Introduction; Field; Players; Officials; Equipment; Play; Amateur Competition; Professional Competit

A Kickoff

At the beginning of each game, the referee tosses a coin in the presence of the two team captains to determine which team kicks off and which receives the kickoff. At the start of the second half, the team that kicked off in the first half receives the kickoff.

During an NFL regulation game the kickoff is made from the kicking team’s 30-yard line. (During a college game the ball is kicked from the 35-yard line.) The kicking team lines up at or behind the ball, while the opponents spread out over their territory in a formation calculated to help them to catch the ball and run it back effectively. If the kick stays within the boundaries of the field, any player on the receiving team may catch the ball, or pick it up on a bounce, and run with it. As the player runs, the player may be tackled by any opponent and stopped; this is known as being downed. The player carrying the ball is considered downed when one knee touches the ground. Tacklers use their hands and arms to stop opponents and throw them to the ground. After the ball carrier is stopped, the referee blows a whistle to stop play and places the ball on the spot where the runner was downed. Play also stops when the ball carrier runs out of bounds.

B Running a Play

Offensive plays in football are run from a set formation known as a scrimmage. Before a scrimmage begins, the team on offense usually gathers in a circle, called a huddle, and discusses the play it will use. A coach either signals the play choice to the team from the sidelines, sends a play in with a player, or the team’s quarterback chooses from among the dozens of preset plays that the team has prepared. The defensive team also forms a huddle and discusses its next attempt to slow the offense. Each play is designated by code numbers or words, called signals. After the teams come out of their respective huddles, they line up opposite each other on the line of scrimmage. If the quarterback analyzes the defensive alignment and decides that the chosen play should be changed, the quarterback can call an audible and shout out the coded directions for a new play. The defense can adjust its formation at this point as well.

Play begins when the center crouches over the ball and, on a spoken signal, hikes it to the quarterback. Based upon the chosen play, the quarterback can pass the ball, hand it off to a teammate, or run with it. During the scrimmage, the players on the offensive team may block the defenders using their bodies, but they are constrained by specific rules regarding the use of their hands or arms. The player running with the ball, however, is allowed to use an arm to push off potential tacklers.


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Perhaps the most exciting offensive play is the forward pass, in which the ball is thrown downfield. The quarterback nearly always throws the ball, and backs, ends, and wide receivers may catch it. A forward pass may be made only during scrimmage, and then only from behind the line of scrimmage. A lateral pass (throwing the ball backwards or on a line parallel to the line of scrimmage) may be made anywhere on the field to anyone anytime the ball is in play.

The defending team tries to keep the offense from advancing the ball, or to stop the offense for a loss by tackling the ball carrier before the ball carrier reaches the line of scrimmage. The offense must advance the ball at least 10 yards in four tries, called downs. After each play, the teams huddle and then line up again and a new scrimmage takes place. If the team on offense fails to travel 10 yards in four downs, it must surrender the ball to its opponent after the fourth down.

A team will often punt on fourth down if it has not gained at least 10 yards in its previous three tries. In punting, the punter receives the snap, drops the ball, and kicks it before it touches the ground. By punting, a team can send the ball away from its own end zone, weakening the opponent’s field position.

The defense can also gain possession of the ball by recovering a fumble or making an interception. A fumble occurs when a player in possession of the ball drops it before being tackled and downed. When this occurs, any player can then fall on top of or pick up the loose ball. An interception is when one of the defensive players catches a ball thrown by the offensive team. The defensive player who recovers a fumble or makes an interception may run with the ball toward the opponent’s end zone until being tackled and downed or forced out of bounds. In professional football, a player is considered downed when his knee touches the ground due to contact by the opposing team. In college and high school play, a player is down when his knee touches the ground, even if no defensive player has made contact.

