The History Of American Football Physical Education Essay

The History Of the Statesn Foot dinner g proclaim Physical Education stressAmeri gouge foot eggs racyresulted from some(prenominal) major divergences from rugby, most notably the find verboten changes instituted byWalter Camp, considered the Father of Ameri jakes Foot gawk. Among these important changes were the introduction of the teleph angiotensin-converting enzyme wire of merchandise of scrimmageand of mess-and-distancerules.In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, bet vivify developments by college coaches such asEddie Cochems,Amos Alonzo Stagg,Knute Rockne, andGlenn Pop Warnerhelped take advantage of the newly introducedforward attract. The popularity of collegiate foot junkiegrew as it became the dominant version of the sport in the joined States for the outgrowth half of the twentieth century.Bowl games, a college foot puffiness tradition, attracted a national audience for collegiate aggroups. Bolstered by fierce giberies, college football still holds widespread appeal in the US.The origin ofprofessional football hatful be traced back to 1892, withWilliam Pudge Heffelfingers$500 embrace to chat up in a game for theAllegheny Athletic Associationagainst the Pittsburgh Athletic Club. In 1920 the American Professional Football Association was formed. This league changed its name to the guinea pig Football coalition(NFL) both familys by and by, and eventually became themajor leagueof American football. Primarily a sport of Midwestern industrial towns in the United States, professional football eventually became a national phenomenon. Footballs increasing popularity is ordinarily traced to the1958 NFL Championship Game, a contest that has been dubbed the Greatest Game Ever Played. A rival league to the NFL, theAmerican Football League(AFL), began play in 1960 the pressure it put on the senior league led to amerger betwixt the two leagues and the creation of theSuper Bowl, which has become the most watched television event in the United St ates on an annual basis.First gamesAlthough there are mentions of primeval Americansplaying ball games, modern American football has its origins in traditional ball games play at villages and schools in Europe for many centuries before America was settled by Europeans. There are reports of earlysettlersatJamestown, Virginiaplaying games with inflated balls in the early 17th century.Early games appear to have had lots in common with the traditional mob football vie in England, especially onShrove Tuesday. The games remained largely unorganized until the 19th century, whenintramuralgames of football began to be played on college camp intakes. Each school played its own variety of football.Princetonstudents played a game called ballown as early as 1820. AHarvardtradition know as Bloody Monday began in 1827, which consisted of a mass ballgame between the freshman and sophomore classes.Dartmouthplayed its own version called Old division football, the rules of which were initiatory mak e in 1871, though the game dates to at least the 1830s. All of these games, and opposites, shared certain commonalities. They remained largely mob style games, with huge numbers of imposters attempting to glide path the ball into a goal area, often by any means necessary. Rules were simple and violence and injury were common.The violence of these mob-style games led to widespread protests and a decision to expectonness them.Yale, under pressure from the city ofNew Haven, banned the play of all forms of football in 1860, plot of ground Harvard followed suit in 1861.Boston game term the game was being banned in colleges, it was growing in popularity in variouseast coastprep schools. In 1855, manufactured inflatable balls were introduced. These were often more regular in shape than the handmade balls of earlier times, fashioning the boot and carrying easier. Two general types of football had evolved by this time kicking games and trial (or carrying) games. A hybrid of the two, know as the Boston game, was played by a group known as theOneida Football Club. The club, considered by some historians as the eldest formalfootball clubin the United States, was formed in 1862 by schoolboys who played the Boston game onBoston Common. They played mostly between themselves, though they organized a team of non-members to play a game in November 1863, which the Oneidas won easily. The game caught the attention of the press, and the Boston game continued to spread throughout the 1860s.The game began to return to college campuses by the late 1860s. Yale, Princeton,Rutgers, andBrownall began playing kicking games during this time. In 1867, Princeton used rules based on those of the EnglishFootball Association.A running game, resembling rugby, was taken up by theMontreal Football