The History of NFL Football
Baseball has always been known as “American’s Pastime.” However, a gander into American living rooms on a winter Sunday afternoon confirms that football is, in fact, “America’s Passion.”
From The Beginning
Football is a game that is uniquely American. Evolving from the sport of rugby, the first iteration of American football was born in a game between Rutgers and Princeton University using modified London Football Association rules in 1876. At this time, the game resembled a modified rugby rather than today’s football. A few years later, the Intercollegiate Football Association was formed by representatives from Rutgers, Princeton, Columbia, and Yale Universities. The rules for American football were written for the first time.
Yale University coach Walter Camp, who would become known as the father of modern American football, convinced the IFA to revise their rules. IFA called for fifteen-man teams, for example, while Camp preferred eleven. The playing field dimensions, non-existent before Camp, were limited to one hundred ten yards. Camp also introduced the system of downs used today. His influence would lead to the evolution into modern American football.
Although rules were in place, the game became increasingly brutal in the early 1900’s. So brutal, in fact, that some colleges banned its play. Eighteen deaths were attributed to playing football. President Theodore Roosevelt had to intervene and asked Princeton, Yale, and Harvard to reform the sport. The three schools, along with sixty others, met and appointed a seven-member Rules Committee. They also established what eventually became the National Collegiate Athletic Association, also known as the NCAA.
The committee established more rules to help evolve the sport and tone down the brutality. The forward pass was legalized, allowing an open style of play. Rough play was forbidden, as was the practice of teammates locking arms to clear running paths for ball carriers. The sixty-minute game clock was established, shortened from seventy minutes.
Football Becomes a Profession
In 1892, two rival athletic clubs from Pittsburgh would produce the first paid football player. The Allegheny Athletic Association (AAA) and the Pittsburgh Athletic Club (PAC) participated in a football contest. William “Pudge” Heffelfinger was paid $500 by AAA to play. AAA defeated PAC 4-0 after Pudge scored on a fumble recovery.
This would pave the way to the growth of American football as a profession. By 1920, there were ten professional football teams across the United States. Representatives from the teams met in Canton, Ohio and formed the American Professional Football Association (AFPA). The AFPA then became known as the National Football League (NFL). Further refinements to the rules made the game a true American sport.
Football started making its way into the collective consciousness of Americans. Franchises such as the Green Bay Packers and the Decatur Staleys, later renamed to the Chicago Bears, began drawing crowds. Red Grange, the first bona-fide NFL superstar, drew record crowds as large as 36,000 people to New York Giants games. The NFL divided into two divisions, with the first NFL Championship being played in 1933. In 1936, teams began a system to draft collegiate players.
With the ballooning popularity of American football, rival leagues began to sprout. The upstart leagues came and went, including several iterations of the American Football League. However, under Lamar Hunt, the AFL flourished. The NFL and the AFL fought to bring the best players, television contracts, and other perks to its respective league.
The Modern NFL is Born
The late 1960’s was a momentous time in American football history. In 1966, under the leadership of Pete Rozelle, the NFL and AFL agreed to merge, forming the modern National Football League. Beginning in January 1967, the leagues agreed to play an annual AFL-NFL World Championship game. The first game between the AFL and NFL was played between the Green Bay Packers and Kansas City Chiefs. In the same year, they also agreed to the first interleague draft of collegiate players.
Today’s NFL actually began in 1970. Two conferences were created and reflected the heritage of both leagues; namely, the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). From there, the two conferences would pit its two best teams against each other in a championship game, later known as the Super Bowl. The league consisted of 26 teams.
The NFL Today
Today, the National Football League is a multi-billion dollar operation, and is widely recognized as the best-run league in all of sports. Every Sunday and Monday night, millions of Americans participate in gatherings of varying sizes to cheer on their favorite football team. From a living room get-together among close friends to a full-blown stadium tailgate party, the NFL is a sporting event in its purest form. Technology advances such as cable television have allowed football to permeate homes around the world.
Franchises were bought and sold for as little as $50 in the 1920’s. Revenues from ticket sales, merchandising, television contracts, and advertising have propelled today’s franchise values to almost one billion dollars.
Professional games were once played on open fields. Multi-purpose stadiums that hosted football, baseball, and soccer games then dotted the NFL landscape in the 1970’s and 1980’s. Most have been demolished in favor of football-only facilities. Today, state-of-the-art stadiums seating up to 90,000 fans make going to the game a true multi-sensory experience. Luxury suites, upscale restaurants, and cigar bars are the norm rather than the exception. Some stadiums today even have retractable roofs.
Super Bowl Sunday has become an unofficial American holiday. Every January, and sometimes early February, millions of people around the world tune in to watch two of the best football teams in the NFL battle for the Vince Lombardi Trophy. The game has become a spectacle inside and outside of the host city. It is broadcast on television and radio in dozens of languages.
American football grew from its roots of soccer and rugby. From the humble beginnings of inter-college games, the sport has become one of the most widely-watched around the world. With constant innovations on and off the field, American football shows no signs of slowing down.