C Scoring

The object of the game is to score more points than the opposing team. Teams can score by making a touchdown, an extra-point conversion after a touchdown, a field goal, or a safety. A team scores a touchdown when one of its players carries the ball into the opposing team’s end zone or catches a pass in the end zone. A touchdown is worth six points. After a team has scored a touchdown, it tries for an extra-point conversion. This is an opportunity to score an additional one or two points. In college football the offensive team lines up at the opponent’s 3-yard line and runs, passes, or kicks the ball. A running or passing conversion in which the ball crosses the goal line counts for two points. A kick, in which one player receives the snap and holds the ball upright on the ground for a teammate to kick between the goalposts and over the crossbar, counts for one point. In professional football, the offensive team lines up 2 or more yards from the goal line during an extra-point conversion. Just as in the college game, one or two points may be scored depending on the conversion method used.

On offense, teams may also attempt to score by kicking a field goal, which counts for three points. For a successful field goal, the ball must be kicked between the goalposts and over the crossbar. Teams usually try for a field goal when they have the ball on the fourth down and are within about 35 yards of the end zone. After each field goal and extra-point conversion, the scoring team must kick off to its opponents.

Two points are awarded to the defensive team for making a safety. A safety occurs when the offensive team has been forced down behind its own goal line (in the end zone). When the offensive team suffers a safety, it must punt the ball to the opponents to restart play. In certain situations, such as after receiving a kickoff, the offensive team is permitted to down the ball behind its line intentionally. This play, called a touchback, does not count in the scoring. Instead the ball is moved to the receiving team’s 20-yard line, where the offense starts play.

In college football, a game that ends in a tie is decided by a tiebreaker played in an overtime period. Each team gets a possession. The first team to have the ball begins an offensive series on the opponent’s 25-yard line. The team’s possession ends when it scores, turns the ball over, or fails to convert a fourth-down play. The other team then receives the same chance to score and also begins its offensive series from the opponent’s 25-yard line. If one team scores and the other team fails to match that score, then the team with the most points wins the game. Additional overtime periods can be played if the teams are still tied after each has had a possession. In case of a tie in an NFL game, the teams play an overtime period, known as sudden death, in which the first team to score is declared the winner. If neither team has scored at the end of this 15-minute overtime period, then the tie is allowed to stand. In professional playoff games no ties are allowed, and the teams play until one scores.

VII Amateur Competition

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Each year more than 20 million people play some form of amateur football. Levels include programs for young boys and girls, junior high and high school competition, college intramural and intercollegiate play, and informal adult leagues. Intercollegiate contests are attended by more than 35 million spectators each year. Most organized amateur play takes place from September through January.

A High School and College Football

More than 1 million high school athletes play football in the United States. The majority of these athletes are boys; however, some girls also participate in the sport. The National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS), located in Indianapolis, Indiana, governs high school football. The NFHS does not crown a national champion. Instead, high school teams compete to win their state championship, with each state having its own guidelines for determining titles. Most states have several state champions by dividing schools into divisions based on the size of their student body. The most talented high school players usually are offered scholarships to play football in college.

Football is one of the most popular college sports in the United States. The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), located in Indianapolis, is the most important organization governing major college competition. The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), located in Tulsa, Oklahoma, oversees competition for smaller four-year schools. The National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA), located in Colorado Springs, Colorado, governs play for two-year and community colleges throughout the country. Under the jurisdiction of these national governing bodies are individual conferences and leagues based on school size and regional location. Well-known NCAA conferences include the Atlantic Coast, the Big Ten (northern Midwest), the Big 12 (Midwest), the Pacific-10 (Western states), the Southeastern Conference, and the Ivy League (Northeast). Many university stadiums hold more than 50,000 spectators; a few hold more than 100,000.

