The Evolution of Football

By 22davisc

  • The first college "football" game

    The game was played between Rutgers and Princeton University but it had very different rules and was played more like rugby

  • American Football was created

    A rugby player from Yale named Walter Camp made rule changes to the game which eventually became into the first version of American football

  • The Line of Scrimmage was created

    Walter Camp's most famous change to the game was this rule that he changed. It was to go from center to quarterback instead of executing the snap with the foot of the center

  • The forward pass was legalized

  • The American Professional Football Association was formed

    Two years later, the company was renamed to the National Football League

  • Pre-lacing on a football was made

    Since a new inflation pump was made, there was now no need to unlace the ball, making it possible for this invention

  • Double-lined football was developed

    This got rid of the need for the stem, which caused a lump in the ball previously.

  • The "Modern" Football was created

    At this time, the football changed size and shape to become a larger version of the football we have today. The ball's axis was shortened and the amount of air that could be held was decreased.

  • Pigskin footballs stopped mainstream production

    The new balls were now made of leather, getting rid of the need for pigskin balls

  • Wilson developed the TD football

    This had a new Tanned-in-Tack material, aka Grip-Tite. This made the football easier to grip.

  • First Super Bowl

    It was played between the Green Bay Packers and the Kansas City Chiefs. The Packer beat them 35-10 at the Memorial Coliseum in California

  • "Ultra Pebble" grip was introduced

    This made the grip even better than before. This is what we use now.

  • 50th Super Bowl Anniversary

    The Denver Broncos beat the Carolina Panthers 24-10 at Levi's Stadium in California