169_11-2012.pdf

Newly Established Rules The important changes that were made by Walter Camp to establish American Football as a sport include the down-anddistance and line of scrimmage rules. He also standardized the scoring system using a numerical scoring and created the interference, safety, penalties, and neutral zone. He also established the rule that one side had undisputed possession of the ball until the ball is given up due to the said team’s violations. He also created the center and quarter-back positions, the forward pass, and the eleven on a team instead of fifteen. By the late 19th and early 20th centuries, further developments to the rules of American Football were made by college coaches such as Knute Rockne, Amos Alonzo Stagg, Eddie Cochems, and Glenn “Pop” Warner.

Going Pro By the first half of the 20th century, college football became more popular than rugby football and soccer. Bowl games, an inter-collegiate competition attracted a national audience, bolstering fierce rivalries among college football teams. The American Professional Football Association was soon formed in 1920 and two years later was changed to the National Football League (NFL), which became the major league of American Football. Today, there are numerous Pro American Football teams representing different states such as the Denver Broncos, Detroit Lions, Green Bay Packers, and New York Giants.

Written by Rick Grantham. Courtesy of Isnare.com