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football
The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition | 2008 | The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. Copyright 2008 Columbia University Press. (Hide copyright information) Copyright
football any of a number of games in which two opposing teams attempt to score points by moving an inflated oval or round ball past a goal line or into a goal. Differing greatly in their rules, these include soccer (association football) and rugby , in addition to the games covered in this article: American football, Canadian football, Gaelic football, and Australian football. In the United States, the word football generally refers only to the American game; in other parts of the world it usually means soccer. Football, amateur and professional, is perhaps the most popular spectator sport in the United States, attracting a total attendance of over 40 million and watched by many more millions on television each year.
Most of the modern forms of football are derived from ancient games, especially harpaston and harpastrum, played in Greece and Rome. These survive today in
...
football any of a number of games in which two opposing teams attempt to score points by moving an inflated oval or round ball past a goal line or into a goal. Differing greatly in their rules, these include soccer (association football) and rugby , in addition to the games covered in this article: American football, Canadian football, Gaelic football, and Australian football. In the United States, the word football generally refers only to the American game; in other parts of the world it usually means soccer. Football, amateur and professional, is perhaps the most popular spectator sport in the United States, attracting a total attendance of over 40 million and watched by many more millions on television each year.
Most of the modern forms of football are derived from ancient games, especially harpaston and harpastrum, played in Greece and Rome. These survive today in Tuscany and Florence under the name calcio. Meanwhile a rugged, undisciplined type of football took root in the Middle Ages in England, where despite royal edicts banning the game from time to time, football remained popular until the early 19th cent. Different forms of the game soon developed at the various English public schools, including Rugby, Eton, and Harrow. Eventually, two main games emerged. One was primarily a kicking game, which later became association football, or soccer; the other (dating from 1823) was football as played at Rugby, in which carrying the ball and tackling were permitted.
American Football
Basic Rules
The American game is played by two opposing teams of eleven. The football field is level, measures 100 by 53 1/3 yd (91.4 by 48.8 m), is marked off by latitudinal stripes every 5 yd (4.57 m) and has at each end an end zone 10 yd (9.14 m) deep. In the center of each end zone stand goal posts not exceeding 20 ft (6.10 m) in height, with a crossbar 10 ft (3.05 m) from the ground and with the uprights on either end 24 ft (73.2 m) apart.
Play is directed toward moving the ball across the opponent's goal line, thereby scoring a touchdown, worth six points. In advancing the ball a team may run with it or pass it (forward or laterally), but the team must gain 10 yd (9 m) in four plays (downs) or yield possession of the ball to the opponent. The defending team tries to stop the ball carrier by tackling him, i.e., forcing him to the ground—thus causing the team with the ball to use up one of its downs. The defending team can gain possession of the ball before the end of four downs by recovering a dropped ball (fumble), or by intercepting a pass.
Because strategies and skills required on offense and on defense differ, most organized football clubs have offensive and defensive squads that alternate on the field as possession of the ball changes. All professional and most collegiate teams employ special teams for various game situations (e.g., offense, defense, kickoffs, and punt returns) and coaches who specialize in various aspects of the game. The offensive team traditionally comprises a quarterback (the field leader), a fullback, two halfbacks, and seven linemen—a center, two guards, two tackles, and two ends. A typical defensive unit has two tackles and two ends, who play on the line, as well as three linebackers, two cornerbacks, and two safeties.
The game is divided into two halves, each consisting of two quarters, periods of 15 minutes playing time. At the end of each of the first three quarters, the teams exchange goals. Each half begins with a kickoff, which also initiates play after every score (except a safety). In addition to the touchdown, points are scored by kicking the ball (which is held on the ground by a teammate of the kicker) over the crossbar between the goal posts (a field goal), for three points; and by downing a player in possession of the ball behind his own goal line (a safety), for two points. Additional points, known as conversions, may be scored after the scoring of a touchdown. In professional play the conversion is earned by kicking the ball over the crossbar of the goal post (worth one point) or by running or passing the ball over the goal line from 2 yd (1.83 m) away (worth two points). In amateur (high school and college) football, the conversion play is begun 3 yd (2.74 m) from the end zone.
