The date was December 28th, 1975. The location: Metropolitan Stadium in Bloomington, Minnesota.
Trailing the Minnesota Vikings by a 14-10 score with 32 seconds left in a divisional playoff game, Dallas Cowboys quarterback Roger Staubach reached back and lofted a bomb to wideout Drew Pearson, who, despite tight coverage, hauled the ball in at the 4-yard line and scampered into the end zone for what proved to be the deciding touchdown.
After the game, Staubach was asked about the play.
“I closed my eyes,” he remarked, “and said a Hail Mary.”
The rest, one could say, is history.