Fed One foot in one foot out?
 

On a legal catch, can a foot be touching out of bounds (OOB)?
I have always heard this one foot in and one foot out from a lot of people but I have always thought that no foot can be touching OOB and still have a legal catch.
Thanks,
Robt

Yes in FED. See 2-CATCH and the case book comment on it (sorry, I don't have my books for a specific reference).

Note that the ruling is different in other codes.

!
 

Bob is correct, See 2.9.1 Comment in the 2008 Case Book.

Regards,

Yes, I had a HS varsity game end on such a catch a few years ago. I was the BU. There was no fence enclosing this field. The dead ball line on the 1B side was a neatly painted white line in the grass running about 20 feet parrallel to the 1B foul line. B3 hit a towering pop up that is coming down near the the DB line and drifting foul. F9 comes over and actually looks down and plants his right foot exactly on the line (the DB line itself is live and in-play). The he then looks up and waits for the ball. I have "gone out" and I had time to position myself right on the DB line too. My back is to HP and my belt buckle is on the DB line.

As the ball comes down it is drifting farther foul. However, F9 wisely keeps his right foot planted on that line (his left foot is on the ground out of play) as he leans left as much as humanly possible to reach the ball. He manages to catch the ball with his foot still on the line. Then after the catch, he falls over completely into DB territory. F9 maintained control of the ball so I signal a legal catch which was the 3rd out and ended the game.

The 1B coach was instantly all over me quickly joined by the HC. They howeled at how they could not understand how that catch could be legal. Their fans who were 15 feet away took up the cause and yelled scorn on me too. I tried to explain the rule to the HC but he was in no mood to listen. We left.

Oddly enough, I had to go back to that school a week later to do a softball game. The varsity baseball game that day finished a bit earlier than we did. After my game ended and I was walking to the parking lot I noticed the varsity baseball HC was waiting on a foot path that I had to use to get back to the parking lot and looking at me. I would have to walk right passed him. I didn't think it would look good for me to try and suddenly divert and walk some other way so I sucked it up and got ready for trouble. I told my partner to stay close by.

As I appraoched the varsity BB HC he stopped me and informed me that he looked up the rule and that call on that catch I was indeed correct. He then APOLOGIZED to me! That was the only time a HC had ever admitted he was wrong and apologized.

This is NOT a legal catch in NCAA. No "straddling" the line there. You must make the catch before you step into (or touch) dead ball territory with either foot.

JJ

A careful reading of FED also indicates that a player can continually hop on one foot way into DBT, make a catch, hop back on that same foot, and back into the field, totally legally.

Unless the clarificiation that Tim C speaks off clarifies this (I do not have 2008 casebook in front of me).

That's the first time I've heard of a coach actually checking a rule book.

He told me I didn't know the rules. As we left the field I was telling to "go check the rulebook before you accuse ME of not knowing the rules." I guess he took me literally.

I'd like to see the rule on this.......

I'm guessing that he is taking the phrase "steps into dead ball territory with both feet" to the extreme. Interpreting that as long as he only steps in DB territory with one foot and keeps the other one in the air he is still considered to be on live ball territory.

Hey, I never said I'd call it, but as some say, words have meanings... :D