Clubin Canada in 1868. extramural footballRutgers v. Princeton (1869)http//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/ quarter round/2/2f/Firstfootballgame.jpg/200px-Firstfootballgame.jpgOn November 6, 1869,Rutgers UniversityfacedPrinceton Universityin a game that is often regarded as the first game ofintercollegiate football.The game was played at a Rutgers straining under Rutgers rules. Two teams of 25 fakes attempted to score by kicking the ball into the opponent teams goal. Throwing or carrying the ball was not allowed. The first team to r separately six goals was declared the winner. Rutgers won by a score of six to four-spot. A rematch was played at Princeton a week later under Princeton rules (one notable difference was the awarding of a free kick to any fraud that caught the ball on the fly). Princeton won that game by a score of eight to zero.Columbiajoined the series in 1870, and by 1872 several schools were fielding intercollegiate teams, includingYaleandStevens Institute of Technology.Rules standardization (1873-1880)On October 19, 1873, representatives from Yale, Columbia, Princeton, and Rutgers met at the fifth part Avenue Hotel inNew York Cityto codify the firs t set of intercollegiate football rules. Before this meeting, each school had its own set of rules and games were ordinarily played using the home teams own particular code. At this meeting, a list of rules, based more on soccer than on rugby, was drawn up for intercollegiate football games.Harvard, which played the Boston game, a version of football that allowed carrying, refused to att cease this rules conference and continued to play under its own code. While Harvards impulsive absence from the meeting made it hard for them to schedule games against new(prenominal) American universities, it agreed to a challenge to playMcGill University, fromMontreal, in a two-game series. The McGill team travelled toCambridgeto meet Harvard. On May 14, 1874, the first game, played under Boston rules, was won by Harvard with a score of 3-0. The following day, the two teams played rugby to a scoreless tie.http//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b9/1882RutgersFootballTeam.jpg/180px -1882RutgersFootballTeam.jpgTheRutgers Collegefootball team of 1882, wearing uniforms typical of the periodHarvard quickly took a liking to the rugby game, and its use of thetrywhich, until that time, was not used in American football. The try would later evolve into the score known as thetouchdown. In late 1874, the Harvard team traveled to Montral to play McGill in rugby, and won by three tries. A year later, on June 4, 1875, Harvard facedTufts Universityin the first game between two American colleges played under rules similar to the McGill/Harvard contest, which was won by Tufts 1-0.The first edition ofThe Game-the annual contest between Harvard and Yale-was played on November 13, 1875, under a modified set of rugby rules known as The Concessionary Rules. Yale lost 4-0, however found that it too preferred the rugby style game. Spectators from Princeton carried the game back home, where it likewise became popular.On November 23, 1876, representatives from Harvard, Yale, Prince ton, and Columbia met at the Massasoit House inSpringfield, Massachusettsto standardize a new code of rules based on the rugby game first introduced to Harvard by McGill University in 1874. The rules were based largely on theRugby Football Unions code from England, though one important difference was the replacement of a kicked goal with a touchdown as the primary means of scoring (a change that would later occur in rugby itself, favoring thetryas the main scoring event). Three of the schools-Harvard, Columbia, and Princeton-formed theIntercollegiate Football Association, as a result of the meeting. Yale did not join the group until 1879, be bowel movement of an early disagreement about the number of players per team.Walter Camp Father of American footballWalter Campis widely considered to be the most important figure in the development of American football.http//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/30/Walter_Camp_-_Project_Gutenberg_eText_18048.jpg/180px-Walter_Camp_-_Pro ject_Gutenberg_eText_18048.jpgWalter Camp, the Father of American Football, pictured here in 1878 as the captain of the Yale football teamAs a youth, he excelled in sports liketrack,baseball, and soccer, and after enrolling at Yale in 1876, he earned varsity honors in both sport the school offered.Camp became a fixture at the Massasoit House conventions where rules were debated and changed. He proposed his first rule change at the first meeting he attended in 1878 a reduction from fifteen players to eleven. The motion was rejected at that time but passed in 1880. The effect was to open up the game and emphasize speed everyplace