1-1-6

[prab]

Has anyone ever actually invoked rule 1-1-6?  "The referee has the authority to rule promptly, and in the spirit of good sportsmanship, on any situation not specifically covered in the rules."

If so, what were the circumstances and were there any repercussions?

[bama_stripes]

Yep.

QB A12 was taking a knee at the end of what had been a rather chippy game, when linebacker B44 dove across the line after the whistle, and hit him squarely in the chest.  After we separated the teams, I had my U hold the ball and ran the rest of the time off the clock without another snap.

I actually got an "atta boy" from my supervisor.

[Ralph Damren]

Yes, last century in a regional championship game, working with a split crew, the following occurred :
(1) 4th quarter, tie game, A1 runs 30 yard for TD;
(2) A1 started to stumble around B's 10, HL starts to run toward A1;
(3) LJ ,away from the play & from a different chapter, reads HL's action as marking forward progress and begins signal 3 but DOESN'T blow whistle;
(4) A1 regains balance and runs to paydirt;
(5) Coach B saw LJ's signal and is  ;
(6) We confer, I asked the following questions :
   (a) "Did anyone hear or blow a whistle?"--all said NO.
   (b) "Does anyone believe that any B player saw or was influenced by the signal?"-NO.
(7) My announcement to the frenzied masses was: "While there was an inadvertent signal on the play, there was no whistle. After crew discussion it was determined that the signal had no influence on the play as it was not noticed by any defensive players. We are therefore invoking Rule 1-1-6, and allow the score to stand."

The following Monday I phoned the then Rules Editor, Jerry Diehl. He agreed that we handled the " inadvertent signal" correctly but suggested that we should have checked with the clock operator to see if he had reacted to it and if so, run a few seconds off.

                       .....and the band played on.

[AlUpstateNY]

1-1-6 can be compared to having " that big stick in the closet" that some people unfortunately don't (or choose not to) remember is actually there.  Very often, simply reminding skeptics that YOU are aware that the stick is there, and is at your disposal to decide when to use it,  negates the need to actually use it. 

[Rulesman]

It's probably used most often in situations when you have a blowout game (with no "mercy" rule) and things start getting chippy late in the game. Example: incomplete pass or runner OOB? R winds the clock... let's get this sucker over with and get out of here! I had a coach tell me one night to do just that. He was thirsty and had a cooler with a few adult beverages that needed attention.

[edtude]

It's probably used most often in situations when you have a blowout game (with no "mercy" rule) and things start getting chippy late in the game. Example: incomplete pass or runner OOB? R winds the clock... let's get this sucker over with and get out of here! I had a coach tell me one night to do just that. He was thirsty and had a cooler with a few adult beverages that needed attention.

This is when I use it as well including last night, 35 to 0 before the expiration of the 1st quarter which took almost a full 30 minutes to get through. Those games are truly painful.