A player who runs back a kickoff or a punt for a touchdown usually needs more than a lucky break. He needs speed and quickness and the intelligence to follow his blockers and look for a hole in the defense.

But one time a fast halfback named Abner Haynes scored a touchdown on a punt just by using his head.

Haynes, who was playing for North Texas State College, dropped back to take a punt. But the kick was short, and the ball fell a few yards in front of him, took a high bounce, and rolled to a stop. Players from both teams gathered around the ball waiting for it to be whistled dead.

The referee started toward the group of players, but he had not yet blown the whistle. Casually, Haynes picked up the ball as if he were about to toss it to the referee. But instead he tucked it under his arm and went sprinting downfield. He was 20 yards away when the opposing team realized what he was doing. Haynes crossed the goal line untouched.

Naturally, the other team protested, complaining that the ref was late blowing his whistle to end the play. But the referee declared that the play was perfectly legal, and the touchdown was allowed.

From The Giant Book of Strange But True Sports Stories by Howard Liss. Illustrations by Joe Mathieu.