AMERICAN FOOTBALL

History The history of American football can be traced to early

versions of rugby football and association football. Both games have their origins in varieties of football played in the United Kingdom in the mid-19th century, in which a ball is kicked at a goal and/or run over a line. Many games known as "football" were being played at colleges and universities in the United States in the first half of the 19th century.[5][6] Modern American football grew off an historical game played between Harvard and McGill University in 1874.[citation needed]

Rutgers University and its neighbor, Princeton University, played the first game of intercollegiate football on 6 November 1869 on a plot of ground where the present-day Rutgers gymnasium now stands in New Brunswick, N.J. Rutgers won that first game,

RulesAmerican football is played on a field 360 by 160 feet (120.0 by 53.3 yards; 109.7 by 48.8 meters).[11] The longer boundary lines are sidelines, while the shorter boundary lines are end lines. Sidelines and end lines are out of bounds. Near each end of the field is a goal line; they are 100 yards (91.4 m) apart. A scoring area called an end zone extends 10 yards (9.1 m) beyond each goal line to each end line. The end zone includes the goal line but not the end line.[11] While the playing field is effectively flat, it is common for a field to be built with a slight crown—with the middle of the field higher than the sides—to allow water to drain from the field.

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