strength. Camps most famous change, the establishment of theline of scrimmageand thesnapfrom contracttoquarterback, was as well as passed in 1880. Originally, the snap was executed with the foot of the center. Later changes made it possible to snap the ball with the hands, both through the air or by a direct hand-to-hand pass.Camps new scrimmage rules rev olutionized the game, though not always as intended. Princeton, in particular, used scrimmage play to slow the game, making incremental progress towards the end zone during eachdown. Rather than increase scoring, which had been Camps original intent, the rule was exploited to maintain control of the ball for the entire game, resulting in slow, unexciting contests. At the 1882 rules meeting, Camp proposed that a team be required to advance the ball a minimum of cardinal curtilages within three downs. These down-and-distance rules, feature with the establishment of the line of scrimmage, transformed the game from a variation of rugby or soccer into the distinct sport of American football.Camp was central to several more significant rule changes that came to define American football. In 1881, the field was reduced in size to its modern dimensions of 120 by 53 1/3 yards (109.7 by 48.8 meters). Several times in 1883, Camp tinkered with the scoring rules, finally arriving at four poin ts for a touchdown, two points forkicks after touchdowns, two points for safeties, and five forfield goals. In 1887, gametime was set at two halves of 45 minutes each. Also in 1887, two paid officials-arefereeand anumpire-were mandated for each game. A year later, the rules were changed to allow tackling below the waist, and in 1889, the officials were given whistles and stopwatches.After leaving Yale in 1882, Camp was employed by the New Haven Clock Company until his devastation in 1925. Though no longer a player, he remained a fixture at annual rules meetings for most of his life, and he personally selected an annualAll-American teamevery year from 1898 through 1924. TheWalter Camp Football Foundationcontinues to select All-American teams in his honor.RulesField and playershttp//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c5/AmFBfield.svg/250px-AmFBfield.svg.pngThe numbers on the field indicate the number ofyardsto the nearest end zone.American football is played on a field 36 0 by 160 feet (109.7 by 48.8 m). The longer spring lines aresidelines, while the shorter boundary lines areend lines. Sidelines and end lines are out of bounds. Near each end of the field is agoal line they are 100yards (91.4m) apart. A scoring area called anend zoneextends 10yards (9.1m) beyond each goal line to each end line. The end zone includes the goal line but not the end line.While the playing field is effectively flat, it is common for a field to be construct with a slight crown-with the middle of the field higher than the sides-to allow water to drain from the field.Yard linescross the field every 5yards (4.6m), and are numbered every 10 yards from each goal line to the 50-yard line, or midfield (similar to a typicalrugby leaguefield). Two rows of short lines, known as inbounds lines or hash marks, run at 1-yard (91.4cm) intervals perpendicular to the sidelines near the middle of the field. All plays start with the ball on or between the hash marks. Because of the arrang ement of the lines, the field is now and again referred to as a gridiron.At the back of each end zone are twogoalposts( similarly calleduprights) connected by a crossbar 10feet (3.05m) from the ground. For high attainment levels, the posts are 222inches (5.64m) apart. For lower skill levels, these are widened to 280inches (7.11m).Each team has 11 players on the field at a time. However, teams may substitute for any or all of their players, if time allows, during the break between plays. As a result, players have very specialized roles, and, sometimes (although rarely) almost all of the (at least) 46 active players on an NFL team go out play in any given game. Thus, teams are divided into three separate units theoffense, thedefenseand thespecial teams.Start of halvesSimilarly to connective football, the game begins with a expunge tossto determine which team will kick off to begin the game and which goal each team will defend.The options are presented again to start the second half the choices for the first half do not automatically determine the start of the second half. The referee conducts the coin toss with the captains (or sometimes coaches) of the opposing teams. The team that wins the coin toss has three optionsThey may favor whether to kick or receive the opening offset printing.They may choose which goal to defend.They may choose todeferthe first choice to the other team and have first choice to start the second half.Whatever the first team chooses, the