William Mc Crum, a goalkeeper for Milford FC in County Armagh, grew frustrated watching attackers hacked down near goal with only a free-kick as punishment. During the Irish Football League's inaugural season, his side conceded over 60 goals in 14 matches, giving him ample time to consider a harsher sanction.

In 1891, Mc Crum proposed a single shot from 12 yards for deliberate goal-preventing fouls. The Irish Football Association tabled the idea, but critics dismissed it as the "Irishman's motion" — football, they insisted, was played by gentlemen who wouldn't cheat. A FA Cup tie between Notts County and Stoke City changed minds: a defender handled on the line, the resulting free-kick was blocked by a wall of players, and Stoke lost. The injustice proved Mc Crum's point.

The penalty kick entered the Laws of the Game later that year, though without a designated spot or area — players placed the ball anywhere along the 12-yard line. More than a century later, Roberto Baggio's 1994 World Cup final miss and Chloe Kelly's 2025 Euro winner show how Mc Crum's concept became the sport's ultimate pressure test.

Mc Crum died in 1932, known locally as "Master Willie" rather than football's rule-maker. Yet every shootout — from Argentina's 2022 World Cup triumph to countless weekend league deciders — traces back to a goalkeeper who thought the punishment should fit the crime.