Since this is the wonderful season of Autumn now, let's talk about the evolution of what is now considered "American football" which is called "American" to make it different from soccer which most people outside of the USA and Canada would call football.
Historians place what we call "American football" (from now just called football) was from an article from Wikipedia of the history of football. American football - Wikipedia
What is considered to be the first American football game was played on November 6, 1869, between Rutgers and Princeton, two college teams. The game was played between two teams of 25 players each and used a round ball that could not be picked up or carried. It could, however, be kicked or batted with the feet, hands, head or sides, with the ultimate goal being to advance it into the opponent's goal. Rutgers won the game 6 goals to 4. Collegiate play continued for several years in which matches were played using the rules of the host school. Representatives of Yale, Columbia, Princeton and Rutgers met on October 19, 1873 to create a standard set of rules for all schools to adhere to. Teams were set at 20 players each, and fields of 400 by 250 feet (122 m × 76 m) were specified. Harvard abstained from the conference, as they favored a rugby-style game that allowed running with the ball.[10]After playing McGill University using both Canadian and American rules, the Harvard players preferred the Canadian style having only 11 men on the field, running and throwing the ball without having to be chased by an opponent, the forward pass, tackling, and using an oblong instead of a round ball.
This to me sounds like a rugby game. I have watched and like Rugby. I have seen several Rugby games but with probably 11 to 13 players to a side. Seems fairly similar. I think my question is why this game became the genesis and the birth and the evolution of what we now know as football. So why is this game so important or seen as a benchmark to the evolution of the game? This 1869 game had to have been played before to have two colleges host a game like this so this means this game has been around for awhile. Has people ever recreated the 1869 game with the rules at the time? that would be cool to see. There had to have been some rules of the 1869 game to have been played by these two fine schools. So why is this game so important and historical and why did it evolve? And were there older games similar as this, where groups of players with a ball and a field try to run the ball from one end of the field to the other? Seems a game sort of like football would have been around for ages? A group of boys versus a group of boys trying to run a ball from one end of a field to another by whatever means necessary. Seems simple, fun and violent and a sport that would have been played in the evolution since ancient times instead of just a 150 years ago.
Really the early inventor of this game was a one Walter Camp (Walter Camp - Wikipedia) who made up the rules of the early version but really the true ancestor of the game we now know. So wouldnt it be accurate that it was really Camp who invented the game we know now from rugby? So wouldnt Camp be the inventor of the game intead of harkening back to a 1869 game which wasnt football as we know it, was basically a rugby match?
What was a direct ancestor of American football became so popular yet so violent that even Teddy Roosevelt, a manly man almost made the game illegal because of deaths from injuries from playing the game? Was TR instrumental in new rules and strategoes in the game to make it a bit safer for the players so he and the government does not make the game illegal?
At one time, a Field Goal was actually worth more than a touchdown. I believe (and I amybe wrong) that in the early 20th Century that a Field Goal was worth 5 points and a Touchdown only 3 points. Dwight Eisenhower played football for West Point under these rules around the early 1910's. Who thought of the forward pass? This is what I dislike about rugby. Love Rugby but watching the game I would yell "PASS THE BALL!" knowing this is illegal. I believe that a "forward lateral" has always been illegal, which harkens back to the rules of old rugby. The evolution of football interests me, and would like some insight on how and why the game changed and evolved to wat we have now.
On to Canada. Why do they play such a similar game to the USA but have different rules? The rules are about the same except that there are 12 to a side, there are only three downs and the end zone is a HUGE twenty yards deep. Why the differences of the rules? Why cannot America and Canada have the same rules for the sport? I dont like it because Americans and Canadians cannot play each other. Would be great if there could be American and Canadian colleges playing each other, and that at least there could be one or two NFL franchises in Canada. The NFL to my limited knowledge have tried to place a team or two in Canada but have been thwarted by the Canadian government in support of CFL. CFL is pretty good, I dont diss it except the endzones are bigger than Donald Trump's house. This is an "America is better, you should play by our rules". It is more that a sport which is popular in only really the USA and Canada shouldnt have the same rules so we can play each other an build a wider base.
Who created the modern football we see in the NCAA and NFL. I think the Canadian football is the same or very similar. A rugby ball is much bigger. As said in the 1869 game, it was a round ball so someone had to invent the ball we know now. So where did this come from?
