Who invented American football?

Sport, which in North America, especially in the United States, is called football, is in fact correctly called "trellised", in accordance with the vertical marking of the field. To the world this sport is known as "American football".

Early history of American football

Being a mixture of two native English sports - rugby and football, American football began its almost a century and a half on the sports fields of North American universities. In 1869, the State of New Jersey hosted the first inter-university match in American football between the teams from Princeton and Ratger. In 1870, other elite universities introduced this hybrid sport with new rules to their sports fields. The last stronghold of confrontation with American football was Harvard and Yale universities, but their boycott did not last long. In 1875, between the teams of these two universities from the "Ivy League" a match was held, held according to the rules of the new game.

Founding father of American football

The person responsible for the transition from a rugby-based hybrid sport to a separate discipline familiar to the whole world today is Walter Camp, whom fans and athletes call "the father of American football." Camp studied medicine at Yale University and from 1876 to 1881 played as a midfielder and was the team captain, which at that time was tantamount to the title of head coach.

In addition to playing history on the field, Camp's activities became the main force in creating a separate book of American football rules. His ideas served as the introduction of a snap and a pass forward, as well as limiting the basic composition of players to eleven. In addition, the athlete's further activity prompted the creation of the Football Association, to limit the width of the field and enter a neutral zone.

In addition to his active work in the Association, focused on the theory and rules of the game, Camp spent a record time as the first coach of the Yale team. Even being the director of the watch making factory, Walter Camp did not stop his coaching activities.