American Football was derived from early
versions of soccer and rugby football, both of which originated from the United
Kingdom, mid-1800s. Both soccer and rugby, and thus American football, have the
objective of kicking the ball to a goal or over a line. Similar to soccer,
American football also involves twenty-two players on the field. Terms such as
"fullback" and halfback," which refer to positions, were also
derived from the soccer sport Brett Favre Jersey. American football resulted from a major
divergence from the rules of rugby football, as instituted by Walter Camp,
considered to be the "Father of American Football."
Walter Camp instituted the rules of
American football in 1879. Born April 17, 1859 in New Haven, Connecticut,
Walter Camp studied medicine and business in Yale from 1976 to 1882. He was a
man of many talents, being an author, director of the Pecks Brother Company,
and chairman of the board for the New Haven Clock Company. He was also the head
advisory football coach and general athletic director at Yale from 1888 to
1914, as well as chairman of the Yale football committee. He had a major role
in the evolution of American Football from the game of Soccer and Rugby, as we
know the sport today. Chief to Walter Camp's influence in changing the rules of
the game was William Ebb Ellis, a student in an English Rugby School who was
the first person known for picking up the soccer ball during a game and running
with it towards the goal. It was in the Massosoit Convention in 1876 when the
first attempt of establishing the rules for American football was made. Walter
Camp edited the rulebook until his last days in 1925.
The important changes that were made by
Walter Camp to establish American Football as a sport include the
down-and-distance and line of scrimmage rules. He also standardized the scoring
system using a numerical scoring and created the interference, safety,
penalties, and neutral zone. He also established the rule that one side had
undisputed possession of the ball until the ball is given up due to the said
team's violations. He also created the center and quarter-back positions, the
forward pass, and the eleven on a team instead of fifteen. By the late 19th and
early 20th centuries, further developments to the rules of American Football
were made by college coaches such as Knute Rockne Packers pro shop, Amos Alonzo Stagg, Eddie
Cochems, and Glenn "Pop" Warner.
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