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→The Gradual Invention of American Football
Later in the Middle Ages, in Europe, different types of ball games developed where towns or cities competing with one another. In these game, which likely had different rules in various places, teams would form and a ball would be used where the goals were likely similar to <i>Harpastum</i>. This was a type of mob ball or mob football, where towns would try to win bragging rights by beating their rival towns. A few images from the Medieval period show it was a type of team sport.<ref>For more on Medieval ball games, see: Curry, Graham, and Eric Dunning. 2015. <i>Association Football: A Study in Figurational Sociology.</i> Routledge Research in Sports History. New York: Routledge.</ref> Essentially, ball based games where people tackled each other have been around for a very long time.
====The Gradual Invention of When was American Football==Invented?==
[[File:1895 Auburn - Georgia football game at Piedmont Park in Atlanta Georgia.jpg|left|350px|thumbnail|Figure 2. Auburn vs. Georgia football game in 1895.]]
Up until the 19th century, many versions of what can be called mob football existed. In fact, this variety of football has muddled the story of how American football developed, but historians believe that the formation of American football was ultimately tied to the development of rugby. Older American universities, particularly Harvard and Yale, had developed student football traditions that resembled a cross between rugby and mob football.<ref>For more on the origins and influence of mob football, rugby, and other related sports see: <i>The DNA of Rugby Football A Short History of the Origin of Rugby Football</i>. 2015. Partridge Africa.</ref> These games initially had few clear rules except masses of students would play together and two sides would compete to possess a ball and try to win points with this ball. The games were more like soccer but much more violent. In fact, some places began banning sports due to excessive violence.
Things began to change, however, by 1869, when Rutgers and Princeton played what effectively became known as the first intercollegiate football game.<ref>For more on the first game and early history of American football, see: Whittingham, Richard. 2001. <i>Rites of Autumn: The Story of College Football</i>. New York: Free Press, pg. 30</ref> This game was still very different from American football but was a watershed because it standardized the game, with rules being set prior to the match. Furthermore, early coaches, names of positions, and many early strategies have their origin with this game, effectively making it a key moment in the history of American football. Nevertheless, scoring involved kicking the ball, which was the origin of the field goal, and the two teams each had 25 players. In 1876, an association of Harvard, Columbia, and Yale formed a group that formalized rules, although kicking was the way in which a team would score points. That was the year the first formal Thanksgiving game was also played. By 1875, what became the touchdown was invented. It was only by 1881 that the touchdown took precedent over the field goal. Throwing the football first occurred in 1895, which only emerged as a team was desperate to score before time ran out.<ref>For more on the late 19th-century development of American football, see: Coombs, Danielle Sarver, and Bob Batchelor, eds. 2013. <i>American History through American Sports: From Colonial Lacrosse to Extreme Sports</i>. Santa Barbara, Calif: Praeger.</ref>
==When did modern football begin to Emerge?==In 1909, a touchdown worth six points and a field goal worth three were formalized. At this point, American football developed more greatly as the game was opened up more. In fact, as more universities adopted football, it also became an interest for universities to protect their players and students. A crisis in 1905-1906 led to the realization there needed to be changed in the rules in American football to make it less violent. Thus, many of the rules were intended to protect players but they also helped radically change the game.<ref>For more on the early 20th century developments of American football, see: Dyreson, Mark, and Jaime Schultz. 2015. <i>American National Pastimes: A History</i>.</ref> It may seem ironic but it was finding new rules to protect players that allowed American football to begin to look even more different from its rugby counterpart. In particular, rules protecting the passer became of greater importance. Rules for catching the ball and who can catch the ball downfield were made easier by the 1910s. Further crises of safety, where at the high school level many players died or were severely injured, influenced more reforms.<ref>For more on injuries, see: Coombs, Danielle Sarver, and Bob Batchelor, eds. 2013. <i>American History through American Sports: From Colonial Lacrosse to Extreme Sports</i>. Santa Barbara, Calif: Praeger, p. 246.</ref>
In particular, the introduction of the line of scrimmage and the number of players that had to align there has its origin in this crisis. At times in the 1910s, American football was severely criticized for its excessive violence and what appeared to be overly competitive behavior that emphasized winning at all costs. World War I, however, in a way made those sentiments less important, as competition and athletics were seen as ways for men to become better soldiers. This helped to make the game once again very popular and allowed it to survive its crises years regarding safety.<ref>Watterson, John Sayle. 2000. <i>College Football: History, Spectacle, Controversy</i>. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, p. 143.</ref>
