The First NFL Spike, AFL Spike and NFL Non-Spike

 By John Turney 

Does a spike count if it is not a celebration but a demonstration of frustration?

On November 16, 1960, Leon Clarke almost caught a game-winning pass but it was ruled incomplete and he spiked the ball to the ground. He'd beaten double coverage from a Steeler and a kid in the end zone.

Still, there is no TD so is it a spike?

Homer Jones has often been credited as being the first NFL player to spike a football. This is the play that gets cited—

However, the year before Jones' first spike in an NFL game (as far as we know) a few AFL players spiked the football—Hewritt Dixon, Paul Lowe and Al Denson. 

Hall of Fame voter Frank Cooney and perhaps others have mentioned Dixon as being the first to do it rather than Homer Jones but he didn't specifically mention Lowe and Denson. 

Here are clips of spikes from the three AFLers—

Hewitt Dixon with two powerful spikes in 1964

Also in 1964, Paul Lowe with a pair of documented spikes after touchdowns

Al Denson with a spike after a long TD reception, 1964

It seems that AFL guys are not getting their due when it comes to the spike. The evidence is they got there first. 

Of course, this is based on current evidence. Did a player from the 1930s, 40s or 50s slam te ball down after a touchdown and it wasn't documented? It's possible.

Did someone in the AFL do it before the three guys we've mentioned? Also possible. We'll keep an eye out for earlier examples but these are the earliest we've noticed so far.