Helping the runner

An early use of the penalty was in 1904, when The Philadelphia Inquirer wrote, "On the offense the team has made wonderful improvement, especially in helping the runner.

In the Columbia game it was seldom that the man with the ball was not pushed or pulled for an extra yard or so.

"[3][4] In 1958, Dick Becker of the Lincoln Journal Star wrote, "Colorado was assessed 15 yards late in the game for "helping the runner."

In 2005, the National Football League made the penalty only for pulling and carrying, removing the flag in cases of pushing.

[6] The last time helping the runner was called at the professional level was in 1991, when Kansas City Chiefs center Tim Grunhard pulled wide receiver Robb Thomas in the divisional round of the playoffs.