Forty years ago, Heisman Trophy winner Doug Flutie rolled to his right and threw a pass that has become one of college football’s most iconic moments.
With Boston College trailing defending champion Miami, Flutie threw the Hail Mary and found receiver Gerard Phalen, who made the grab while falling into the end zone behind a pair of defenders for a game-winning 48-yard TD.
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Flutie and many of his 1984 teammates were honored on the field during BC’s game against North Carolina before the second quarter on Saturday afternoon, the anniversary of the Eagles’ Miracle in Miami.
“There’s no way its been 40 years,” Flutie told The Associated Press on the sideline a few minutes before he walked out with some of his former teammates to be recognized after a video of The Play was shown on the scoreboards.
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It’s a moment and highlight that’s not only played throughout decades of BC students and fans, but around the college football world.
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“What is really so humbling is that the kids 40 years later are wearing 22 jerseys, still,” Flutie said of his old number. “That amazes me.”
That game was played on national TV the Friday after Thanksgiving. The ironic thing is it was originally scheduled for earlier in the season before CBS paid Rutgers to move its game against Miami, thus setting up the BC-Miami post-holiday matchup.
“It shows you how random some things are, that the game was moved,” Flutie said. “The game got moved to the Friday after Thanksgiving, which was the most watched game of the year. We both end up being nationally ranked and up there. All those things lent to how big the game itself was, and made the pass and the catch that much more relevant and remembered because so many people were watching.”
There’s a statue of Flutie winding up to make The Pass outside the north gates at Alumni Stadium. Fans and visitors can often be seen taking photos there.
“In casual conversation, it comes up every day,” Flutie said, when asked how many times people bring it up. “It brings a smile to my face every time we talk about it.”
A week after the game-ending Flutie pass, the Eagles beat Holy Cross and before he flew off to New York to accept the Heisman. They went on to win the 49th Cotton Bowl on New Year’s Day.
“Forty years seem almost like incomprehensible,” said Phalen, also standing on the sideline a few minutes after the game started. “I always say to Doug: ‘Thank God for social media. It’s kept it alive for us.”’
Earlier this week, current BC coach Bill O’Brien, 55, was asked if he remembered where he was 40 years ago.
“We were eating Thanksgiving leftovers in my family room,” he said. “My mom was saying a Rosary in the kitchen because she didn’t like Miami and wanted BC to win. My dad, my brother and I were watching the game.
“It was unbelievable,” he said. “Everybody remembers where they were for the Hail Mary, Flutie pass.”
