COLLEGE FOOTBALL

HARVARD 0 – YALE 0 NOV.25, 1911. LIBRARY OF CONGRESS, PRINTS AND PHOTOGRAPHS DIVISION, LC-USZ62-130692

Football practice at Yale (1908-1915)Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division. LC-UCZ62-128537

SUMMARY FOOTBALL MULTIPLE ORIGINS THE STUDENT ERA, 1870-1905 WALTER CAMP PRINCIPLES PROFESSIONAL FOOTBALL FIRST

ATTEMPTS, FOOTBALL WORLD SERIES FOOTBALL REFORM, 1905-1920 KING FOOTBALL ERA, 1920-1945 FOOTBALL vs. BASEBALL 1920-1930s

CONTEST

EARLY HISTORICAL ORIGINS: MANY CULTURES PRACTICED SPORT COMPETITIONS THAT

COULD BE CONSIDERED ANCESTORS OF FOOTBALL. IN ANCIENT GREECE AND ROME ADVANCING A BALL INTO THE OPPONENT’S GOAL WAS CALLED HARPASTON OR HASPASTUM

LATER IN EUROPE ENGLISH VILLAGES ORGANIZED MANY GOAL/BALL-KICKING COMPETITIONS, SOMETIMES INVOLVING THE MOST ATHLETIC BOYS IN EACH VILLAGE OR PARISH

IN RENAISSANCE ITALY A BALL-KCKING SPORT WAS THE CALCIO

BALL-CARRYING COMPETITIONS WERE COMMON TO MANY CULTURES IN PREINDUSTRIAL SOCIETIES

INFORMAL RULES APPLIED TO FIELD SIZE, SCORING, ETC.

BRITISH HERITAGE:BRITISH TRADITIONS ARE THE DIRECT ANCESTORS OF AMERICAN

FOOTBALL

IN THE 19TH CENTURY FOOTBALL WAS A FAVORITE SCHOOL YARD GAME AND COMPETITIONS IN BRITAIN.

FOOTBALL ASSOCIATION (SOCCER) AND RUGBY WERE DIFFERENT VARIATIONS OF THE SAME TRADITION, AND ONLY SEPARATED WITH AUTONOMOUS RULES IN THE SECOND HALF OF THE 19TH CENTURY

1823 WILLIAM WEBB ELLIS STORY AND THE “BIRTH OF RUGBY”. 1860s-70s ENGLISH RUGBY AND SOCCER ASSOCIATIONS. STUDENT ORGANIZATIONS. 1863 LONDON FOOTBALL ASSOCIATION WAS BORN

FOOTBALL TRADITIONS IN THE UNITED STATES FOLLOWING THE BRITISH TRADITIONS, STUDENTS IN

PRIVATE SCHOOLS IN THE EAST COAST ORGANIZED FOOTBALL GAMES AS AFTER SCHOOL RECREATIONAL ACTIVITIES

1840s YALE UNIVERSITY- AFTER SCHOOL FOOTBALL GAMES. “BLOODY MONDAY” WAS A HARVARD FOOTBALL TRADITION,

ABOLISHED BY THE UNIVERSITY AUTHORITIES IN 1860. STUDENT ORGANIZATIONS TRADITIONALLY FEATURED

FOOTBALL CONTESTS IN FESTIVITIES AND OTHER OCCASIONS.

FOOTBALL FOLLOWED DIFFERENT VARIATIONS OF FOOTBALL ASSOCIATION AND RUGBY

FOOTBALL IN THE U.S. SCHOOL TRADITION, IVY LEAGUE COLLEGES. 1869 NASSAU HALL (PRINCETON) vs. RUTGERS,

FOOTBALL MATCH. “FIRST FOOTBALL GAME”. HYBRID SOCCER & RUGBY, 45 MIN-HALVES, 15on15, RUGBY SCRUM, KICKING & CARRYING.

1874 McGill vs. HARVARD NOV 13 1875 HARVARD vs. YALE FOOTBALL, A

FOOTBALL MATCH HISTORIANS CONSIDERED THE FIRST SINCE IT WAS PLAYED UNDER RULES DIFFERENT FROM BOTH SOCCER AND RUGBY.

THE EVENT HAD OVER 2,000 SPECTATORS, 50 CENTS ENTRY, YALE 4-HARVARD 1 FINAL SCORE.

