The evidence that originally supported Harry Hess's idea of seafloor spreading in 1968 was:
Younger rocks are closer to mid-ocean ridges.
Hess proposed that as new oceanic crust is formed at mid-ocean ridges, it pushes older crust away from the ridge, which leads to the observation that the youngest rocks are found nearest to these ridges, while the older rocks are found farther away. This concept was crucial in supporting the theory of seafloor spreading.