American Football History

Every time I see any National Football League (NFL) match, I wonder what was the time and what were the circumstances when American Football started catching the fantasy of the whole of the USA? How has this game taken people by a storm? I guess the root lies in European game, or rather the British game of Rugby. But there is more to American Football history than just the resemblance to Rugby. Let's see what is it that makes American football so amazing to know about.

History of American Football

1876
In the Massasoit House Convention, for the first time rules were formalized for American Football, thanks to the father of American Football, Walter Camp. Walter Camp, a fantastic athlete then got involved in American Football.

1892
In this year, two Pittsburgh-area clubs, the Allegheny Athletic Association (AAA) and the Pittsburgh Athletic Club (PAC) were fiercely competitive. This competition resulted in the making of one of the first professional football player. He was Yale All-America guard William (Pudge) Heffelfinger, representing AAA against PAC.

1897
La Trobe Athletic Association football team became totally professional. For a full season, it had only professionals and it was the first team to do so.

1898
Where earlier a touchdown could get a team 4 points, now a team could score 5 for a touchdown.

1920
These were difficult times for American football. American football was reeling under 3 teething problems - rising salaries, enrolling college players still in school and frequent jumping of players from one team to other.

1924
This was the year in the history of American Football when league had 18 franchises, the addition being Kansas City, Kenosha, and Frankford.

1925
NFL's expanse was increasing as it added 5 more franchises to its bandwagon. The New York Giants, the Detroit Panthers, featuring Jimmy Conzelman as owner, coach, and tailback; the Providence Steam Roller; a new Canton Bulldogs team; and the Pottsville Maroons, perhaps the most successful independent professional team. For the first time, the NFL (National Football League) established a player limit of 16 players.

1939
In the first Pro Bowl championship, the New York Giants defeated Pro All Stars 13-10 at Wrigley Field, Los Angeles on January 15. In the same year on May 20, Carr, NFL president since 1921, died in Columbus. Subsequently, Carl Storck was named acting president on May 25.

1970
Vince Lombardi, a legendary American Football figure died of cancer at 57, September 3. The NFL's Super Bowl Trophy has been named in his honor. It was in the same year on September 10. He coached Green Bay Packers in the 1960s.

1971
This was the year when Dallas Cowboys changed their home ground from Cotton Bowl to Texas Stadium, their new home ground on October 24.

1975
For all the seasons, pre season, regular season and play off games, referees now had the facility of wireless microphones.

1979
There was an amendment in NFL rules which had a major emphasis on safety of the players. The safety rules were made very stringent and covered every aspect of the game from tackle to punts to worn out gear being not allowed.

1981
48% of sports fans were in favor of football to 31 percent for baseball, as per a joint CBS - New York poll. This was a clear indication of good days to come. In the same year, 167 representatives from 44 predominantly black colleges during training camps for a total of 289 days were hosted by the NFL teams. The objective behind this program was renewal during each training camp period.

2003
In the year 2003, NFL owners awarded Super Bowl XLI, to be played on February 4, 2007 to Miami on September 17.

2005
Long-term agreements for Sunday and Monday primetime TV packages were sought after by NFL. The same year, NBC acquired the Sunday night package for six years (2006-2011) for NFL. Meanwhile, ESPN bagged an eight-year deal for broadcasting Monday Night Football from 2006-2013 on April 18.

These were the important happenings in American Football history, although there were many more things running parallel alongside these. All the 'firsts' and remarkable wins, the rise and fall of American football stars and so on also happened during all these years. This is where I close on the pages of history and say adios!