YALE ERA FIELD SIZE 140 BY 70 MARKS: GOALS AND HALF FIELD BLOCKING & TACKLING UNRULED BALL KICKED-BALL IN PLAY RULE RUGBY SCRUM, NO SCRIMMAGE LINE TWO 45 MINUTES HALVES ADVANCE BY CARRYING THE BALL

INTERCOLLEGIATE FOOTBALL ASSOCIATION, 1876. HARVARD, YALE, COLUMBIA, PRINCETON. ORIGINAL RULES WERE A COMBINATION FROM SOCCER &

RUGBY GAMES. STUDENT RUN RECREATIONAL ACTIVITY & COMPETITION. RITUAL OF MANHOOD, SCHOOL LOYALTY AND ELITES’ PHYSICAL

EXERCISE. BY THE LATE 1870s FOOTBALL WAS IN A FAST PROCESS OF

EVOLUTION INTO A SPORT COMPLETELY DIFFERENT FROM SOCCER AND RUGBY.

FOOTBALL MIRRORED THE ASPIRATIONS OF UPPER CLASS STUDENTS IN PRIVATE SCHOOLS TO PROJECT A POSITIVE IMAGE OF MANHOOD WHILE DISPLAYING LOYALTY TO THEIR OWN UNIVERSITY AGAINST OTHER STUDENTS.

YALE FOOTBALL TEAM 1908.

THE FATHER OF AMERICAN FOOTBALL WALTER CAMP, YALE STUDENT, 1870s. 1888-1892 COACH FOR YALE, “FIRST COACH” IN FOOTBALL.

WALTER CAMP IS CREDITED WITH THE INNOVATIONS THAT TRANSFORMED FOOTBALL INTO A FAST-PACED, STRATEHY-BASED SPORT IN THE 1880s. UNDER HIS LEADERSHIP FOOTBALL BECAME A UNIQUE AND INDEPENDENT SPORT. HERE ARE SOME THE RULES HE ADOPTED:

RULES CHANGE: 11on11, 110-120 YARDS FIELD-SIZE. LINE OF SCRIMMAGE RULE CONTINUED POSSESSION OFFENSIVE PLAYS PLANNED IN ADVANCE.

WALTER CAMP BORN IN A MIDDLE CLASS FAMILY, NEW HAVEN, CT. PLAYER, TEAM CAPTAIN, TEAM ADVISOR (NEVER

OFFICIALLY DESIGNATED COACH), RULES-MAKER, WRITER, LECTURER.

BUSINESS EXECUTIVE, ALSO A MANAGER IN A CLOCK FACTORY IN NEW HAVEN, INTERESTED IN HIGH EFFICIENT WAYS OF MANUFACTURING.

TRIED TO ADAPT SOME “TIME-MOTION” THEORIES OF SCIENTIFIC MANAGEMENT TO THE SPORT OF FOOTBALL

THE TIME-MOTION SYSTEM MANAGEMENT INNOVATIONS BY CAMP GAVE YALE FOOTBALL TEAM A CONSIDERABLE EDGE IN THE COMPETITION.

WALTER CAMP PRINCIPLES “TIME-AND-MOTION” EFFICIENCY CONCEPTS FROM FREDERICK

W. TAYLOR “TAYLORISM”, ENGINEERING/MANUFACTURING PRODUCTION SYSTEMS.

FOOTBALL: SPECIALIZATION IN THE FIELD, SYNCHRONIZED COLLECTIVE ACTION OVER INDIVIDUAL SPONTANEITY.

ORGANIZED, RATIONAL, PLANNED ADVANCE OVER FREE-FLOW ACTION

WALTER CAMP PRINCIPLES FOOTBALL WAS REORGANIZED BY “SCIENTIFIC PLANNING” WITH

“STRATEGY AND TACTICS”; TEAMS: “ORGANIZED HUMAN MACHINES”, TEAM ADVISORS “INDUSTRIAL MANAGERS”.

ORGANIZED PATTERNS OF PLAY, LEARNED AND EXECUTED THROUGH DISCIPLINE, STUDY AND SPECIALIZATION.

NO ROOM FOR CHANCE AND SPONTANEITY “METHOD, NOT MEN”, SPECIFIC RESPONSIBILITIES FOR SPECIFIC

PLAYERS. OVERALL, CAMP EXPERIMENTS WERE A CRUCIAL COMPONENT OF

YALE’S SUPREMACY IN THE FIELD OVERALL, CAMP’S INNOVATIONS WERE PIVOTAL IN THE DEFINITIVE

TRANSFORMATION OF FOOTBALL AS A COMPLETELY UNIQUE SPORT, BASED ON CAREFULLY PREARRANGED OFFENSIVE PLAYS DESIGNED TO ACHIEVE THE HIGHEST GAINS UNDER THE MOST EFFICIENT WAYS TO ORGANIZE PLAYERS’ POSITION AND MOVEMENT.