When a team is not likely to gain 10 yards in four downs, it often kicks, or punts, the ball downfield, usually on the fourth down. After each down, before resuming play, the opposing teams face each other along an imaginary line, called the line of scrimmage, determined by the position of the ball relative to the goals. Among standard offensive formations, the basic T formation (a balanced line with the quarterback behind the center and the other backs behind the quarterback) is, with modern variations, the most popular in both amateur and professional football. Blocking and tackling make football one of the most rugged sports played; thus players wear heavy protective gear.
Five officials—the referee, umpire, field judge, linesman, and electric clock operator—control a game, and penalties, chiefly in the form of moving the ball away from a team's object goal, are meted out for violations of the rules. Rules concerning the field, scoring, playing time, downs, scrimmage, substitution, officials, and equipment have undergone numerous changes, generally to make the game safer.
College and Amateur Football
The first intercollegiate football match in America (actually a 50-person soccer game) was played (1869) at New Brunswick, N.J. The Intercollegiate (Soccer) Football Association, composed of Columbia, Princeton, Rutgers, and Yale, was created (1873) to standardize rules. Harvard, meanwhile, refused to join the group and, looking for other opponents, accepted a challenge from McGill Univ. of Montreal to play a series of games (1874-75) under Rugby rules. The Rugby-type game soon caught on at the other schools also, and within a decade the distinctive game of American football evolved.
Since the late 19th cent. football has enjoyed tremendous popularity as a collegiate sport. In 1902 the first Rose Bowl game was played at Pasadena, Calif., and that postseason tournament has been conducted annually since 1916. Other annual, postseason, collegiate games include the Sugar, Orange, Sun, and Cotton bowls. In 1996 a national system to pick bowl opponents so as to determine a national champion was introduced. Selection of All-America teams, begun (1889) by Walter Camp and Caspar Whitney, has also contributed to football's popularity. The Heisman trophy, originated in 1935, is awarded annually to the nation's outstanding college football player.
Most collegiate teams play in athletic conferences. Among the best-known are the Ivy League, Big Ten, Atlantic Coast, Southeastern, and Pacific 10 conferences. Famous collegiate rivalries include Army-Navy and Yale-Harvard. With an atmosphere enhanced by bands and cheering sections, football is not only the most popular collegiate sport of the fall season but also a big business.
Revenues from football often finance other sports at a college, and some games are played before crowds of 100,000 people in university-owned stadiums. Despite the strict amateur code of the National Collegiate Athletic Association and its member conferences, illegal subsidization of football players is a recurrent issue. Football also is extremely popular in U.S. high schools. Six-man football and touch football, both usually played for recreation, are other forms of the amateur game.
Professional Football
Although professional football was played as early as 1895 in Pennsylvania, it was not until 1920 that national organization began, with the formation of the American Professional Football Association at Canton, Ohio. Originally consisting of five teams, the association evolved and in 1922 was renamed the National Football League (NFL). The professional game received a tremendous boost when Red Grange , a star halfback at the Univ. of Illinois, signed a professional contract (1925) with the Chicago Bears. Other college stars soon followed, and the public began to show interest in NFL teams.
In the period immediately following World War II professional football's popularity grew tremendously. A new league, the All-America Conference (established 1944), competed with the NFL until the two groups merged (1949). The American Football League (AFL; formed 1959) competed with the NFL during the early 1960s; the first Super Bowl championship game was held in 1967 between the NFL and AFL champions.
Four years later the two leagues were merged into the present NFL, which now comprises two conferences (the National Football Conference, or NFC, and the American Football Conference, or AFC) totaling 32 teams. The NFL season includes 16 regular games, after which the winners of the three divisions in each conference, along with two "wild card" teams (the teams with the next-best record in each conference) play a four-round playoff culminating in the Super Bowl.
Bibliography: See Official National Football League Record & Fact Book (annual); NCAA, Football: The Official Football Records Book (annual); C. Carter and D. Sloan, The Sporting News Pro Football Guide (annual); B. Carroll et al., ed., Total Football II: The Official Encyclopedia of the National Football League (1999); M. MacCambridge, America's Game: The Epic Story of How Pro Football Captured a Nation (2004).
