Who Invented Football?
You may not know who invented football, but you probably know that it sparks tailgating all across the nation, both at college campuses and professional arenas. Fans paint their faces in their team colors, and Sunday afternoons are packed with wall-to-wall games. What is this phenomenon? It is football, American style.
Baseball may be called America’s pastime, but football is the most popular sport in the nation. The rivalries, the line-ups, the plays, and the collisions make the weekly football games anticipated by millions across the country, and we have one man to thank for the gatherings on the gridiron.
The father of football, Walter Camp, started as a rugby player at Yale University. During the 1875-76 season, he played in the first-ever Yale versus Harvard rugby game, a well-known rivalry game to this day. Football claims lineage from rugby, for from that game, Camp created the game that came to be known across America as football. He was part of the Yale team that helped to develop football as we know it to be today.
Walter Camp was an all-around athlete, enjoying swimming, running, and tennis. He was strongly interested in maintaining good health and choosing healthful food, so he exercised regularly and ate carefully before doing so was widely popular. When he went to pursue higher education at Yale, he took his love of exercise and sport with him. He played on the varsity teams beginning his freshman year in 1877 and continued throughout all four years of his academic career. He even captained the team from 1878 through 1881. It was during his years at Yale that football was born.
While Camp was captain, Yale garnered 25 wins, one loss, and six ties. He was a skilled runner and kicker, as well as a fearsome tackler. However, he was more than just a quality football player. He was interested in fair play and in following the rules, as well as developing the game. He ran plays from scrimmage, developed the team structure of 11 men on the field per side, created plays, and laid out strategies that led to the game of football as we see it today. He even chose the first All-America team so outstanding players could be recognized on a national scale. He chose every All-America team from 1898 through 1924. So, while the game has evolved since Camp’s time, he is the one who created the foundations of today’s game - he is known as the person who invented football.
American Football: Formation of the NCAA
Camp helped to form the National Collegiate Athletic Association, commonly known as the NCAA, which provides common rules and governance for sports and athletic programs at colleges and universities across the country. He formulated and served on the football rules committee from the time he was in college. Camp served his alma mater as Yale’s first football coach, developing both players and the game from 1876 through 1910. Further, because he was widely known as an advocate of exercise and good health, he was given the responsibility to oversee the physical conditioning of the American troops in World War I.
Changes to Football
In the early Twentieth century, football was under scrutiny because it was a hard-fought, often brutal game. Players ran true risk of being seriously injured. Camp helped to establish rules and other changes to make the game more challenging and less brutal. For example, he helped to establish the forward pass, which is so common in today’s game. Because of the changes he made, football was looked upon more favorably and more people were willing to play.
Walter Camp enjoyed the game and had a vision. He wanted everyone, players and fans alike, to enjoy football as much as he did. He took every step possible to make sure that football was fast-paced and challenging, but also fair and sporting. His success in establishing and developing football resulted in a game that is loved from coast to coast, covered on television, radio, online, and in the press, and eagerly awaited by millions of Americans.