# Obscure sports rules? Have any? **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [February 3, 2009, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obscure-sports-rules-have-any/484214 "2009-02-03T03:44:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Outpits](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/4bbf92/32.png) [@Outpits](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Outpits)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2009, 12:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obscure-sports-rules-have-any/484214/21 "2009-02-03T12:10:24Z")
> [@Ponch8](#): > > Let me take a crack… > > 1. Batter grounds into double play, scoring the runner > 2. Runner scores on wild pitch > 3. Runner scores on passed ball (closely related to #2) > 4. Batter puts ball in play, runner scores on error (this assumes the runner wouldn’t have scored without the error) > 5. I’m not sure…would an RBI be rewarded for catcher’s interference with bases loaded? How about stealing home? Similar to #1 you could score on a triple play (of course, the third out must not be a force out) ---
**Author:** ![Malacandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Malacandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malacandra)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2009, 12:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obscure-sports-rules-have-any/484214/22 "2009-02-03T12:40:33Z")
> [@FrWindyShephardHenderson](#): > > My wag is that its a holdover from the days when football and rugby were the same sport. In rugby if a player catches a ball on the full (without a bounce) inside his 22 he can yell mark and gets a free kick. While the rule is no longer there, you used to be able to take a kick at goal after this mark (I assume you could also call mark anywhere on the pitch and not just in the 22). This was known as a Goal from a Mark, but was dropped from the rules a few decades ago. Back in the early days of the 20th century when rugby, football and soccer were pretty much all the one sport this was a fairly important method of scoring. Maybe it was never fully written out of the rules of American Football. Yes. As stated, the modern mark can be made only in the 22, but the non-kicking team must retire 10 yards before the kick can be taken, and even if in some bizarre circumstance you were able to kick a goal from this range, it wouldn’t count. Formerly, the mark could be made anywhere on the field but the defending team didn’t have to retire - they could come up to the mark before the kick was taken, so usually the kicker retired several yards to give himself room to kick. Once upon a time, for free kick and conversion kick alike the defending side could charge the kick from the moment the ball was put on the ground, so the placer held the ball off the ground until the kicker was well into his run-up. Later, the rule changed so that the charge was not begun until the run-up commenced, placer notwithstanding. For a goal from a mark, a drop-kick was usually used as there’s no run-up needed with this technique, or at any rate very little of one; a place-kick from a mark would need too much take-back to stand a chance of being completed without being charged down. I saw one scored on TV in the early 70s, but they were rare by then. When the law changed to “anywhere in your own half, and a free 10 yards” a goal could no longer be kicked, as it cannot from the “free kick” (as distinct from the “penalty kick”). This was ~1975; it changed again in the 1980s to its present form. In cricket, a batsman can be out “stumped” from a Wide. Not many people know this, or care. And if a batsman intentionally prevents the fielding side from playing the ball, he is out “Obstructed the field”, except that if the non-striker prevents a catch from being taken, the _striker_ is out. (This prevents a “rabbit” from intentionally sacrificing his own wicket to prevent the good batsman at the other end from being caught.) Same comment. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2009, 1:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obscure-sports-rules-have-any/484214/23 "2009-02-03T13:07:51Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > In baseball, if an infielder drops a line drive on purpose to try to turn a double play instead, the umpire must call the play dead and call the batter out as if the line drive had been caught. That would be news to me. Here’s the definition of Infield Fly, which specifically excludes line drives. > [@](#): > > An INFIELD FLY is a fair fly ball (not including a line drive nor an attempted bunt) which can be caught by an infielder with ordinary effort, when first and second, or first, second and third bases are occupied, before two are out. ---
**Author:** ![fachverwirrt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/94ad74/32.png) [@fachverwirrt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fachverwirrt)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2009, 1:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obscure-sports-rules-have-any/484214/24 "2009-02-03T13:37:29Z")
> [@BobLibDem](#): > > That would be news to me. Here’s the definition of Infield Fly, which specifically excludes line drives. It’s not an infield fly (as I pointed out in post 11). > [@Rule 6.05(L):](#): > > A batter is out when… an infielder intentionally drops a fair fly ball or line drive, with first, first and second, first and third, or first, second and third occupied before two are out. The ball is dead and runner or runners shall return to their original base or bases; > > Approved ruling: In this situation, the batter is not out if the infielder permits the ball to drop untouched to the ground, except when the infield fly rule applies. See [here](http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/downloads/y2008/official_rules//06_the_batter.pdf) (PDF), page five. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2009, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obscure-sports-rules-have-any/484214/25 "2009-02-03T13:57:20Z")
By George, you’re right! Now I wonder why line drives are excluded from the definition of infield fly. ---
