Put men in uniforms. Give them a helmet and they all start speaking alike. At least that’s what all of
our football sources claimed. Pat Harmon, historian at the College
Football
hall of fame, was typical when he said:
“In Army drills, the drill
sergeant counts off: “Hut 2-3-4.” He repeats “hut 2-3-4” until the men get in
right. Football language has copied the drill sergeant. You will have to
believe the football authorities, since no evidence exists. The “hut” barked by
quarterbacks has anything do with little thatched houses.
In fact, “hut” wasn’t always used as the signal. Joe Horrigan, of the Pro
Football hall of Fame, says
he has a photocopy of a section of the 1921 Spalding’s How to play Football
manual that indicates that perhaps we aren’t as hip as our forbears: When shift
formations are tried, the quarter-back
should give his signal when the men are in the original places. Then after
calling the signal (he) can use the word “hip” for the first shift and then
repeat for the players to take up their new positions on the line of scrimmage.
Our guess is that the only important virtue of “hut” is that it
contains only one syllable.
Submitted by Paul Ruggiero of Blacksburg, Virginia