The American version of football evolved from games popular in other countries: football and rugby. The first form of American football appeared on November 6 , 1869 .
Back then, teams from Princeton and Rutgers, colleges of New Jersey, competed in a game that looked more like a rugby match than a football match.
Walter Camp, a sensational Yale University player and the driving force behind many new rules, is considered the father of American football. Camp helped write the first rules for football, which had already been played at East Coast colleges and in Canada since about 1876.
In 1880, Camp created rules that reduced the number of players on a team from fifteen to eleven (today's total), with the line of scrimmage located in the center of the field. In a fight, players from both sides close tightly together. Then the players kick the ball out with their foot. Possession of the ball by hands is unique to American football - both rugby and football prohibit it.
Camp also defended the rule that a team had to gain five yards in three plays to maintain possession. Today, teams must gain ten yards in three plays or decide to kick on fourth down.
Camp designed the development of the game and appointed a referee. His innovation in 1888, is the selection of the ball. This allowed players to attack below the waist for the first time and made the game more spectacular. It also popularized an offensive strategy known as the "flying wedge", where a team (10 players) would mass in front of one player with a wedge-shaped ball.
Football was almost banned in 1906 after 100 deaths (and a large number of serious injuries), but the President of the United States of America, Theodore Roosevelt, saved the game by persuading to create stricter rules.
Although the game has been cleaned up over the years, football is a contact sport, as a result of which the possibility of injury increases. Even with rules and protective gear, players are still vulnerable on the playground.
Over the first century, this type of football has become much more popular than professional football. The game has preserved (and still in many schools) the traditions of rivalry between colleges. Eighty years ago, it was very common to have more than 50,000 fans present at a big college game. During the same period of the NFL game, which officially began in 1920, was lucky enough to attract only 5 thousand fans.
Professional football emerged as the equal of American "college football" after its games began being broadcast on national television in the 1960s, but it took decades for the NFL to displace European football. To this day, many colleges have as much fan support as some NFL teams.
(с) best regards @dexterous
wow, such an insightful post. American football dated back not catch the interest of many people more than European football, but, trust me, it is one of the best. I like your post, about how I am disadvantaged by the language barrier in Russia... i don't have the opportunity of reading other post
Excellent post. Knowing the history of each sport we can love it more and enjoy with it. Cheers dexterous