Beede was an important influence on football not only regionally, but nationally. His most celebrated innovation was the penalty flag, which he created and introduced on October 17, 1941. The flag was first used in a game against Oklahoma City University at Youngstown's Rayen Stadium. Prior to the introduction of the penalty flag, officials used horns and whistles to signal a penalty. This made it difficult for the players, since they would hear the whistle and sometimes stop, even though the infraction was caused by the other team. This would deprive the non-guilty team of the yardage they might rightfully have gained. Also, the fans and media sometimes could not recognize an infraction on the field because they had failed to hear the signal.