Some of the most accomplished players in college football history include Jim Thorpe of the Carlisle Indian School; George Gipp of the University of Notre Dame; Red Grange of the University of Illinois; Tom Harmon of the University of Michigan; Doak Walker of Southern Methodist University; Glenn Davis and Doc Blanchard, the so-called Touchdown Twins of Army (the U.S. Military Academy); Joe Namath of the University of Alabama; O. J. Simpson of the University of Southern California; Walter Payton of Jackson State University; Tony Dorsett of the University of Pittsburgh; Joe Montana of the University of Notre Dame; Marcus Allen of the University of Southern California; Bo Jackson of Auburn University; Barry Sanders of Oklahoma State University; Charles Woodson of the University of Michigan; and Ricky Williams of the University of Texas.

IX History

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The forerunner of American football may have been a game played by the ancient Greeks, called harpaston. In this game there was no limit to the number of players. The object was to move a ball across a goal line by kicking it, throwing it, or running with it. Classical literature contains detailed accounts of the game, including its rougher elements, such as ferocious tackling. In medieval times a form of football known as calcio flourished in Italy. Natives of Polynesia are known to have played a variety of the game with a football made of bamboo fibers, and the Inuit played a form of football with a leather ball filled with moss. In the United States, a crude form of football using a blown-up bladder was played in the colony of Virginia in 1609.

Most modern versions of football originated in England, where a form of the game was known in the 12th century. In subsequent centuries football became so popular that various English monarchs, including Edward II and Henry VI, forbade the game because it took interest away from the military sport of archery.

At the beginning of the 19th century several types of the game—all permitting players to kick the ball but not carry it—were being played at various English schools, including Eton, Harrow, and Rugby. The modification of the game that permits carrying the ball was first introduced at Rugby in 1823 when one schoolboy disregarded the established rules, tucked the ball under his arm, and dashed across the goal line. At a formal meeting in 1863, the sport split into two distinct entities. Still popular today, these were soccer (a term that eventually came from the British name, “association football”) and rugby. American football evolved from these two sports. The sport called soccer in the United States is still known as football throughout much of the world.

A Early College Football

Most football historians agree that the first organized football game took place on November 6, 1869, when teams from Rutgers and Princeton universities played in New Brunswick, New Jersey. In the early games, which resembled soccer more than today’s football game, each team used 25 players at a time. By 1873 the number was reduced to 20 players, and by 1876 it was further reduced to 15 players. In 1880 Yale coach Walter Camp set the number at 11 players. He also created the quarterback position and the system of downs.


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In the early 1900s college football games were popular sports spectacles, but the professional game attracted limited public support. College games were extremely rough, and many injuries and some deaths occurred. Educators considered dropping the sport despite its popularity on campuses, and United States president Theodore Roosevelt, an ardent advocate of strenuous sports, declared that the game must be made safer. As a result, football authorities revamped the game, and many of the rougher tactics were outlawed.

College coaches such as Amos Alonzo Stagg, Pop Warner, Bob Zuppke, and Knute Rockne developed many of the early offensive techniques and play formations. Following very few historical precedents, these men invented unique strategies that changed the nature of football forever.

Stagg was instrumental in developing the between-the-legs snap from center to quarterback, the player in motion in the backfield before the snap of the ball, the onside kick, the early T-formation, and many other innovations. In 1906 Warner unbalanced his line, placing four players on one side of the center and two on the other side, while shifting the backfield into a wing formation. The quarterback functioned as a blocker, set close behind the line and a yard wide of the center. At the same depth, but outside the line, was the wingback. Deep in the backfield was the tailback, who received most of the snaps, and in front and to the side was the fullback. This formation became known as the single-wing, and it remained football’s basic formation until the 1940s.

Coach Zuppke ran single- and double-wing formations at the University of Illinois, often sending four or five receivers downfield in pass patterns. At the University of Notre Dame, Rockne instituted his famous Four Horsemen offense in 1923 and 1924. Rockne set up the backs in a four-square, box alignment on one side. Then, in what was called the Notre Dame Shift, the backs would shift out of the box and into a single or double wing.