Canadian Football
Canadian football is similar to the U.S. game, but the Canadian field and end zone are larger, measuring 110 yd by 65 yd (100 m by 59 m) and 25 yd by 65 yd (23 m by 59 m), respectively. Canadian teams have 12 players on the field rather than 11 and, among other variations in the rules, are allowed only three downs to advance the ball 10 yards. The present game developed from rules established (1891) by the Canadian Rugby Union. In 1959 the two professional leagues in the union broke away to form the Canadian Football League (CFL). From 1993 to 1995 the CFL had several U.S.-based teams; there are now nine teams divided between two divisions. A number of prominent U.S. players have made careers in the CFL. The league's annual championship game is known as the Grey Cup.
Gaelic Football
Gaelic football, played almost exclusively in Ireland, is perhaps the roughest of the football-type games. It is played by two teams of 15 men each on a field that measures 84 to 100 yd (76.81-91.44 m) in width and 140 to 160 yd (128.02-146.3 m) in length. The object of the game is to punch, dribble, or kick the ball into (3 points) or directly over (1 point) the rectangular goal-net. As with soccer and rugby, Gaelic football probably developed from the rough-and-tumble football games played in medieval England. Originally a sort of melee between as many as 200 representatives of rival parishes, the game was given a set of standard rules by Dan and Maurice Gavin, who founded (1884) the Gaelic Athletic Association after witnessing a particularly brutal game. The association sponsors the annual all-Ireland championship match, an elimination tournament for teams from Ireland's 32 counties.
Australian Football
The only major football-type sport that does not appear to have developed from the medieval game is Australian football. Probably an outgrowth of earlier Aboriginal games, it is played on an oval field that is about 200 yd (183 m) long and 150 yd (137 m) wide across the middle. Each team, composed of 19 players, attempts to kick the egg-shaped ball past a set of goal posts. The ball may be advanced by punches, kicks, or dribbles. The game, played only in Australia, is especially popular in the southern and western parts of the continent.
Cite this article
Pick a style below, and copy the text for your bibliography.
MLAChicagoAPA"football." The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. 2008. Encyclopedia.com. 6 Jul. 2009 <.
The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition | 2008 | The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. Copyright 2008 Columbia University Press. (Hide copyright information) Copyright
football any of a number of games in which two opposing teams attempt to score points by moving an inflated oval or round ball past a goal line or into a goal. Differing greatly in their rules, these include soccer (association football) and rugby , in addition to the games covered in this article: American football, Canadian football, Gaelic football, and Australian football. In the United States, the word football generally refers only to the American game; in other parts of the world it usually means soccer. Football, amateur and professional, is perhaps the most popular spectator sport in the United States, attracting a total attendance of over 40 million and watched by many more millions on television each year.
Most of the modern forms of football are derived from ancient games, especially harpaston and harpastrum, played in Greece and Rome. These survive today in
...
football any of a number of games in which two opposing teams attempt to score points by moving an inflated oval or round ball past a goal line or into a goal. Differing greatly in their rules, these include soccer (association football) and rugby , in addition to the games covered in this article: American football, Canadian football, Gaelic football, and Australian football. In the United States, the word football generally refers only to the American game; in other parts of the world it usually means soccer. Football, amateur and professional, is perhaps the most popular spectator sport in the United States, attracting a total attendance of over 40 million and watched by many more millions on television each year.
Most of the modern forms of football are derived from ancient games, especially harpaston and harpastrum, played in Greece and Rome. These survive today in Tuscany and Florence under the name calcio. Meanwhile a rugged, undisciplined type of football took root in the Middle Ages in England, where despite royal edicts banning the game from time to time, football remained popular until the early 19th cent. Different forms of the game soon developed at the various English public schools, including Rugby, Eton, and Harrow. Eventually, two main games emerged. One was primarily a kicking game, which later became association football, or soccer; the other (dating from 1823) was football as played at Rugby, in which carrying the ball and tackling were permitted.
American Football
Basic Rules
The American game is played by two opposing teams of eleven. The football field is level, measures 100 by 53 1/3 yd (91.4 by 48.8 m), is marked off by latitudinal stripes every 5 yd (4.57 m) and has at each end an end zone 10 yd (9.14 m) deep. In the center of each end zone stand goal posts not exceeding 20 ft (6.10 m) in height, with a crossbar 10 ft (3.05 m) from the ground and with the uprights on either end 24 ft (73.2 m) apart.