second team has the option on the other choice (for example, if the first team elects to receive at the start of the game, the second team can decide which goal to defend).At the start of the second half, the options to kick, receive, or choose a goal to defend are presented to the captains again. The team which did not choose first to start the first half (or which deferred its privilege to choose first) now totals first choice of options.Game durationA standard football game consists of four 15-m inute quarters (12-minute quarters in high-school football and often shorter at lower levels),with a 12 minutehalf-timeintermission after the second quarter.The measure stops after certain plays therefore, a game can last considerably longer (often more than three hours in real time), and if a game is broadcast ontelevision,TV timeoutsare taken at certain intervals of the game to broadcastcommercialsoutside of game action. If an NFL game is tied after four quarters, the teams play an additional period lasting up to 15 minutes. In an NFL extra time game, the first team that scores wins, even if the other team does not get a possession this is referred to assudden death. In a regular-season NFL game, if neither team scores in overtime, the game is a tie. In an NFL playoff game, additional overtime periods are played, as needed, to determine a winner. College overtime rules are more complicated and are described inOvertime (sport).http//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5 c/NSU_Football.jpg/180px-NSU_Football.jpgAline of scrimmageon the 48-yard line. The offense is on the left.http//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/42/Nate_Longshore_prepares_to_pass_at_ASU_at_Cal_2008-10.04.jpg/180px-Nate_Longshore_prepares_to_pass_at_ASU_at_Cal_2008-10.04.jpgAquarterbacksearching for opportunity to cerebrovascular accident a pass.http//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d8/2006_Pro_Bowl_tackle.jpg/180px-2006_Pro_Bowl_tackle.jpgArunning backbeing tackled when he tries to run with the ball.http//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/63/Shea_Smith-edit1.jpg/180px-Shea_Smith-edit1.jpgA quarterback preparing to throw a pass.http//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/0/01/Orton_To_Wolfe.jpg/180px-Orton_To_Wolfe.jpgForward pass in progress, during practice.http//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/0d/Alabama_Field-Goal.JPG/180px-Alabama_Field-Goal.JPGA kicker attempts an extra point. move on the ballAdvancing the ball in Am erican football resembles thesix-tackle ruleand theplay-the-ballinrugby league. The team that takes possession of the ball (theoffense) has four attempts, calleddowns, in which to advance the ball at least 10yards (9.1m) toward their opponents (thedefenses) end zone. When the offense succeeds in gaining at least 10 yards, it gets afirst down, meaning the team has another(prenominal) set of four downs to gain yet another 10 yards or to score. If the offense fails to gain a first down (10 yards) after 4 downs, the other team gets possession of the ball at the point where the fourth down ended, beginning with their first down to advance the ball in the opposite direction. notwithstanding at the beginning of halves and after scores, the ball is always put into play by asnap. Offensive players line up facing defending players at theline of scrimmage(the position on the field where the play begins). One offensive player, thecenter, and then passes (or snaps) the ball backwards between his legs to a teammate behind him, usually thequarterback.Players can then advance the ball in two waysBy running with the ball, also known asrushing.By throwing the ball to a teammate, known as aforward passor aspassingthe football. The forward pass is a key factor distinguishing American and Canadian football from other football sports. The offense can throw the ball forward entirely once during a down and only from behind the line of scrimmage. The ball can be thrown, pitched, handed-off, or tossed sideways or backwards at any time.A down ends, and the ball becomes numb(p), after any of the sidelineThe player with the ball is forced to the ground (atackle) or has his forward progress halted by members of the other team (as determined by anofficial).A forward pass flies beyond the dimensions of the field (out of bounds) or touches the ground before it is caught. This is known as anincomplete pass. The ball is returned to the most recent line of scrimmage for the next down.The b all or the player with the ball goes out of bounds.A team scores.Officials blow a whistle to notify players that the down is over.Before each down, each team chooses aplay, or coordinated movements and actions, that the players should follow on a down. Sometimes, downs themselves are referred to as