HISTORY OF AMERICAN FOOTBALL

The history of American football dates back to the initial versions of rugby. Both
sports have their origins in variations of soccer that were played in Great Britain in
the mid-19th century. In these versions of soccer, the ball was kicked toward a post
or ran with it to cross a line.

American football is the result of several important divergences of the football and
rugby associations; especially the rule changes instituted by Walter Camp, a Yale
University graduate considered the "Father of American Football." Among the
1 23
important changes are the introduction of down and line of scrimmage rules . In
the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the evolution of the game by college coaches
such as Eddie Cochems, Amos Alonzo Stagg, Knute Rockne, and Glenn "Pop"
Warner helped take advantage of the recent introduction of the forward pass. The
popularity of college football grew as it became the dominant version of the sport in
the United States during the first half of the 20th century. Bowl games, a college
football tradition, attracted a national audience of college teams. Fueled by fierce
rivalries, college football is still a major attraction in the United States.

Association" against the Pittsburgh Athletic Club. In 1920 the American

Professional Football Association was formed. This league changed its name to the
National Football League (NFL) two years later, and eventually became the major
American football league. Primarily a sport of the industrial cities of the American
Midwest, professional football eventually became a national phenomenon.
Football's growing popularity dates back to the 1958 NFL Championship, a game
that has been named the "best game played." A rival league to the NFL, the
American Football League (AFL), began play in 1960. The pressure it put on the
top league led to a merger between the two leagues and the creation of the Super
Bowl, which has become the most watched television event annually in the United
States . 4

Bibliography:
Pérez, S. L. (2011). The Game that the CAM played...: Origins of American
Football in the USA. USA and Mexico (1869-1932) . Xlibris.