The History of American Football
The first ever American football game was played between Rutgers University and Princeton University in 1869. This game was played using modified London Football Association rules and regulations. Over the next seven years rugby became popular in distinguished Eastern schools, then soccer and modern football emerged from the former. “It was not until 1920 that the American Professional Football Association was founded and later named the National Football League”(History of American football). Though professional football leagues were in coalition since 1902, they were not statewide. “By that year Ohio had, at least, seven professional teams while Philadelphia had several. The Oakland Athletics and the Philadelphia Phillies competed in the first World Series professional football game at the Madison Square Garden” (History of American football). Attempts were made to establish uniformity to prevent a erroneous salarie. s and to develop universally accepted rules.
The National Football League struggled with finances in its early years. “The representatives of the four Ohio football leagues had agreed to form a single league and defined a common set of rules. Under the American Professional Football Association, that was later renamed National Football League, the Ohio teams reached out to other professional teams in the Great Lakes region of Northern America. The inaugural franchises in the National Football League included the Racine Cardinals, the Chicago Tigers, the Columbus Panhandles, the Canton Bulldogs, the Cleveland Indians, the Akron Pros, the Detroit Heralds, and the Muncie Flyers among many others” (economy in NFL). All these were small town teams and often played one another before only a couple hundred spectators. Most of the team’s organization was pathetic and funding was insignificant. Only four of the original fourteen teams lasted to the end of the first season. Teams joined and left the National Football League exasperatingly quickly and it was not until 1936 that the National Football League began with a setup that had it played the last season.
Since teams struggled with financial obligations, the NFL decided to restrict membership to twelve relative successful franchises in 1927. The following years saw the expansion of the teams from small Midwestern origins to large city teams extending toward the eastern coast. “The National Football League shifted its focus to heavily populated areas such as New York, Boston, and Philadelphia and failed to match the pace of the growing franchise, only Wisconsin’s Green Bay Packers survived” (Economy in NFL). The transition to urban settings aided the league to increase game attendance and enhance its financial backing.
The end of the first World War marked a new era for National Football League. The unforeseen fortunes of the American Populous brought success to many National Football Leagues clubs. The game became a favorite of the blue-collar and working-class males, and a new generation of players such as Ray Nitschke and Chuck Bednarik emerged.
“A steady change has been noted in the modification of football. Pioneers such as Walter Camp introduced some changes such as a snap, third-down and five that led to fourth-down and ten, modifying the field size, limiting the number of scrimmaging players, among others” (brain-injury related fatalities). These modifications distinguished the game from rugby and enhanced the safety of the players. “The rules have been modified to prevent defenseless players from taking in unnecessary hits to their shoulders. For instance rules forbid a player from launching themselves off of the ground and hitting a player in a vulnerable position such as the upper body with helmet” (Brain injury-related fatalities). The old rules in the previous centuries applied to receivers alone, but the new rules apply to everyone. Likewise, a game is immediately paused when a player loses a helmet. Also, the defense team cannot position their players on the line directly from the snapper and field goal and extra point attempts, as they are considered defenseless. Concussions are a major safety concern in the game and some rules of been implemented to prevent their occurrence and severity. Each player who suffers a concussion is required to undertake a mandatory independent review by a neurologist. “We found that a total of 497 brain injury-related fatalities occurred among