plays.Change of possessionThe offense maintains possession of the ball unless one of the following things occursThe team fails to get a first down- i.e., in four downs they fail to move the ball past a line 10 yards forward of where they got their last first down (it is possible to be downed behind the current line of scrimmage, losing yardage). The defensive team takes over the ball at the spot where the 4th-down play ends. A change of possession in this manner is commonly called aturnover on downs, but is not credited as a defensive turnover in official statistics. Instead, it goes against the offenses 4th down efficiency percentage.The offense scores a touchdown or field goal. The tea m that scored then kicks the ball to the other team in a special play called akickoff.The offense punts the ball to the defense. Apuntis a kick in which a player drops the ball and kicks it before it hits the ground. Punts are nearly always made on fourth down (though seequick kick), when the offensive team does not want to risk giving up the ball to the other team at its current spot on the field (through a failed attempt to make a first down) and feels it is too far from the other teams goal posts to attempt a field goal.A defensive player catches a forward pass. This is called aninterception, and the player who makes the interception can run with the ball until he is tackled, forced out of bounds, or scores.An offensive player drops the ball (afumble) and a defensive player picks it up. As with interceptions, a player recovering a fumble can run with the ball until tackled, forced out of bounds, or scores. Backward passes that are not caught do not cause the down to end like inco mplete forward passes do instead the ball is still live as if it had been fumbled. Lost fumbles and interceptions are together known asturnovers.The offensive team misses a field goal attempt. The defensive team gets the ball at the spot where the previous play began (or, in the NFL, at the spot of the kick). If the unsuccessful kick was attempted from within 20yards (18.3m) of the end zone, the other team gets the ball at its own 20 yard line (that is, 20 yards from the end zone). If a field goal is missed or blocked and the ball remains in the field of play, a defensive player may pick up the ball and attempt to advance it.While in his own end zone, an offensive ball carrier is tackled, forced out of bounds, loses the ball out of bounds, or the offense commits certain fouls. This fairly rare occurrence is called asafety.An offensive ball carrier fumbles the ball forward into the opposing end zone, and then the ball goes out of bounds. This extremely rare occurrence leads to atouch back, with the ball going over to the opposing team at their 20 yard line (Note that touchbacks during non-offensive speplays, such as punts and kickoffs, are quite common).ScoringA team scores points by the following playsAtouchdown(TD) is worth 6 points.It is scored when a player runs the ball into or catches a pass in his opponents end zone.A touchdown is analogous to atryin rugby. Unlike rugby, a player does not have to touch the ball to the ground to score a touchdown is scored any time a player has possession of the ball while the ball is on or beyond the opponents goal line (or the plane above it).After a touchdown, the scoring team attempts atry(which is also analogous to theconversion in rugby). The ball is placed at the other teams 3-yard (2.7m) line (the 2-yard (1.8m) line in the NFL). The team can attempt to kick it over the crossbar and through the goal posts in the manner of a field goal for 1 point (anextra pointorpoint-after touchdown (PAT)19), or run or pass it int o the end zone in the manner of a touchdown for 2 points (atwo-point conversion). In college football, if the defense intercepts or recovers a fumble during a one or two point conversion attempt and returns it to the opposing end zone, the defensive team is awarded the two points.Afield goal(FG) is worth 3 points, and it is scored by kicking the ball over the crossbar and through the goal posts (uprights).Field goals may be placekicked (kicked when the ball is held vertically against the ground by a teammate) ordrop-kicked(extremely laughable in the modern game, with only two successes in sixty-plus years in the NFL). A field goal is usually attempted on fourth down instead of a punt when the ball is close to the opponents goal line, or, when there is little or no time left to otherwise score.Asafety, worth 2 points, is scored by the opposing team when the team in possession at the end of a down is liable for the ball becoming dead behind its own goal line. For instance, a safety is scored by the defense if an offensive player is tackled, goes out of bounds, or fumbles the ball out of bounds in his own end zone.Safeties are relatively