**Author:** ![Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a587f6/32.png) [@Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freddy_the_Pig)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2009, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obscure-sports-rules-have-any/484214/26 "2009-02-03T14:35:39Z")
> [@FrWindyShephardHenderson](#): > > My wag is that its a holdover from the days when football and rugby were the same sport. In rugby if a player catches a ball on the full (without a bounce) inside his 22 he can yell mark and gets a free kick. While the rule is no longer there, you used to be able to take a kick at goal after this mark (I assume you could also call mark anywhere on the pitch and not just in the 22). This was known as a Goal from a Mark, but was dropped from the rules a few decades ago. Back in the early days of the 20th century when rugby, football and soccer were pretty much all the one sport this was a fairly important method of scoring. Maybe it was never fully written out of the rules of American Football. Your WAG is correct. The original purpose of the “fair catch” in American football was to set up a free kick, which could be used either to score a field goal or to gain field position. The modern function of the fair catch is completely different–it’s to avoid getting clobbered by the punt coverage team–and in 99.9+ % of cases the receiving team takes possession with a scrimmage play, which in modern football is more advantageous. But they still have the option for a free kick, and use it sometimes at the end of a half. The rule was written out of college football in 1951, but lingers on in the NFL. ---
**Author:** ![Quercus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/7ab992/32.png) [@Quercus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quercus)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2009, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obscure-sports-rules-have-any/484214/27 "2009-02-03T15:37:56Z")
> [@Busy\_Scissors](#): > > If you’ve played football (soccer) you’ll know that there is contant shouting between players as they communicate what to do with the ball. Shouting ‘mine’, ‘I have it’ etc. is against the rules - you must personalise such declarations, ie ‘Mike’s’ or ‘John’s ball’. > > I’ve not ever seen this cautioned in a professional game, mind. Against which rule, specifically? Because I’ve never heard of this, and didn’t see anything about it when I just went through the Rules of the Game. A referee might call a foul if they felt that a player was deliberately attempting to mislead an opponent by pretending to be on the opponent’s team (and most people would accept the foul call, assuming it was blatant enough), but, unless there was a special (youth) league-specific rule, I can’t imagine awarding a foul just for yelling ‘Mine!’ when the player was trying to communicate to his teammates. ---
**Author:** ![Duke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e8c25b/32.png) [@Duke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duke)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2009, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obscure-sports-rules-have-any/484214/28 "2009-02-03T16:24:25Z")
Under the Laws of Cricket, it’s possible for a side to win without batting. [Laws 42.10, 42.14, and 42.16](http://www.lords.org/laws-and-spirit/laws-of-cricket/laws/law-42-fair-and-unfair-play,68,AR.html) state that if a batsman repeatedly wastes time (42.10), damages the pitch (42.14), or tries to steal a run (42.16), the fielding side can be awarded 5 runs. Therefore it’s possible for an inept and chippy team to bat first and finish their innings with fewer runs than the fielding side…which would automatically end the match, as the team batting second wouldn’t have to score any runs to pass “Inept and Chippy XI’s” total. ---
**Author:** ![Max\_Torque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Max\_Torque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_Torque)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2009, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obscure-sports-rules-have-any/484214/29 "2009-02-03T16:51:33Z")
Here’s one oddball from American football, although it may have changed since I first heard of it: During the final two minutes of a half, if a player fumbles the ball into the opposing team’s end zone, only that player may recover it for his team. If another player from the fumbler’s team recovers the ball in the end zone, the ball is spotted at the one yard line. ---
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2009, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obscure-sports-rules-have-any/484214/30 "2009-02-03T16:56:12Z")
> [@](#): > > **NHL Rule 78.5** > **Disallowed Goals** – Apparent goals shall be disallowed by the > Referee and the appropriate announcement made by the Public > Address Announcer for the following reasons: > … > _(viii) When a Linesman reports a double-minor penalty for high-sticking, a > major penalty or a match penalty to the Referee following the scoring > of a goal by the offending team, the goal must be disallowed and the > appropriate penalty assessed._ In the San Jose Sharks’ loss to the Blackhawks, Jonathan Cheechoo got nailed with a stick a minute or two before the Blackhawks scored, but the refs missed it. It’s one of the few penalties a Linesman can report after a goal that will disallow the goal. Not even the broadcasters had seen it before, and no announcement was made to the crowd about what was happening. They had to bring Cheechoo out from the locker room for proof of blood (no blood=single minor penalty). ---
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2009, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obscure-sports-rules-have-any/484214/31 "2009-02-03T17:01:04Z")
> [@Max\_Torque](#): > > Here’s one oddball from American football, although it may have changed since I first heard of it: > > During the final two minutes of a half, if a player fumbles the ball into the opposing team’s end zone, only that player may recover it for his team. If another player from the fumbler’s team recovers the ball in the end zone, the ball is spotted at the one yard line. Not too obscure to me. That’s part of a wider rule that only the fumbling player can advance a fumbled ball in those final two minutes. It’s a response to the [Fumblerooski](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fumblerooski) and the [Holy Roller](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holy_Roller_(American_football)) plays. In the open field, the ball will be brought back to where it was fumbled if advanced by a teammate. ---
