Celebrating football's greatest Hail Marys 40 years after Roger Staubach popularized phrase

— -- Many people know the football definition of a "Hail Mary" is a long pass under desperate circumstances that has so little chance of success it would take divine intervention for the play to succeed. But fewer folks remember it was Dallas Cowboys quarterback Roger Staubach who brought the term back into widespread usage in football 40 years ago this month -- or more than 50 years after it originated with Knute Rockne's famous 1922 Notre Dame team led by The Four Horsemen.

Staubach cemented his place in football lore by dropping back with 24 seconds left in the Cowboys' Dec. 28, 1975, NFC divisional playoff game against the Minnesota Vikings and heaving a pass that wide receiver Drew Pearson caught for a 50-yard touchdown against the Vikings' Nate Wright. Afterward, Staubach -- a devout Catholic -- told reporters, "It was just a Hail Mary pass, a very, very lucky play."

Whether they involve luck, wondrous skill, freakish deflections or breathtakingly bad judgment, Hail Marys have created some of the most frenzied celebrations and unforgettable moments that college or pro football has seen. Here's a look at more of those thrilling plays.

Notre Dame at Georgia Tech, Oct. 28, 1922

Notre Dame at Ohio State, Nov. 2, 1935

Minnesota Vikings vs. Cleveland Browns, Dec. 14, 1980

Brigham Young vs. SMU, Holiday Bowl, Dec. 19, 1980

Boston College at Miami, Nov. 23, 1984

San Francisco 49ers at Cincinnati Bengals, Sept. 20, 1987

Southern Mississippi at Louisville, Oct. 14, 1989

Cleveland Browns at New Orleans Saints, Oct. 31, 1999

LSU at Kentucky, Nov. 9, 2002

Seattle Seahawks vs. Green Bay Packers, Sept. 23, 2012

Green Bay Packers at Detroit Lions, Dec. 3, 2015

Honorable mentions

Colorado at Michigan, Sept. 24, 1994: Kordell Stewart won this battle of highly ranked teams by heaving a pass that traveled around 70 yards in the air before it was batted up at the goal line and into the hands of a diving Michael Westbrook for a 27-26 stunner. (Keith Jackson's classic call on YouTube is worth hearing.) 

Atlanta Falcons vs. San Francisco 49ers, Nov. 20, 1983: Why? Because any play that involves fancy footwork by Billy "White Shoes" Johnson -- this time on a 47-yard bomb from Steve Bartkowski to give the Falcons a 28-24 victory -- deserves another look.

Jacksonville Jaguars vs. Houston Texans, Nov. 14, 2010: Houston safety Glover Quin thought he'd smacked David Garrard's pass safely out of the end zone with both hands, only to watch in horror as Mike Thomas caught it at the 1-yard line and stepped into the end zone with no time left for a 31-24 Jacksonville victory.