American Football invented itself. It's hard to believe, watching today's highly organised game, but it's true.
When Europeans settled in America in the 19th century they brought their games with them, but American Football owes as much to the pioneering spirit as it does to its ancient relatives rugby and English football.
The first games were akin to English football, played mostly at colleges such as Yale, Harvard and Princeton - the college that gave its name to the first set of rules, which were drawn up in 1867. The game was an instant success. In 1875 Harvard played Yale in the first game between two American Universities under the new rule, and the Inter-Collegiate Football Association was formed the following year.
In 1880 Walter Camp, the father of the modern game, first made his mark by introducing the scrimmage. This allowed for gaining possession of the ball without a free-for-all fight, and Camp also introduced yard line markings to assess territory gained. The term 'gridiron game' was born.
The improbably named Amos Alonzo Stagg soon followed in Camp's footsteps by introducing the huddle in 1894. Other Stagg refinements were diagrammed playbooks, tackling dummies and numbers on shirts.
KEY LANDMARKS
1867 Princeton Rules formulated
1869 First University Game, Rutgers vs. Princeton
1873 First Codified Rules
1880 Scrimmage Introduced
1892 First Professional Player, Pudge Heffelfinger
1906 Forward Pass Legalised
1920 American Professional Football Association Formed
1922 APFA becomes the NFL
1925 Red Grange/Chicago Bears barnstorming tour
1929 Green Bay Packers win first of three NFL titles in a row
1936 First College Draft
1940 Biggest Win of all time, Bears beat Redskins 73-0
1958 The 'perfect marriage', between NFL and TV
1963 Hall of Fame Opens in Canton, Ohio
1967 First Super Bowl
1970 NFL and AFL merge
1976 NFL expands to 28 teams
1982 Players strike for 57 day
1989 Alvin 'Pete' Rozelle, retired after 30 years as Commissioner
1994 Salary Cap was initiated for all teams
1995 NFL expansion to 30 teams
2002 Baltimore Ravens (1996) and Houston Texans now make 32
Without leagues, schedules, very much money or even a Commissioner, the early years of the 20th century were riddled with scandal and intrigue. But by 1912 American Football was the game we know today, and Red Indian - Jim Thorpe was the biggest box office draw.
In 1925 football fever really took hold when the Chicago Bears and the legendary Red Grange criss-crossed America, playing 19 games in 66 days. The tour had been made possible by a strange meeting held in a garage in Canton, Ohio, five years earlier. Delegates sat on the running boards of cars to create an organisation which by 1922 was known as the NFL.
Although pro football struggled for its life during the 1920s - only eight teams survived the gruelling Depression era - but the precedence was set.
American Football was, and is, here to stay. If the game is the most sophisticated gladitorial battle know to man, it's hardly surprising. Remember that American Football has been through financial ruin, strikes and two World Wars. The struggle still continues today with new demands by all.
