While we tend to think of it as a uniquely American sport, its origin and history demonstrate that it is an evolution of sports that have been played since ancient times. Ball games or games involving an object a player possesses while others try to tackle or wrestle have a long history.
We know of games such as Harpastum , which was a Roman ball game probably similar to a Greek ball game called Episkyros Figure 1. In essence, the basic concept is the same as sports such as rugby and American football. During this time period, the idea of using an air-filled ball developed. Later in the Middle Ages, in Europe, different types of ball games developed were towns or cities competing with one another.
In these games, which likely had different rules in various places, teams would form and a ball would be used where the goals were likely similar to Harpastum.
This was a type of mob ball or mob football, where towns would try to win bragging rights by beating their rival towns. A few images from the Medieval period show it was a type of team sport.
Up until the 19th century, many versions of what can be called mob football existed. In fact, this variety of football has muddled the story of how American football developed, but historians believe that the formation of American football was ultimately tied to the development of rugby.
Older American universities, particularly Harvard and Yale, had developed student football traditions that resembled a cross between rugby and mob football. The games were more like soccer but much more violent. In fact, some places began banning sports due to excessive violence. Things began to change, however, by , when Rutgers and Princeton played what effectively became known as the first intercollegiate football game.
Furthermore, early coaches, names of positions, and many early strategies have their origin with this game, effectively making it a key moment in the history of American football. Nevertheless, scoring involved kicking the ball, which was the origin of the field goal, and the two teams each had 25 players. In , an association of Harvard, Columbia, and Yale formed a group that formalized rules, although kicking was the way in which a team would score points.
That was the year the first formal Thanksgiving game was also played. By , what became the touchdown was invented. It was only by that the touchdown took precedent over the field goal. Throwing the football first occurred in , which only emerged as a team was desperate to score before time ran out. By this time, many universities on the east coast and increasingly on the west coast began to adopt the emerging game of American football Figure 2.
However, this was still considered an illegal move and it was not until that the forward pass was formally adopted, although limitations existed with how it was applied and was still a minor part of the game. By , what became the National Collegiate Athletic Association NCAA , which helped to not only organize games around the country but helped establish more formal rules, was formed. By then, more than cities had some form of an American football team. Even the concept of the halftime show emerged by in Champaign, Illinois.
The popularity of football may have reflected American social norms at the time, which included embracing leisure activities in greater numbers and the social Darwinian aspects of the game, which emphasized competition and fitness for the best teams and players. It was not until November of that the first professional football game was played between the Allegheny Athletic Association and the Pittsburgh Athletic Club. Paying players was unheard of up until this point, but this rivalry game forced Pittsburgh and other teams to encourage better players to participate with monetary incentives, since every teams' main priority was to win.
These payments eventually became salaries as teams began generating revenue from games , and the rest is history! Where Is Football Most Popular? Who Created Football In America? Previous Next. Live TV. This Day In History. History Vault. Recommended for you.
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