LINE OF SCRIMMAGE & FIRST DOWN RULES IMPACT THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE LINE OF SCRIMMEAGE IN

FOOTBAL GAVE THE QUARTER BACK A NEW IMPORTANT ROLE IN THE SPORT

THE USE OF SIGNS AND OTHER PLAY-CALLING DEVICES MADE POSSIBLE TO PLAN IN ADVANCE DIFFERENT OFFENSIVE PLAYS

OFFENSIVE PLAYS WERE NO LONGER IMPROVISED, BUT FOLLOWED A “TIME-MOTION” STRATEGY CAREFULLY DESIGNED IN ADVANCE

FIRST DOWN RULE: 3 CHANCES TO GAIN 5 YARDS. LINES IN EVERY FIVE YARDS SCORING SYSTEM: TD=2, FIELD GOAL=5, SAFETY=1, 1883:

TD=4, FG=2, SAFETY=2..

1890s FOOTBALL LINE OF SCRIMMAGE FIRST DOWN RULES GRIDIRON LINING TD MORE VALUE THAN FG PREMEDITATED OFFENSIVE PLAYS “STUDENT GLADIATORS” IMAGE COLLEGE RITUAL AND ATHLETIC ASSOCIATIONS

AFTER GRADUATION. TACKLING BELOW THE WAIST ALLOWED THANKSGIVING BIG GAME IN NYC

1900s FOOTBALL WALTER CAMP INFLUENCE-LEGACY, COACH-SCHOOL COACHES REPLACED TEAM CAPTAINS COLLEGE AUTHORITIES REPLACED STUDENT

ORGANIZATIONS IVY LEAGUE HEGEMONY UPPER CLASS RITUAL OF LOYALTY/MEMBERSHIP. “SCHOOL

SPIRIT” AS RIVAL TEAMS IMITATED YALE’S STRATEGIES THE GAME

BECAME MORE EFFICIENT, FASTER AND SIGNIFICANTLY MORE VIOLENT

TEAM MASCOTS RITUAL VIOLENCE: ACCORDING TO SOURCES IN 1908 HARVARD COACH STRANGLED A BULLDOG IN THE LOOKER ROOM WITH THE INTENT TO INSPIRE HIS PLAYERS.

Walter Camp Sr. 1925. New York World Telegram

Library of Congress, USZ62-116343

Walter Camp, Coach. Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division.

Walter Camp, Portrait Bust Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division. LC-DIG-ggbain-0838

PRO FOOTBALL 1890s AS COLLEGE FOOTBALL BECAME VERY POPULAR IN THE EAST

COAST URBAN AREAS ATHLETIC ASSOCIATION CLUBS IN DIFFERENT CITIES DECIDED TO EXTEND THEIR RIVALRIES BY FIELDING FOOTBALL TEAMS WITH COLLEGE AND SEMI-PROFESSIONAL PLAYERS.

1893 PITTSBURGH ATH CLUB vs. ALLEGHENY ATH ASSOC. “FIRST PRO” PUDGE HEFFELFINGER WAS PAID $500 TO PLAY FOR PITTSBURGH.

1898 MORGAN ATHLETIC CLUB, CHICAGO, RACINE-CLUB, BECAME LATER CHICAGO CARDINALS, ULTIMATELY AN NFL FRANCHISE IN ST-LOUIS, AND CURRENTY IN ARIZONA.

PROFESSIONAL AND AMATEUR PLAYERS PARTICIPATED IN THESE FOOTBALL TOURNAMENTS, DESPITE CRITICISM FROM SCHOOL AUTHORITIES.

