Biggest Rule Changes In Sports History
This 2023 season, Major League Baseball will look to implement a pitch clock, a pickoff limit, defensive shift restrictions and bigger bases. With MLB spring training around the corner, and four major rule changes ready to be applied this season- let’s take a look at some of the biggest rule changes in sports history.
In this piece we will look at a few different rules that have changed the course of their respective sports forever; as for whether they’re good or bad, we’ll let you be the judge. We’ll look at:
Our first “biggest rule change” in sports history keeps us talking baseball- the designated hitter. Let’s face it, we’ve all played with those pitchers who rake, although they are few and far between- it does happen. Unfortunately for them, sometime in the early 1900’s teams were sick of their pitchers costing their team games due to a lack of skill in the box.
To make a long story short, although he wasn’t the first to do so- in 1906 Connie Mack proposed the DH idea but it was struck down by a majority of the league. Eventually, in the late 1960’s after consecutive years of elite pitching dominance the DH position started to sound like a better idea. In 1973, Ron Blomberg of the New York Yankees became the first DH in MLB history- he was walked on five pitches
With the DH being an AL specific rule, it wasn’t until 1997 that a National League player made an appearance in the DH role during a regular season game. In 1997, San Francisco Giants outfielder Glenallen Hill became the first NL player to take on the DH position- this came in an Interleague game against the Texas Rangers. Because the Interleague DH rule only applies when the AL team is the home team, we know that game was being played at The Ballpark in Arlington.
Another one of the “biggest rule changes” in sports history is the basketball shot clock.
In 1954 the NBA introduced the shot clock with the hopes to drive fan interest. The NBA believed that a shot clock would:
Fans were getting bored, and the game was attracting poor media coverage. In 1950 the Fort Wayne Pistons defeated the Minneapolis Lakers by a score of 19-18, including a 3-1 fourth quarter. The St. Paul Dispatch wrote, "The Pistons gave pro basketball a great black eye." If you’d like to read more about that game, check out this article
here.
The NBA tried many rule changes throughout the early 1950’s to speed up the game before they eventually implemented the shot clock. In 1954, Syracuse Nationals owner Danny Biasone and their GM Leo Ferris played around with a 24-second shot clock during a scrimmage. Jack Andrews, a basketball writer for The Syracuse Post-Standard said Ferris would scribble potential shot clock formulas onto napkins while they sat at Biasone’s bowling alley. According to Biasone, "I looked at the box scores from the games I enjoyed, games where they didn't screw around and stall. I noticed each team took about 60 shots. That meant 120 shots per game. So I took 2,880 seconds and divided that by 120 shots. The result was 24 seconds per shot."
Biasone and Ferris convinced the NBA to adopt the shot clock for the ‘54-55 season-the Syracuse Nationals won the championship.
This next rule change we’ll talk about in our “biggest rule changes” in sports history discussion; is the forward pass.
The forward pass in American Football is a staple! It’s crazy to think about a time when football was being played and the quarterback wasn’t allowed to throw the ball. Imagine if Tom Brady had never been allowed to throw the football, he’d just be a skinny lineman! What would football look like without the immaculate reception, without Randy Moss, without OBJ making one-handed grabs, without David Tyree making one of the most insane catches in Super Bowl history, heck, without 90% of all playbooks in football. The forward pass was crucial for the game's survival… literally.
In 1904, 18 players consisting mostly of prep school players died playing football; another 19 died in 1905 and you saw universities like Northwestern and Stanford get rid of their football programs. President Theodore Roosevelt warned that football could become outlawed if the game was not made safer, this led to the legalization of the forward pass following the 1905 season.
In 1951 we saw another forward pass rule change. It was established that no center, tackle or guard could receive a forward pass, unless that player announced his intent to the referee beforehand.
Ha! Just imaging Brady running a half-back sweep.
Once again, it’s wild to think about basketball without the 3-point line. What would Steph Curry be today without the three ball?
The American Basketball League instituted the 3-point line in 1961, however the league didn’t even last two whole seasons so we lost the arc pretty fast. Prior to that, it had been tested in collegiate games but never solidified as a rule.
The American Basketball Association helped popularize the 3-point line, using that and the slam dunk to try to compete with the NBA. In 1979, three years after the ABA closed its doors- the NBA decided it would adopt the three pointer for the ‘79-80 season. Chris Ford of the Boston Celtics is credited for making the first three-ball in NBA history. FIBA introduced the arc in 1984, and by 1988 we saw the 3-point line make its olympic debut.
Man-Oh-Man. Replay. A seemingly touchy, love-hate relationship for most sports fans. When watching a football game do you ever find yourself yelling “SNAP IT! SNAP IT!” at your TV? Solely because you don’t want it to get reviewed, we’ve all been there. It can be your best friend, or your worst nightmare.
Generally, each sport has its own quirks when it comes to replay; differing on when it can be used or what type of plays can be reviewed. In most sports, if there is not conclusive video evidence to overturn the original call, then the call will stand.
As a fan of sports, it’s awesome when replay works quickly and smoothly, but when we’re seeing constant stops in action many of us would rather just get on with the game.
The NBA first used replay during game four of the 2002 Western Conference Finals. Samaki Walker drained a half court shot as time expired in the 2nd quarter. After review it was determined the ball was still in his hand at 0.0, the NBA officially instituted replay afterward. Check out this NYT article
here, to learn more about the NBA implementing replay.
In the MLB, replay review has been implemented to assist in calls regarding a plethora of situations. “Boundary calls” regarding fair or foul home runs, foul balls, balls clearing the wall on home runs, balls staying in play and players or balls interfered with by spectators. The MLB can also review force/tag plays and catch/trap calls.
In Tennis, systems like Hawk-Eye can calculate the trajectory of the ball using different cameras set up around the court. A computer rendering of the questioned call can be used to determine whether or not a ball was in or out. In 2008, a unified rule change gave players three unsuccessful challenges per set, and a fourth during a tie break.
Whatever your opinion is on replay review, it's certainly changed sporting events forever.
From the DH in baseball, the shot clock and 3-point line in basketball, the forward pass in American football and the use of replay review in most major sports, all of these rules have had a major impact on how the sport is played today.
Rules get introduced for different reasons- safety and fan entertainment seemingly at the top of that list. There are numerous other rules that have had tremendous impacts on the way sports are played, many good-some bad.
Do you think we’ve hit a plateau in sports, where there aren’t many more rules that can be added? Or do you feel there’s always some fine tuning to be done?
Let us know in the comments below!