1870's One Last Bottleneck Remained

In his book The Story of Football (1965(, Robert Leckie points out that in the 1870's, one last bottleneck remained to be opened before football could become inimitable American. it concerned the "offside". The word, as used at that time, did not apply to the present violation occurring when a man on either team crosses into enemy territory before the ball is snapped. Instead, it was a word the British used to describe a player who got a head of his own ball carrier. It was what Americans now called blocking or interference tactics which where highly illegal in the early daus of rugby (Leckie, 1965). Coach CAmpbell