Who Invented NFL Football?
Contents
American football as a whole has a long and complicated history. But the National Football League (NFL) is a relatively new organization. So, who invented NFL football?
Early History of Football
NFL football is a professional sport that is enjoyed by millions today, but it has not always been around. It has a long and complicated history that is often misunderstood. So, who invented NFL football? Let’s take a look.
Early forms of football
Football is a popular sport that has a long and storied history. It is thought to have originated in China, where it was played as a game called cuju. Cuju was played with a ball made of inflated animal bladder and two teams of 12 players each. The objective of the game was to get the ball into the opponent’s net using any part of the body, except for the hands.
The game of football then spread to Japan, Greece, and Rome. In ancient Rome, the game was known as harpastum and was similar to modern rugby. The Roman game was so brutal that it was eventually banned by Emperor Theodosius II.
The game then spread to Europe, where it evolved into many different forms. In England, a form of football known as mob football emerged in the 12th century. This was a very violent game played between two teams of villagers on either side of a narrow strip of land. The objective of the game was to get the ball to the other side of the village without being stopped by the opposing team. This game was so violent that it was eventually banned by King Edward I in 1314.
Another form of football that emerged in England was known as folk football. Thiswas a much less violent version of mob football and did not have set rules or positions. Folk football quickly became popular among the working class people in England.
In 1848, a man named Ebenezer Cobb Morley wrote down a set of rules for folk football which were designed to make the game more civilized and less violent. These rules were published in 1863 and are recognized as the first ever set of codified football rules . Morley is therefore considered to be the father of modern-day football .
The first college football game
The first college football game was played on November 6, 1869, between Rutgers and Princeton, then known as the College of New Jersey. The teams played 10 games against each other in total. The game was played with a round ball and, as the rules of soccer were still being codified at the time, was a rather chaotic affair with players handling the ball as much as they kicked it.
Despite its origins, Rutgers won the game 6-4. However, Princeton would have the last laugh as they would go on to win the next nine meetings between the two sides.
Development of Professional Football
The first professional football game
The first professional football game was played on November 12, 1892, between the Allegheny Athletic Association and the Pittsburgh Athletic Club. The game was played in Pittsburgh and Allegheny won by a score of 6-0. The game was not a football game as we know it today, however, as it was more similar to rugby. In fact, one of the Pittsburgh players wrote later that “there were no rules so far as we could see” and that “ each side tried to kick the ball through the other’s goal.” The first professional football game was thus more a contest of strength and kicking than of skill and strategy.
The American Professional Football Association
In 1920, the American Professional Football Association (APFA) was founded. The APFA was the first attempt at creating a nationwide professional football league. The APFA was a loosely organized group with very little structure. There were no divisions, no playoffs, and no championship game. The league began with eleven teams:
-Akron Pros
-Buffalo All-Americans
-Canton Bulldogs
-Chicago Cardinals
-Chicago Tigers
-Cleveland Indians
-Columbus Panhandles
-Dayton Triangles
-Decatur Staleys (now the Chicago Bears)
-Detroit Heralds (later became the Pittsburgh Steelers)
-Hammond Pros
The first season of play was quite successful. All but one of the teams (the Detroit Heralds) were profitable. Each team played 12 or more games against nonleague opponents. The Akron Pros, who had the best record in the league (8–0–3), were named the first APFA champions.
The National Football League
The National Football League, or NFL, is the professional American football league. It was founded in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association (APFA), with ten teams from four states, all of whom existed in some form as participants of regional leagues in their respective territories.
The first NFL game
On November 22, 1892, William “Pudge” Heffelfinger was paid $500 to play in a game for the Allegheny Athletic Association against the Pittsburgh Athletic Club. This is widely considered to be the first professional football game ever played.
The Allegheny Athletic Association defeated the Pittsburgh Athletic Club, 4-0. Heffelfinger scored the only touchdown in the game.
professional football League was not established until 1920, when several teams from Ohio and Pennsylvania formed the American Professional Football Association.
The NFL today
The National Football League, or NFL, is the professional American football league in the United States, comprised of 32 teams divided equally between the National Football Conference, or NFC, and the American Football Conference, or AFC. The NFL is widely considered to be the premier professional American football league in the world. Headquartered in New York City, the NFL has its roots in a regional baseball league formed in 1920 called the American Professional Football Association. The league changed its name to National Football League in 1922.
The NFL today is a billion-dollar enterprise, with annual revenues exceeding $13 billion. The average NFL team is now worth $1.97 billion, up from $1.43 billion in 2008 and $681 million in 1998. In terms of popular culture, the NFL has become one of America’s most popular spectator sports, with an estimated fan base of more than 200 million people worldwide.
