History
The term "Quarterback sack" was first coined by Hall of Fame defensive end Deacon Jones. Jones, who played in the NFL from 1961 to 1974, felt that a sack devastated the offense in the same way that a city was devastated when it was sacked.
However, the term "sack" was not widely used before ca. 1970; previously one would simply refer to a player's being tackled behind the line (of scrimmage), in so many words. The NFL only began to keep track of times a quarterback was sacked since 1963 and sacks by defensive players in 1982. Team records have been kept at least since the 1940s.
An alternative explanation for the origin of the term is the practice of the referee to mark the point where forward progress is stopped, as tackles against the quarterback often result in his being pushed back from the point of contact, by throwing a beanbag or bean sack on the ground at that point. Seeing the sack thrown may have led coaches and commentators to say the QB was "sacked".
Read more about this topic: Quarterback Sack
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