rare. Note that, though even more rare, the team initially on offense during a down can score a safety if a player of the original defense gains possession of the ball in front of his own goal line and then carries the ball or fumbles it into his own end zone where it becomes dead. However, if the ball becomes dead behind the goal line of the team in possession and its opponent is responsible for the ball being there (for instance, if the defense intercepts a forward pass in its own end zone and the ball becomes dead before the ball is advanced out of the end zone) it is a touchback no points are scored and the team last in possession keeps possession with a first down at its own 20 yard line. In amateur football, in the extremely rare instance that a safety is scored on a try, it is worth only 1 point.Kickoffs and free kicksEa ch half begins with akickoff. Teams also kick off after scoring touchdowns and field goals. The ball is kicked using a kicking tee from the teams own 30-yard (27m) line in the NFL and college football (as of the 2007 season). The other teams kick returner tries to catch the ball and advance it as far as possible. Where he is halt is the point where the offense will begin itsdrive, or series of offensive plays. If the kick returner catches the ball in his own end zone, he can either run with the ball, or elect for atouchbackby kneeling in the end zone, in which case the receiving team then starts its offensive drive from its own 20 yard line. A touchback also occurs when the kick goes out-of-bounds in the end zone. A kickoff that goes out-of-bounds anywhere other than the end zone before being touched by the receiving team is a foul, and the ball will be placed where it went out of bounds or 30yards (27m) from the kickoff spot, depending on which is more advantageous to the opposite team.Unlike with punts, once a kickoff goes 10 yards and the ball has hit the ground, it can be recovered by the kicking team.A team, especially one who is losing, can try to take advantage of this by attempting anonside kick. Punts and turnovers in the end zone can also end in atouchback.After safeties, the team that gave up the points mustfree kickthe ball to the other team from its own 20 yard line.PenaltiesFouls (a type of rule violation) are punished withpenaltiesagainst the offending team. Most penalties result in moving the football towards the offending teams end zone. If the punishment would move the ball more than half the distance towards the offenders end zone, the penalty becomes half the distance to the goal instead of its normal value.Most penalties result in replaying the down. Some defensive penalties give the offense an automatic first down.Conversely, some offensive penalties result in loss of a down (loss of the right to repeat the down).If a penalty gives the o ffensive team enough yardage to gain a first down, they get a first down, as usual.If a foul occurs during a down, an official throws a yellowpenalty flagnear the spot of the foul. When the down ends, the team that did not commit the foul has the option of judge the penalty, or declining the penalty and accepting the result of the down.VariationsVariations on these basic rules exist, particularlytouchandflag football, which are designed as non-contact or limited-contact alternatives to the relativeviolenceof regular American football. In touch and flag football, tackling is not permitted. Offensive players are tackled when a defender tags them or removes a flag from their body, respectively. Both of these varieties are played mainly in informal settings such asintramuralor youth games. Another variation is wrap, where a player is tackled when another player wraps his arms around the ball carrier. Professional, intercollegiate, and varsity-level high school football invariably use t he standard tackling rules.Another variation is with the number of players on the field. In sparsely populated areas, it is not ridiculous to find high school football teams playingnine-man football,eight-man footballorsix-man football. Players often play on offense as well as defense. TheArena Football Leagueis a league that plays eight-man football, but also plays indoors and on a much smaller playing surface with rule changes to encourage a much more offensive game.Another variation often played by American children is called Catch and Run. In this game, the children split into two teams and line up at opposite sides of the playing field. One side throws the ball to the other side. If the opposing team catches the ball, that player tries to run to the throwing teams touchdown without being tagged/tackled. If no one catches the ball or if the player is tagged/tackled, then that team has to throw the ball to the opposing team. This repeats until the game (or recess period) is deem ed over.