FOOTBALL WORLD SERIES 1902-1903.ONE OF THE FIRST EFFORTS TO CREATE A PROFESSIONAL

FOOTBALL ORGANIZATION CAME IN 1902-1903 WITH THE FOOTBALL WORLD SERIES, WHICH TRIED TO FOLLOWED THE SUCCESS OF THE BASEBALL WORLD SERIES IN 1903, THE FIRST ONE ORGANIZED BY MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL

INDOOR TOURNAMENT, MADISON SQUARE GARDEN TOM O’ROURKE, PROMOTER, RECRUITED TEAMS AND

PARTICIPANTS ATHLETIC CLUBS. SOME PLAYERS WERE ALSO FROM COLLEGE TEAMS TEAMS HAD NO SCHOOL AFFILIATION, PUBLIC ATTENDANCE

WAS LOW. THE EVENT HAD NO APPEAL FOR LOWER CLASSES PRO FOOTBALL DISAPPEARED FROM THE EAST, MOVED TO

THE MIDWEST AND GREAT LAKES IN THE NEXT YEARS

FOOTBALL REFORM, 1905-1920 IN THE FIRST DECADE OF THE 20TH CENTURY COLLEGE ATHLETICS

EXPERIENCE THEIR FIRST MAJOR CRISIS, A FOOTBALL-BASED CRISIS. HERE ARE THE FOLLOWING ELEMENTS:

THE NEED TO CLEARLY ESTABLISH AND PROTECT THE AMATEUR STATUS OF THE PLAYERS (ELEGIBILITY, RECRUITMENT, SUBSIDIZATION)

THE NEED TO CURBE VIOLENCE IN THE SPORT, TO REDUCE INJURIES AND DEATHS ON THE FIELD

“TRAMP ATHLETES” SAT-SUN/COL-PRO 1905 3 COLLEGE PLAYERS, 18 H.S. PLAYERS DIED, 167 SUFFERED

SERIOUS INJURIES. THE UNITED STATES PRESIDENT’S SON BROKEN NOSE vs. YALE, RECONSTRUCTIVE SURGERY

PRESIDENT ROOSEVELT INTERVENTION WHITE HOUSE MEETING, OCTOBER 9, 1905 BIG-THREE MEETING, HARVARD-PRINCETON-YALE

FOOTBALL REFORM THE FOOTBALL CRISIS PROVOKED A NEGATIVE REACTION BY

SCHOOL AUTHORITIES IN VARIOUS CAMPUSES: UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS AND COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY DECIDED TO ABOLISH FOOTBALL GAMES ALTOGETHER

IN 1906 THE INTERCOLLEGIATE ATHLETIC ASSOCIATION WAS CREATED TO ADDRESS THE PROBLEMS, IN 1910 IT BECAME THE NATIONAL COLLEGE ATHLETICS ASSOCIATION (NCAA).

AT THE INITIATIVE OF THE U.S. PRESIDENT 62 COLLEGES SEND AUTHORITIES TO THE MEETING

PRINCIPLES: RULES COMMITTEES TO CURB VIOLENCE, MAINTAIN AMATEUR STATUS.

FORWARD PASS APPROVED TO REDUCE VIOLENT CONTACT. IN ADDITION FIRST DOWNS WERE TO BE GRANTED ONLY AFTER 10 YDS GAIN.

FOOTBALL REFORM FORWARD PASS ALLOWED TO REDUCE

VIOLENCE AT THE SCRIMMAGE LINE. “MASS MOMENTUM PLAYS” (PUSHING,

PULLING, LAUNCHING BALL CARRIERS THROUGH/OVER THE LINE) PROHIBITED.

SEVEN MEN LINE, MANDATORY, TO AVOID FULL SPEED CRASHES INTO ONE DEFENSIVE POINT.

BALL RESHAPED (ELONGATED AND “TIGHTLY INFLATED”) TO ENCOURAGE ACCURACY IN PASSING.

FOOTBALL REFORM THE MOST IMPORTANT TRANSFORMATION IN THE SPORT,

HOWEVER, OCCURRED OUTSIDE THE FIELD LINES, AS THE IAA AND NCAA BECAME THE REGULATORS OF THE GAME AND TRANSFERRED ITS ORGANIZATION AND SCHEDULE FROM STUDENT ASSOCIATION TO COLLEGE AUTHORITIES AND ADMINISTRATIVE PERSONEL.

FOOTBALL SEASON AND ANY OTHER INTERCOLLEGIATE ATHLETIC COMPETITION WOULD BE NOW CONCEIVED, ORGANIZED, RUN AND SUPERVISED BY NCAA OFFICIALS.

STUDENT FRATERNITIES AND ASSOCIATIONS WOULD BE RELEGATED AS SPECTATORS OR FANS.

TEAMS WOULD REPRESENT THE INSTITUTION.

