American football was derived from early versions of soccer and rugby union, both of which originated in the United Kingdom, in the mid-19th century. Both soccer and rugby, and therefore American football, have the objective of kicking the ball into 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 sport of soccer. American football resulted from a great divergence from the rules of rugby football, instituted by Walter Camp, considered the “Father of American Football.”

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 at Yale from 1976 to 1882. He was a man of many talents, serving as an author, director of the Pecks Brother Company and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the New Haven Clock Company. He was also the head football coach and general athletic director at Yale from 1888 to 1914, as well as chairman of the Yale football committee. He played an important role in the evolution of American football from soccer and rugby as we know it today. Walter Camp’s main influence in changing the rules of the game was William Ebb Ellis, an English rugby school student who was the first person known to pick up the soccer ball during a match and run with it towards the goal. It was at the Massosoit Convention of 1876 that the first attempt was made to establish the rules of American football. Walter Camp edited the regulations until his last days in 1925.

newly established rules

Important changes Walter Camp made to establish football as a sport include the distance and distance and line of scrimmage rules. He also standardized the scoring system using a numerical score and created the interference zone, safety, penalties, and neutral. He also made the rule that one side had undisputed possession of the ball until the ball was given up due to offenses by that team. He also created the positions of center and quarterback, the forward pass and the eleventh on one team instead of fifteen. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, college coaches such as Knute Rockne, Amos Alonzo Stagg, Eddie Cochems, and Glenn “Pop” Warner made further developments in American football rules.

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In the first half of the 20th century, college football became more popular than rugby union and soccer. The bowl games, an intercollegiate competition, drew a national audience, reinforcing the fierce rivalries between college football teams. The American Professional Football Association was soon formed in 1920 and two years later it changed to the National Football League (NFL), which became the premier American football league. Today, there are numerous professional American football teams representing different states, such as the Denver Broncos, Detroit Lions, Green Bay Packers, and New York Giants.