Eugene "Stoney" Willis (June 17, 1912 – March 24, 1994) was an American football quarterback and is the first documented player to use the

shovel pass A shovel is a tool used for digging, lifting, and moving bulk materials, such as soil, coal, gravel, snow, sand, or ore. Most shovels are hand tools consisting of a broad blade fixed to a medium-length handle. Shovel blades are usually made ...

in a competitive football game. As quarterback for Western Maryland College, Willis used the play in a game against

Boston College Boston College (BC) is a private Jesuit research university in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. Founded in 1863, the university has more than 9,300 full-time undergraduates and nearly 5,000 graduate students. Although Boston College is classifie ...

to tie the game. The play was featured in a large photograph appearing in '' The Boston Herald'' on November 12, 1932. As noted by team captain,

Hal Kopp Harold W. Kopp (January 19, 1909 – May 10, 1998) was an American football coach. He served as the head football coach at the University of Rhode Island, Brigham Young University (BYU), and Bentley University, compiling a career college footbal ...

(Class of 1933) this article proved that the Western Maryland College quarterback "was the first to use the famed shovel pass in its present form." ''The Boston Herald'' article noted, "Just as

Flavio Tosi Flavio Tosi (born 18 June 1969) is an Italian politician who served as the mayor of Verona from 2007 to 2017. He has been a long-time member of Liga Veneta–Lega Nord. Political career Having joined Liga Veneta (LV) in 1991, Tosi was elected ...

appeared to have Willis in his grasp, tall Gene popped the shovel pass to Dunn and Jimmy was off again."

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Willis, Stoney 1994 deaths 1912 births American football quarterbacks McDaniel Green Terror football players People from Big Stone Gap, Virginia Players of American football from Virginia