B Rise of the Professional Game

The first professional football game in the United States took place in 1895 in the town of Latrobe, Pennsylvania, between a team representing Latrobe and a team from Jeannette, Pennsylvania. In the following years many professional teams were formed, including the Duquesnes of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; the Olympics of McKeesport, Pennsylvania; the Bulldogs of Canton, Ohio; and the team of Massillon, Ohio. Noted college players who took up the professional game during its early years include Willie Heston (formerly at the University of Michigan), Fritz Pollard (Brown University), and Jim Thorpe (Carlisle Indian School).

The first league of professional football teams was the American Professional Football Association, formed in 1920. The admission fee was $100 per team. The teams pledged not to use any student player who still had college eligibility left, as the goodwill of the colleges was believed to be essential to the survival of the professional league. Thorpe, a player-coach for one of the teams, became president of the league during its first year.

The American Professional Football Association gave way in 1922 to the NFL. Red Grange, the famous halfback from the University of Illinois, provided a tremendous stimulus for the league when he joined the Chicago Bears in 1925. His exciting play drew large crowds. Thereafter, professional football attracted larger numbers of first-rate college players, and the increased patronage made the league more and more successful financially.

Strategically, the early NFL game was hardly distinguishable from college football of the time. There was no attempt to break away from college playbooks or rulebooks, and for several years the NFL followed the NCAA Rules Committee recommendations. In the league’s early years, players considered the low-paying NFL a part-time job and held other jobs during the day. Thus, while college coaches could drill their players daily for hours, professional football coaches arranged practices in the evenings, sometimes only three or four times a week.

The popularity of the professional game slowly began to equal its college rival after the NFL instituted its first player draft in 1936. As many talented college players opted to play in the NFL, the professional game also drew more fans. The Chicago Bears, the Chicago Cardinals, the Detroit Lions, the Green Bay Packers, and the New York Giants were some of the league’s dominant teams during the period. Outstanding players included running back Cliff Battles, quarterback Sammy Baugh, running back Tony Canadeo, and receiver Don Hutson. The Great Depression of the 1930s and World War II (1939-1945), however, drained many of the early professional franchises of money and players.

After World War II, college teams were allowed free substitution of players—that is, a player could enter and leave the game an unlimited number of times, as long as the ball was not in play during the substitution. This feature of the game led to the modern two-platoon system, in which one group of 11 players enters the game to play offense and a second group enters to play defense. The trend toward platoons crossed over to the professional game.

In 1946 the All-America Football Conference (AAFC) was established as a rival to the NFL. The new league included the New York Yankees, the San Francisco 49ers, the Baltimore Colts (now Indianapolis Colts), and the Los Angeles Dons. The most powerful team in the new league was the Cleveland Browns, coached by football innovator Paul Brown.

Although talented, the quarterbacks of the 1930s and early 1940s seldom completed more than 50 percent of their passes. A major cause of these low percentages was the primitive nature of pass-blocking strategies. With little protection, passers always had to throw while avoiding incoming rushers. Brown installed a blocking system that radically transformed the passing game. He changed the system by arranging the linemen in the form of a cup that pushed most pass rushers to the outside and provided a safe area, called a pocket, from which the quarterback could pass. Using the strategy, Brown coached Cleveland to four AAFC championships from 1946 to 1949.

In 1950 the Browns, 49ers, and Colts joined the NFL in a merger of the two leagues. The move ushered in a period of popularity and prosperity. Throughout the 1950s and early 1960s players such as quarterbacks Norm Van Brocklin, Y. A. Tittle, and Johnny Unitas; receiver Tom Fears; running back Jim Brown; defensive back Tom Landry; linebacker Ray Nitschke; and all-around standout Frank Gifford ignited the league and attracted fans. During the period a select group of franchises won NFL championships, including Cleveland (1950, 1954, 1955), Detroit (1952, 1953, 1957), and Baltimore (1958, 1959). The advent of television helped to popularize the professional game when in 1956 the Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) began to broadcast select games.

