Hmmmm .... my earliest recollection is with David Greene, but I imagine it was a think before the Dawgs discovered it. I wonder if some QB accidentally threw a fade and the WR caught it, but it was a broken play in effect, at some point.
It seems like a low percentage pass to me.
The other one is the "back shoulder" which I considered a fairly high percentage play counting PI as part of the success. Very tough to defend I think. Then there are wheel routes.
I don't know when or who popularized these things, maybe some coach had them in 1937.