Discuss the History of Football in the Sports Chat Football Forums.
From The Beginning
Football is a game that is uniquely American. Evolving from the sport of rugby, the first iteration of American football was born in a game between Rutgers and Princeton University using modified London Football Association rules in 1876. At this time, the game resembled a modified rugby rather than today’s football. A few years later, the Intercollegiate Football Association was formed by representatives from Rutgers, Princeton, Columbia, and Yale Universities. The rules for American football were written for the first time.
Yale University coach Walter Camp, who would become known as the father of modern American football, convinced the IFA to revise their rules. IFA called for fifteen-man teams, for example, while Camp preferred eleven. The playing field dimensions, non-existent before Camp, were limited to one hundred ten yards. Camp also introduced the system of downs used today. His influence would lead to the evolution into modern American football.
Although rules were in place, the game became increasingly brutal in the early 1900’s. So brutal, in fact, that some colleges banned its play. Eighteen deaths were attributed to playing football. President Theodore Roosevelt had to intervene and asked Princeton, Yale, and Harvard to reform the sport. The three schools, along with sixty others, met and appointed a seven-member Rules Committee. They also established what eventually became the National Collegiate Athletic Association, also known as the NCAA.
The committee established more rules to help evolve the sport and tone down the brutality. The forward pass was legalized, allowing an open style of play. Rough play was forbidden, as was the practice of teammates locking arms to clear running paths for ball carriers. The sixty-minute game clock was established, shortened from seventy minutes.
Football Becomes a Profession
In 1892, two rival athletic clubs from Pittsburgh would produce the first paid football player. The Allegheny Athletic Association (AAA) and the Pittsburgh Athletic Club (PAC) participated in a football contest. William “Pudge” Heffelfinger was paid $500 by AAA to play. AAA defeated PAC 4-0 after Pudge scored on a fumble recovery.
This would pave the way to the growth of American football as a profession. By 1920, there were ten professional football teams across the United States. Representatives from the teams met in Canton, Ohio and formed the American Professional Football Association (AFPA). The AFPA then became known as the National Football League (NFL). Further refinements to the rules made the game a true American sport.
Football started making its way into the collective consciousness of Americans. Franchises such as the Green Bay Packers and the Decatur Staleys, later renamed to the Chicago Bears, began drawing crowds. Red Grange, the first bona-fide NFL superstar, drew record crowds as large as 36,000 people to New York Giants games. The NFL divided into two divisions, with the first NFL Championship being played in 1933. In 1936, teams began a system to draft collegiate players.
With the ballooning popularity of American football, rival leagues began to sprout. The upstart leagues came and went, including several iterations of the American Football League. However, under Lamar Hunt, the AFL flourished. The NFL and the AFL fought to bring the best players, television contracts, and other perks to its respective league.
The Modern NFL is Born
The late 1960’s was a momentous time in American football history. In 1966, under the leadership of Pete Rozelle, the NFL and AFL agreed to merge, forming the modern National Football League. Beginning in January 1967, the leagues agreed to play an annual AFL-NFL World Championship game. The first game between the AFL and NFL was played between the Green Bay Packers and Kansas City Chiefs. In the same year, they also agreed to the first interleague draft of collegiate players.
Today’s NFL actually began in 1970. Two conferences were created and reflected the heritage of both leagues; namely, the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). From there, the two conferences would pit its two best teams against each other in a championship game, later known as the Super Bowl. The league consisted of 26 teams.
The NFL Today
Today, the National Football League is a multi-billion dollar operation, and is widely recognized as the best-run league in all of sports. Every Sunday and Monday night, millions of Americans participate in gatherings of varying sizes to cheer on their favorite football team. From a living room get-together among close friends to a full-blown stadium tailgate party, the NFL is a sporting event in its purest form. Technology advances such as cable television have allowed football to permeate homes around the world.
Franchises were bought and sold for as little as $50 in the 1920’s. Revenues from ticket sales, merchandising, television contracts, and advertising have propelled today’s franchise values to almost one billion dollars.
Professional games were once played on open fields. Multi-purpose stadiums that hosted football, baseball, and soccer games then dotted the NFL landscape in the 1970’s and 1980’s. Most have been demolished in favor of football-only facilities. Today, state-of-the-art stadiums seating up to 90,000 fans make going to the game a true multi-sensory experience. Luxury suites, upscale restaurants, and cigar bars are the norm rather than the exception. Some stadiums today even have retractable roofs.
Super Bowl Sunday has become an unofficial American holiday. Every January, and sometimes early February, millions of people around the world tune in to watch two of the best football teams in the NFL battle for the Vince Lombardi Trophy. The game has become a spectacle inside and outside of the host city. It is broadcast on television and radio in dozens of languages.
American football grew from its roots of soccer and rugby. From the humble beginnings of inter-college games, the sport has become one of the most widely-watched around the world. With constant innovations on and off the field, American football shows no signs of slowing down.
Discuss the History of Football in the Sports Chat Football Forums.