Play is directed toward moving the ball across the opponent's goal line, thereby scoring a touchdown, worth six points. In advancing the ball a team may run with it or pass it (forward or laterally), but the team must gain 10 yd (9 m) in four plays (downs) or yield possession of the ball to the opponent. The defending team tries to stop the ball carrier by tackling him, i.e., forcing him to the ground—thus causing the team with the ball to use up one of its downs. The defending team can gain possession of the ball before the end of four downs by recovering a dropped ball (fumble), or by intercepting a pass.
Because strategies and skills required on offense and on defense differ, most organized football clubs have offensive and defensive squads that alternate on the field as possession of the ball changes. All professional and most collegiate teams employ special teams for various game situations (e.g., offense, defense, kickoffs, and punt returns) and coaches who specialize in various aspects of the game. The offensive team traditionally comprises a quarterback (the field leader), a fullback, two halfbacks, and seven linemen—a center, two guards, two tackles, and two ends. A typical defensive unit has two tackles and two ends, who play on the line, as well as three linebackers, two cornerbacks, and two safeties.
The game is divided into two halves, each consisting of two quarters, periods of 15 minutes playing time. At the end of each of the first three quarters, the teams exchange goals. Each half begins with a kickoff, which also initiates play after every score (except a safety). In addition to the touchdown, points are scored by kicking the ball (which is held on the ground by a teammate of the kicker) over the crossbar between the goal posts (a field goal), for three points; and by downing a player in possession of the ball behind his own goal line (a safety), for two points. Additional points, known as conversions, may be scored after the scoring of a touchdown. In professional play the conversion is earned by kicking the ball over the crossbar of the goal post (worth one point) or by running or passing the ball over the goal line from 2 yd (1.83 m) away (worth two points). In amateur (high school and college) football, the conversion play is begun 3 yd (2.74 m) from the end zone.
When a team is not likely to gain 10 yards in four downs, it often kicks, or punts, the ball downfield, usually on the fourth down. After each down, before resuming play, the opposing teams face each other along an imaginary line, called the line of scrimmage, determined by the position of the ball relative to the goals. Among standard offensive formations, the basic T formation (a balanced line with the quarterback behind the center and the other backs behind the quarterback) is, with modern variations, the most popular in both amateur and professional football. Blocking and tackling make football one of the most rugged sports played; thus players wear heavy protective gear.
Five officials—the referee, umpire, field judge, linesman, and electric clock operator—control a game, and penalties, chiefly in the form of moving the ball away from a team's object goal, are meted out for violations of the rules. Rules concerning the field, scoring, playing time, downs, scrimmage, substitution, officials, and equipment have undergone numerous changes, generally to make the game safer.
College and Amateur Football
The first intercollegiate football match in America (actually a 50-person soccer game) was played (1869) at New Brunswick, N.J. The Intercollegiate (Soccer) Football Association, composed of Columbia, Princeton, Rutgers, and Yale, was created (1873) to standardize rules. Harvard, meanwhile, refused to join the group and, looking for other opponents, accepted a challenge from McGill Univ. of Montreal to play a series of games (1874-75) under Rugby rules. The Rugby-type game soon caught on at the other schools also, and within a decade the distinctive game of American football evolved.
Since the late 19th cent. football has enjoyed tremendous popularity as a collegiate sport. In 1902 the first Rose Bowl game was played at Pasadena, Calif., and that postseason tournament has been conducted annually since 1916. Other annual, postseason, collegiate games include the Sugar, Orange, Sun, and Cotton bowls. In 1996 a national system to pick bowl opponents so as to determine a national champion was introduced. Selection of All-America teams, begun (1889) by Walter Camp and Caspar Whitney, has also contributed to football's popularity. The Heisman trophy, originated in 1935, is awarded annually to the nation's outstanding college football player.
Most collegiate teams play in athletic conferences. Among the best-known are the Ivy League, Big Ten, Atlantic Coast, Southeastern, and Pacific 10 conferences. Famous collegiate rivalries include Army-Navy and Yale-Harvard. With an atmosphere enhanced by bands and cheering sections, football is not only the most popular collegiate sport of the fall season but also a big business.
