offers an NFL-style sling-shot goal post with 35 foot uprights for $16,950.Īt the same time, Rottman and former football coach Jim Trimble invented the four-inch wind ribbons on top of the uprights which were installed on each sling-shot goal post.Ī pass which hit either the crossbar or uprights had different rulings over time. The league loved his idea and on opening day of 1967, all 16 NFL clubs had the bright yellow sling-shot goal posts ready for play.Īt the end of 1971, the sling-shot goal post had been installed in 600 college stadiums for $1,775 each. Rottman then airbrushed in the extra 10 feet for Rozelle to provide to the owners. But the design photo Rottman had brought showed the standard 10 foot uprights and Rozelle wanted to see a much taller version at 20 feet. When he approached then-NFL commissioner Pete Rozelle, he told Rottman that the league had wanted to address changing the goal posts in some fashion and the idea had been in committee for three years. The University of Miami bought a set and had them installed on Octoin the Orange Bowl in Miami, Florida. He then set up the display at the Worlds Fair in Montreal. He contacted a company called ALCAN to build a display out of aluminum. Plus, the single post allowed one less obstacle on the field and would be safer for players, and also less interfering with the play. This bend would allow the single post to be six feet inside the end zone instead of on the goal line.
Rottman then designed a center curved stanchion similar to antique street lamp posts he had seen. It was then that he realized that if you took out the middle two prongs, it would make an improved goal post.
At one point he was not involved in the conversion about football of his two guests and began staring at his fork. He was having lunch at the Queen Elizabeth Hotel in Montreal, Canada. Joel Rottman was a magazine and newspaper distributor. Since this game’s infancy, there have been changes made to the structure which has made the game safer. The origins of the goal post for American Football came directly from rugby to which the new game liked the idea and “borrowed” not only the concept but the actual design of the structure in its origins. Shooting straight into the sky with at vibrant yellow color, when you drive by any playground or stadium, once you see the goal posts, you instantly know it is a football field. One of the most iconic symbols of an American Football field are the goal posts.