C New Forces in the 1960s

In 1960 the Packers reached the NFL championship game but lost to the Philadelphia Eagles. Nevertheless, the game signaled the rise of the Green Bay franchise under head coach Vince Lombardi. An intimidating and motivating individual, Lombardi led Green Bay to the NFL title the following year and added two more NFL championships in 1962 and 1965.

Seeing that a profit could be made from professional football, Texas businessman Lamar Hunt formed the American Football League (AFL) in 1960 as a rival to the NFL. Teams in the new league included the Houston Oilers, the Kansas City Chiefs, the Oakland Raiders, and the New York Jets. The two leagues fought bitterly for players, media attention, and profits. Standouts in the new league such as Jack Kemp, Lance Alworth, and Joe Namath helped the AFL establish itself on par with the NFL.

In 1966 the two leagues agreed on a merger plan. The first AFL-NFL World Championship Game, featuring the AFL-champion Chiefs and the NFL-champion Packers, was played in January 1967. The Packers won the contest, later renamed Super Bowl I, 35-10. In 1968 the Packers defeated the AFL’s Oakland Raiders in Super Bowl II, but the game validated the AFL’s talent. In 1969 the AFL’s Jets defeated the Colts in a huge upset in Super Bowl III. In 1970 the leagues merged into two 13-team conferences under the NFL name. The Browns, Colts, and Pittsburgh Steelers joined the 10 AFL teams to form the AFC, and the remaining NFL teams formed the NFC.

D The 1970s

During the early 1970s offensive play suffered as result of complex defensive strategies. Three coaches in particular, Tom Landry of the Dallas Cowboys, Chuck Noll of the Steelers, and Don Shula of the Miami Dolphins, created defensive tactics that closed passing lanes and forced offenses to rely on running the ball. The shift resulted in defensive units with names such as the Doomsday Defense of the Cowboys, the Steelers’ Steel Curtain, the Minnesota Vikings’ Purple People Eaters, and the Los Angeles Rams’ Fearsome Foursome. In 1972 Miami’s unheralded defense teamed with a celebrated offense led by quarterbacks Bob Griese and Earl Morrall, and the Dolphins compiled a record of 14 wins and 0 losses—becoming the only team to finish a NFL regular season undefeated. Following their perfect season Miami won Super Bowl VII.

In an attempt to maintain public interest in the game during the early 1970s, NFL administrators brought the hash marks in closer to the center of the field to give offenses more room to throw wide passes. The move, which increased scoring and made the game more exciting, also helped bolster the running game. In 1972 ten NFL runners gained more than 1,000 yards in one season for the first time in history. During the next season, Buffalo Bills running back O. J. Simpson rushed for more than 2,000 yards, the first time a player had gained that many yards in a single season.

Quarterbacks such as the Cowboys’ Roger Staubach and the Steelers’ Terry Bradshaw quickly developed playing styles that took advantage of the openness of the field created by the rule change. Both quarterbacks developed aggressive passing attacks that depended on pinpoint accuracy. During the mid- to late 1970s and early 1980s, an intense rivalry between Dallas and Pittsburgh drew fans to the game. Pittsburgh won four Super Bowls (1975, 1976, 1979, 1980), while Dallas won in 1978. The Steelers’ 1979 victory over the Cowboys in Super Bowl XIII is considered one of the most memorable games in the sport’s history.

Television continued to play a role in the popularization of the game, and in 1970 the American Broadcasting Company (ABC) created Monday Night Football, hosted by former quarterback Don Meredith and commentators Keith Jackson and Howard Cosell. After one season former NFL player Frank Gifford replaced Jackson. Each week during the regular season the show featured a popular matchup. It was an instant success and became one of television’s longest-running sports programs. After Meredith and Cosell retired, a number of former NFL players served as announcers on the show, including Dan Dierdorf, Fran Tarkenton, O. J. Simpson, and Lynn Swann.