{"id":33455,"date":"2024-02-08T12:17:56","date_gmt":"2024-02-08T11:17:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.historyextra.com\/?p=75684"},"modified":"2024-02-08T13:11:40","modified_gmt":"2024-02-08T12:11:40","slug":"a-brief-history-of-american-football-and-the-super-bowl","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbchistory\/rss_feed\/a-brief-history-of-american-football-and-the-super-bowl\/","title":{"rendered":"A brief history of American football and the Super Bowl"},"content":{"rendered":"

Super Bowl LVIII (58) will take place on 11 February 2024. How much do you know about the history of American football and the Super Bowl, the most watched television event of the year in the United States? Find out facts about the sport\u2019s history, from the very first chaotic college matches, its deadly era in the early 1900s, to the reason the Super Bowl got its name\u2026 <\/p>

By Elinor Evans\n \t\t<\/p>

Published: Thursday, 08 February 2024 at 11:17 AM<\/p>

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American football \u2013 also known as \u2018gridiron football\u2019, for the vertical painted yard lines that run across the rectangular pitch \u2013 originated in North American colleges in the late 19th century, evolving from the British sports of rugby<\/a> and association football<\/a> (soccer).<\/p>\n

Early versions of the game were brutal and chaotic, often called \u2018mob foot-ball\u2019 by contemporaries, with a mix-and-match set of rules, large numbers of players per side and high injury rate.<\/p>\n

The match generally accepted as the first American football game took place in 1869, played between two north-eastern college teams, Princeton and Rutgers (Rutgers took the victory). The game would have been unrecognisable to today\u2019s spectators, as the players weren\u2019t allowed to pick up the ball. Instead, they advanced towards the scoring zone by kicking or swiping at it with their hands.<\/p>\n

\"An\n<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture>\n<\/div>
An early college football scrimmage, c1905. Early versions of the game were brutal and chaotic, resulting in many injuries. (Image by Alamy)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n

Variations of the game were adopted by many north-eastern colleges of the era, and an early effort at standardisation was made when the first Intercollegiate Football Association (IFA) was established in 1873. However a number of colleges retained their own rules, including Harvard College which preferred its \u2018Boston Game\u2019 (a \u2018rugby-style\u2019 with a mix of carrying and kicking the ball). Throughout the late 19th century, intercollegiate matches led to rules and styles being borrowed and swapped between institutions. It wasn\u2019t until the 1880s that the game became more codified.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Who invented American football?<\/h2>\n

The man credited with managing the game\u2019s evolution towards its modern form is Walter Camp (1859\u20131925), often known as the \u2018father of American football\u2019.<\/p>\n

It wasn\u2019t until the 1880s that the game became more codified. Camp was a Yale undergraduate and medical student between 1876\u201381, and as well as playing halfback and serving as team captain, he became a key member of the second American Intercollegiate Football Association, which was reformed in 1876 and in existence until 1892. Under Camp\u2019s direction, the IFA established common rules including the system of \u2018downs\u2019 (the need for the ball to be moved downfield a certain distance within an allotted number of attempts) and the number of players per side (11).<\/p>\n

\"Walter\n<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture>\n<\/div>
Walter Camp, pictured as an undergraduate at Yale. He is often considered to be the \u2018father of American football\u2019. (Photo by ullstein bild\/ullstein bild via Getty Images)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n

Camp coached the Yale football team from 1888 through 1892, earning a remarkable 67 wins in 69 games \u2013\u00a0all while working as an executive at a watch-manufacturing firm. And Camp\u2019s fame isn\u2019t restricted to the football world; his athletic prowess and experience also meant he was approached by the US military during the First World War to create a new exercise programme to keep servicemen fit.<\/p>\n

Camp\u2019s \u2018Daily Dozen\u2019, a set of 12 exercises, became an international phenomenon<\/a> for both men and women and remained hugely popular into the 1920s and 30s.<\/p>\n