**Author:** ![Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a587f6/32.png) [@Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freddy_the_Pig)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2009, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obscure-sports-rules-have-any/484214/32 "2009-02-03T17:14:19Z")
A batted ball which strikes the umpire beyond the infielders remains in play. A batted ball which strikes the umpire within the infield–in a four-umpire game, this typically occurs only when the second-base umpire assumes an interior position to call a possible steal at second base–is an automatic single. Very few people know this. ---
**Author:** ![neutron\_star](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/51bf81/32.png) [@neutron\_star](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/neutron_star)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2009, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obscure-sports-rules-have-any/484214/33 "2009-02-03T17:47:47Z")
> [@garygnu](#): > > [Fumblerooski](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fumblerooski) Oh wow, thanks. I saw a high school team run that play (and fail) when I was a kid back in the '80s, and I always wondered what the hell they’d been trying to pull off. ---
**Author:** ![Busy\_Scissors](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/d78d45/32.png) [@Busy\_Scissors](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Busy_Scissors)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2009, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obscure-sports-rules-have-any/484214/34 "2009-02-03T18:16:21Z")
> [@Quercus](#): > > Against which rule, specifically? Because I’ve never heard of this, and didn’t see anything about it when I just went through the Rules of the Game. > > A referee might call a foul if they felt that a player was deliberately attempting to mislead an opponent by pretending to be on the opponent’s team (and most people would accept the foul call, assuming it was blatant enough), but, unless there was a special (youth) league-specific rule, I can’t imagine awarding a foul just for yelling ‘Mine!’ when the player was trying to communicate to his teammates. It just comes under unsportsmanlike conduct. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2009, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obscure-sports-rules-have-any/484214/35 "2009-02-03T18:20:15Z")
AKA the “Dave Casper Rule”. ---
**Author:** ![HubZilla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ccd318/32.png) [@HubZilla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HubZilla)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2009, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obscure-sports-rules-have-any/484214/36 "2009-02-03T18:58:40Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > In American football, in addition to the two-point safety, there is a one point conversion safety. In the NFL, the conversion safety can only be scored by the offense, but in college football, it’s possible for the defensive team to score a one-point safety, thereby making scores like 6-1, 13-1, etc achievable. Would this happen if the defense recovered a fumble in the opponents’ endzone, tried to run it out, but got tackled in the endzone? Or would it still be considered a touchback? ---
**Author:** ![Huerta88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/82dd89/32.png) [@Huerta88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Huerta88)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2009, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obscure-sports-rules-have-any/484214/37 "2009-02-03T19:09:28Z")
> [@HubZilla](#): > > Would this happen if the defense recovered a fumble in the opponents’ endzone, tried to run it out, but got tackled in the endzone? > > Or would it still be considered a touchback? It depends on how much they mess around. If the guy falls on it and is then tackled, or his momentum carries him out of the endzone, it’s a touchback. If he’s zigging and zagging around the endzone for a significant amount of time after recovering the fumble, but then gets tackled, I would think safety. ---
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2009, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obscure-sports-rules-have-any/484214/38 "2009-02-03T19:15:56Z")
Nope, no safety if he never crossed the goal line. If he exits the end zone, then retreats back in and gets tackled, that’s a safety. ---
**Author:** ![Bearflag70](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Bearflag70](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bearflag70)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2009, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obscure-sports-rules-have-any/484214/39 "2009-02-03T19:19:35Z")
In the NFL, if a kickoff goes out of bounds, it is a penalty on the kicking team resulting in pretty good field position for the receiving team. If the kickoff goes near the sideline without going out of bounds, the receiving player can put one foot out of bounds and grab the ball in the field of play. This is deemed a kickoff out of bounds penalty even though the ball itself never went out of bounds. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2009, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obscure-sports-rules-have-any/484214/40 "2009-02-03T19:21:19Z")
In high school basketball, (and perhaps college, too) no player can have a number displayed on his uniform with a digit larger than five (and it has to be one or two digits). The reason being that referees signal which player they are calling the foul on by indicating the number with their fingers (e.g., if 22 fouled, the ref would hold up two fingers on each hand to signal the scorer). Normally in horse racing, if a horse is withdrawn at the last minute, you get your money back. However, there is one instance where you can win money even though your horse doesn’t run. It’s called a “Consolation Double.” Basically, it applies to the Daily Double (the winners of two races in a row, usually the first and second). You place your bet before the first race. If your horse wins the first race, and your horse in the second race is scratched after the first race is official, then you get a small payout – not as much as if you won both races, but more than just a refund of your ticket. I think there are similar payoffs other multiple race parlay bets. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obscure-sports-rules-have-any/484214.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obscure-sports-rules-have-any/484214.md?page=3)