FOOTBALL

in the United States, popular game that is played between two 11-member teams on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. Each team tries to score points by moving the oval ball over the opponent's goal line for a touchdown (by carrying or passing the ball to a teammate) or by kicking it between the goalposts. A team must advance the ball 10 yards in four attempts, called downs. Defensive and offensive teams alternate positions on the field as the possession of the ball changes from side to side. American football evolved in the 19th century as a combination of rugby and soccer. The first intercollegiate football match in the United States is usually credited to the game played in 1869 by Princeton University and Rutgers College at New Brunswick, N.J., but that game more resembled the kicking style of association football (soccer) than modern football; there were 25 players on a team, and the game was won by the number of goals scored rather than by touchdowns. In 1873 the first collegiate rules were standardized by Princeton, Yale, Columbia, and Rutgers, and soon afterward the distinct American version of football began to develop. The innovations of the sports authority Walter Camp were fundamental in the evolution of American football. In 1880 Camp substituted the scrimmage for the rugby scrum, initiated the dominant role of the quarterback, and reduced the number of players on a team from 15 to 11. He established the standard formations now used and introduced systems for scoring and measuring downs and yards gained. Tackling rules were also liberalized. Although these steps were intended to make the game more safe, the violence of play continued, and a series of deaths and injuries in 1905 prompted President Theodore Roosevelt to call for more changes. Rules were thus created that included the introduction of the forward pass, new formations, and the prohibition of blocking with extended arms. In 1910 the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) was formed to govern American intercollegiate competition. Postseason, or bowl, games played between leading college teams, became popular and now include the Rose Bowl (Pasadena, Calif.), Orange Bowl (Miami), Sugar Bowl (New Orleans), Sun Bowl (El Paso, Texas), Cotton Bowl (Dallas, Texas), and Gator Bowl (Jacksonville, Fla.). Professional football began in the 1890s, but it was not until the rise of television after World War II that it became one of the dominant American sports. In 1922 the American Professional Football Association was reorganized as the National Football League (NFL), which remains the main force of the professional game. A rival league, the American Football League (AFL), was created in 1959, but an agreement in 1966 led to the merger of the two in 1970 under the NFL title. The NFL is now divided into an American and a National conference; the winners of the conferences compete for the Super Bowl championship. In the early 1980s the U.S. Football League (USFL) emerged to threaten the NFL, but it ended after only three seasons. by Walter Camp As the person most responsible for the development of the distinctively American version of football from its Rugby-like precursor, Walter Camp was the perfect choice to write on the subject for Britannica. He was first asked to do so for the Tenth Edition (1902-03) and then again for the Eleventh (1910-11). In each case, the treatment of American football was the concluding section of an article on football generally considered, meaning chiefly Association football (soccer in America) and Rugby. Both pieces are given here. football, tenth edition football, eleventh edition in Canada, popular game that is played between two 12-member teams on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. It originated from English rugby, but changes in rules over the years have made it more closely resemble American football. Rugby was introduced to Canada in the 1860s. By 1883 two amateur leagues, the Ontario Rugby Football Union and the Quebec Rugby Football Union, were formed and became affiliated in 1891 with the reorganized Canadian Rugby Union. Intercollegiate competition started in 1898, and in 1909 Lord Earl Grey, then the governor-general of Canada, donated the prestigious Grey Cup for the best amateur team. As Canadian and American schools played each other, their styles grew more similar. By the early 1930s Frank Shag Shaughnessy, the football coach at McGill University in Montreal, introduced several innovations, such as the forward pass and running interference, all of which established Canadian football in its present form. A series of disputes prompted college teams to withdraw from Grey Cup competition in 1936, and thereafter professional teams dominated the sport. In 1956 the two professional leagues formed what became the Canadian Football League (CFL), and the amateurs were ruled out of Grey Cup play. Canadian football differs in several ways from American football. There are 12 players on a team instead of 11; the 12th member is used in the backfield on offense and as a linebacker or pass defender on defense. The other positions are the same, but the field and end zones are larger, and teams are only allowed three downs in which to advance the ball 10 yards. In addition, a punt or a kick-off that enters the end zone must be advanced beyond the goal line by the receiving team or one point (a single) is awarded to the kicking team. Offensive and defensive formations are similar, but they are designed more for a wide-open type of play, emphasizing the passing game.