So chime in Historium players and educate me. Its Fall so let's play!
Historians place what we call "American football" (from now just called football) was from an article from Wikipedia of the history of football. American football - Wikipedia
What is considered to be the first American football game was played on November 6, 1869, between Rutgers and Princeton, two college teams. The game was played between two teams of 25 players each and used a round ball that could not be picked up or carried. It could, however, be kicked or batted with the feet, hands, head or sides, with the ultimate goal being to advance it into the opponent's goal. Rutgers won the game 6 goals to 4. Collegiate play continued for several years in which matches were played using the rules of the host school. Representatives of Yale, Columbia, Princeton and Rutgers met on October 19, 1873 to create a standard set of rules for all schools to adhere to. Teams were set at 20 players each, and fields of 400 by 250 feet (122 m × 76 m) were specified. Harvard abstained from the conference, as they favored a rugby-style game that allowed running with the ball.[10]After playing McGill University using both Canadian and American rules, the Harvard players preferred the Canadian style having only 11 men on the field, running and throwing the ball without having to be chased by an opponent, the forward pass, tackling, and using an oblong instead of a round ball.
This to me sounds like a rugby game. I have watched and like Rugby. I have seen several Rugby games but with probably 11 to 13 players to a side. Seems fairly similar. I think my question is why this game became the genesis and the birth and the evolution of what we now know as football. So why is this game so important or seen as a benchmark to the evolution of the game? This 1869 game had to have been played before to have two colleges host a game like this so this means this game has been around for awhile. Has people ever recreated the 1869 game with the rules at the time? that would be cool to see. There had to have been some rules of the 1869 game to have been played by these two fine schools. So why is this game so important and historical and why did it evolve? And were there older games similar as this, where groups of players with a ball and a field try to run the ball from one end of the field to the other? Seems a game sort of like football would have been around for ages? A group of boys versus a group of boys trying to run a ball from one end of a field to another by whatever means necessary. Seems simple, fun and violent and a sport that would have been played in the evolution since ancient times instead of just a 150 years ago.
Really the early inventor of this game was a one Walter Camp (Walter Camp - Wikipedia) who made up the rules of the early version but really the true ancestor of the game we now know. So wouldnt it be accurate that it was really Camp who invented the game we know now from rugby? So wouldnt Camp be the inventor of the game intead of harkening back to a 1869 game which wasnt football as we know it, was basically a rugby match?
What was a direct ancestor of American football became so popular yet so violent that even Teddy Roosevelt, a manly man almost made the game illegal because of deaths from injuries from playing the game? Was TR instrumental in new rules and strategoes in the game to make it a bit safer for the players so he and the government does not make the game illegal?
At one time, a Field Goal was actually worth more than a touchdown. I believe (and I amybe wrong) that in the early 20th Century that a Field Goal was worth 5 points and a Touchdown only 3 points. Dwight Eisenhower played football for West Point under these rules around the early 1910's. Who thought of the forward pass? This is what I dislike about rugby. Love Rugby but watching the game I would yell "PASS THE BALL!" knowing this is illegal. I believe that a "forward lateral" has always been illegal, which harkens back to the rules of old rugby. The evolution of football interests me, and would like some insight on how and why the game changed and evolved to wat we have now.
On to Canada. Why do they play such a similar game to the USA but have different rules? The rules are about the same except that there are 12 to a side, there are only three downs and the end zone is a HUGE twenty yards deep. Why the differences of the rules? Why cannot America and Canada have the same rules for the sport? I dont like it because Americans and Canadians cannot play each other. Would be great if there could be American and Canadian colleges playing each other, and that at least there could be one or two NFL franchises in Canada. The NFL to my limited knowledge have tried to place a team or two in Canada but have been thwarted by the Canadian government in support of CFL. CFL is pretty good, I dont diss it except the endzones are bigger than Donald Trump's house. This is an "America is better, you should play by our rules". It is more that a sport which is popular in only really the USA and Canada shouldnt have the same rules so we can play each other an build a wider base.
Who created the modern football we see in the NCAA and NFL. I think the Canadian football is the same or very similar. A rugby ball is much bigger. As said in the 1869 game, it was a round ball so someone had to invent the ball we know now. So where did this come from?
So chime in Historium players and educate me. Its Fall so let's play!
