Most avid football fans are slightly familiar with the formations used and one of the most popular and exciting is the Shotgun formation.  Today, every football team has a version, or several versions, of the Shotgun formation in their playbook, but before 1960, it did not exist.

On this day, November 27th, in 1960, the Shotgun formation was introduced for the first time. Red Hickey is credited with bringing the formation to the NFL while coaching for the San Francisco 49ers.  The formation places the quarterback farther behind the center, allowing more time for passing plays to develop.  San Francisco quarterback John Brodie became the first Shotgun quarterback.

The Shotgun formation became more popular in the 1960s and 1970s when the Jets adopted the formation for Joe Namath of the Jets and Roger Staubach of the Cowboys.