Revenues from football often finance other sports at a college, and some games are played before crowds of 100,000 people in university-owned stadiums. Despite the strict amateur code of the National Collegiate Athletic Association and its member conferences, illegal subsidization of football players is a recurrent issue. Football also is extremely popular in U.S. high schools. Six-man football and touch football, both usually played for recreation, are other forms of the amateur game.
Professional Football
Although professional football was played as early as 1895 in Pennsylvania, it was not until 1920 that national organization began, with the formation of the American Professional Football Association at Canton, Ohio. Originally consisting of five teams, the association evolved and in 1922 was renamed the National Football League (NFL). The professional game received a tremendous boost when Red Grange , a star halfback at the Univ. of Illinois, signed a professional contract (1925) with the Chicago Bears. Other college stars soon followed, and the public began to show interest in NFL teams.
In the period immediately following World War II professional football's popularity grew tremendously. A new league, the All-America Conference (established 1944), competed with the NFL until the two groups merged (1949). The American Football League (AFL; formed 1959) competed with the NFL during the early 1960s; the first Super Bowl championship game was held in 1967 between the NFL and AFL champions.
Four years later the two leagues were merged into the present NFL, which now comprises two conferences (the National Football Conference, or NFC, and the American Football Conference, or AFC) totaling 32 teams. The NFL season includes 16 regular games, after which the winners of the three divisions in each conference, along with two "wild card" teams (the teams with the next-best record in each conference) play a four-round playoff culminating in the Super Bowl.
Bibliography: See Official National Football League Record & Fact Book (annual); NCAA, Football: The Official Football Records Book (annual); C. Carter and D. Sloan, The Sporting News Pro Football Guide (annual); B. Carroll et al., ed., Total Football II: The Official Encyclopedia of the National Football League (1999); M. MacCambridge, America's Game: The Epic Story of How Pro Football Captured a Nation (2004).
Canadian Football
Canadian football is similar to the U.S. game, but the Canadian field and end zone are larger, measuring 110 yd by 65 yd (100 m by 59 m) and 25 yd by 65 yd (23 m by 59 m), respectively. Canadian teams have 12 players on the field rather than 11 and, among other variations in the rules, are allowed only three downs to advance the ball 10 yards. The present game developed from rules established (1891) by the Canadian Rugby Union. In 1959 the two professional leagues in the union broke away to form the Canadian Football League (CFL). From 1993 to 1995 the CFL had several U.S.-based teams; there are now nine teams divided between two divisions. A number of prominent U.S. players have made careers in the CFL. The league's annual championship game is known as the Grey Cup.
Gaelic Football
Gaelic football, played almost exclusively in Ireland, is perhaps the roughest of the football-type games. It is played by two teams of 15 men each on a field that measures 84 to 100 yd (76.81-91.44 m) in width and 140 to 160 yd (128.02-146.3 m) in length. The object of the game is to punch, dribble, or kick the ball into (3 points) or directly over (1 point) the rectangular goal-net. As with soccer and rugby, Gaelic football probably developed from the rough-and-tumble football games played in medieval England. Originally a sort of melee between as many as 200 representatives of rival parishes, the game was given a set of standard rules by Dan and Maurice Gavin, who founded (1884) the Gaelic Athletic Association after witnessing a particularly brutal game. The association sponsors the annual all-Ireland championship match, an elimination tournament for teams from Ireland's 32 counties.
Australian Football
The only major football-type sport that does not appear to have developed from the medieval game is Australian football. Probably an outgrowth of earlier Aboriginal games, it is played on an oval field that is about 200 yd (183 m) long and 150 yd (137 m) wide across the middle. Each team, composed of 19 players, attempts to kick the egg-shaped ball past a set of goal posts. The ball may be advanced by punches, kicks, or dribbles. The game, played only in Australia, is especially popular in the southern and western parts of the continent.
Cite this article
Pick a style below, and copy the text for your bibliography.
MLAChicagoAPA"football." The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. 2008. Encyclopedia.com. 6 Jul. 2009 <.