What year was the 'in the grasp' rule put into use?

Answer 1

I remember this back in Week 6 of the 1983 season, in a game between the Eagles and Giants at Giants Stadium. The Eagles led 17-13 late in the game. On fourth down, Giants quarterback Scott Brunner broke loose from an Eagle defender and ran for a first down. But then the announcers stated that it was whistled dead because of a new rule, and it was ruled a sack.

The new rule was that the referee can blow the whistle if the quarterback is in the grasp of the defender, to "protect the quarterback." Understandably, Scott Brunner was livid about it. This ended all hope for the Giants in the game, and sent the Giants on a tailspin that would make them 3-12-1 in Bill Parcells' first season. As I wanted the Giants to win that game, it can be said that this horrible rule sneaked up on me.

So the rule was introduced in 1983, and it became perhaps the worst rule in all of professional sports. It did not make the quarterbacks any safer, and the quarterbacks were the ones that hated it the most. It would often be called when the defender merely grabbed the quarterback's ankle. I believe that this rule was altered in 1991, after repeated complaints in Football Digest about it.

I find it interesting to note that Joe Theismann's career-ending injury happened when this rule was in effect.