FOOTBALL REFORM THE TRANSFORMATION OF COLLEGE FOOTBALL AND COLLEGE

ATHLETICS FROM A STUDENT-RUN RECREATIONAL ACTIVITY TO AN INTER-INSTITUTIONAL COMPETITION SANCTIONED BY THE NCAA, IN COMBINATION WITH THE NEW SET OF RULES AND CHANGES IN THE SPORT, MADE FOOTBALL GAMES MORE ATTRACTIVE AND APPEALING TO BOTH STUDENTS AND ALUM.

AS FOOTBALL BECAME MORE POPULAR, IT ALSO BECAME AN IMPORTANT SOURCE OF SCHOOL PRIDE, IDENTITY AND EVEN ECONOMIC REVENUE.

COLLEGE AUTHORITIES AND STATE GOVERNMENTS DECIDED TO RAISE FUNDS TO INVEST IN SIGNIFICANT SPORTS INFRASTRUCTURE, TO CREATE WINNING FOOTBALL TEAMS AND TO BUILD SUCCESFUL ATHLETIC PROGRAMS.

KING FOOTBALL ERA, 1920-1945 IN THE 1920s THE COLLAPSE IN BASEBALL’S REPUTATION,

AFTER THE CHICAGO WHITE SOX SCANDAL IN 1919-1920, PLUS THE ARRIVAL OF RADIO BROADCASTING, GAVE COLLEGE FOOTBALL AN ENORMOUS POPULARITY BEYOND THE STUDENT POPULATION. COLLEGE AUTHORITIES SECURED FINANCIAL HELP TO BUILD ENORMOUS FOOTBALL STADIUMS, MAKING POSSIBLE TO NON-STUDENTS TO ATTEND GAMES.

WITH THE NEW WAVE OF STEEL-CONCRETE STADIUMS, ATTENDANCE TO COLLEGE GAMES DOUBLED, INCOME TRIPLED.

RADIO, NEWSPAPERS AND MOVIE THEATERS NEW COVERAGE TO COLLEGE FOOTBALL.

ROSE BOWL 1920s IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA, STATES OF FLORIDA, TEXAS, LOUISIANA AND OTHERS FOLLOWED IN THE 1930s

KING FOOTBALL ERA COLLEGE FOOTBALL BECAME A SOURCE OF REGIONAL AND LOCAL

IDENTITIES IN DIFFERENT AREAS IN THE COUNTRY. UNLIKE PROFESSIONAL BASEBALL, WHOSE FRANCHISIS WERE CONFINED TO EAST COAST AND GREAT LAKES, COLLEGE FOOTBALL HAD TEAMS REPRESENTING EACH STATE OF THE NATION.

FOOTBALL BECAME A MIRROR FOR LOCAL AND REGIONAL IDENTITIES.

MEDIA AND SPORTS ANALISTS MADE COMPARISONS BETWEEN DIFFERENT FOOTBALL STYLES AND DIFFERENT REGIONS=MIRROR FOR A REGION SPECIFIC CHARACTER, MIDWEST RUNNING, SOUTHWEST= WILD WEST SHOOTOUT PASSING ATTACK, SOUTH= OLD SOUTH PRIDE.

RELIGIOUS AFFILIATIONS WERE ALSO ASSOCIATED WITH FOOTBALL TEAMS = NOTRE DAME, BOSTON COLLEGE, SMU, ETC.

KING FOOTBALL ERA COACH = REGIONAL HERO COACHES ROLE DIFF. FROM PLAYERS ROLE.

KNUTE ROCKNE, AMOS ALONZO STAGG, POP WARNER.

FOOTBALL COACH= SELF MADE HERO, MOVIE PROTAGONIST, MORAL AUTHORITY

FOOTBALL= MELTING POT FOR EUROPEAN IMMIGRANTS.

FOOTBALL “UNIQUE” INFORMAL RULES FOR AFRICAN AMERICAN ATHLETES.

KING FOOTBALL ERA 1920s FOOTBALL vs. BASEBALL AMATEUR, “LOVE OF THE GAME”, NATIONAL

SPECTACLE, SMALL COMMUNITIES, MORE OPEN TO COMPETITION, MORE DIVERSE, MORE MASCULINE, MORE “CHARACTER BUILDING”

HIGH POPULARITY, LOCAL RADIO STATIONS, LOCAL NEWSPAPERS.

REACTION TO POPULARITY: IVY LEAGUE, PRIVATE COLLEGES LOST HEGEMONY, INTEREST. 1939 U-CHICAGO ABOLISHED IT.