121-772: The Los Angeles Bulldogs were a professional American football team that competed from 1936 to 1948 (the last year as the Long Beach Bulldogs ). Formed with the intention of joining the National Football League in 1937 (and turned down in favor of the Cleveland Rams ), the Bulldogs were the first team on the major league level to play its home games on the American West Coast (the NFL's Los Angeles Buccaneers and
242-403: A halftime period, and the first and third quarters are followed by a short break. Before the game starts, the referee and each team's captain meet at midfield for a coin toss . The visiting team can call either "heads" or "tails"; the winner of the toss chooses whether to receive or kick off the ball or which goal they wish to defend. They can defer their choice until the second half. Unless
363-401: A 10-yard-long chain between them, are used to measure for a first down. The chain crew stays on the sidelines during the game, but if requested by the officials they will briefly bring the chains on to the field to measure. A typical chain crew will have at least three people—two members of the chain crew will hold either of the two sticks, while a third will hold the down marker. The down marker,
484-575: A 2–1–2 record against NFL teams that season. For the 1939 season, the Bulldogs joined fellow second AFL franchise Cincinnati Bengals in joining another American Football League just before the league changed its name to the American Professional Football League. The two newcomers dominated their new league, finishing with the two greatest winning percentages, but at the league meetings, the Columbus Bullies were announced as
605-525: A PAT attempt or successful field goal, the scoring team must kick the ball off to the other team. A safety is scored when the ball carrier is tackled in the carrier's own end zone. Safeties are worth two points, which are awarded to the defense. In addition, the team that conceded the safety must kick the ball to the scoring team via a free kick . Football games are played on a rectangular field that measures 120 yards (110 m) long and 53 + 1 ⁄ 3 yards (48.8 m) wide. Lines marked along
726-453: A field goal instead. A group of officials, the chain crew, keeps track of both the downs and the distance measurements. On television, a yellow line is electronically superimposed on the field to show the first down line to the viewing audience. There are two categories of kicks in football: scrimmage kicks, which can be executed by the offensive team on any down from behind or on the line of scrimmage, and free kicks. The free kicks are
847-457: A group of Princeton players realized that, as the snap was uncontested, they could now hold the ball indefinitely to prevent their opponent from scoring. In 1881, in a game between Yale and Princeton, both teams used this strategy to maintain their undefeated records. Each team held the ball, gaining no ground, for an entire half, resulting in a 0–0 tie. This "block game" proved extremely unpopular with both teams' spectators and fans. A rule change
968-533: A large stick with a dial on it, is flipped after each play to indicate the current down and is typically moved to the approximate spot of the ball. The chain crew system has been used for over 100 years and is considered an accurate measure of distance, rarely subject to criticism from either side. Football is a full-contact sport, and injuries are relatively common. Most injuries occur during training sessions, particularly ones that involve contact between players. To try to prevent injuries, players are required to wear
1089-408: A long circumference of 28 to 28 + 1 ⁄ 2 inches (71 to 72 cm), and a short circumference of 21 to 21 + 1 ⁄ 4 inches (53 to 54 cm). In college and high school play the ball has a long axis of 10 + 7 ⁄ 8 to 11 + 7 ⁄ 16 inches (27.6 to 29.1 cm), a long circumference of 27 + 3 ⁄ 4 to 28 + 1 ⁄ 2 inches (70 to 72 cm), and
1210-450: A major professional football league. With the departure of the Bulldogs to the new PCPFL and the defection of Cincinnati, Columbus, and a new Milwaukee AFPA team to a new East Coast -based league, the old AFL was fatally split and dissipated as two other AFPA teams’ applications to the new American Football League were eventually turned down. From the beginning, the PCPFL became a showcase for
1331-420: A minimum of 10 feet (3.0 m) on high school fields. Goal posts are padded at the base, and orange ribbons are normally placed at the tip of each upright as indicators of wind strength and direction. The football itself is a prolate spheroid leather ball, similar to the balls used in rugby or Australian rules football . To contain the compressed air within it, a pig's bladder was commonly used before
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#17328455931791452-496: A modified scoring system. These schools formed the Intercollegiate Football Association , although Yale did not join until 1879. Yale player Walter Camp , now regarded as the "Father of American Football", secured rule changes in 1880 that reduced the size of each team from 15 to 11 players and instituted the snap to replace the chaotic and inconsistent scrum . While the game between Rutgers and Princeton
1573-428: A pass hits the ground without a player having caught it. A forward pass can be legally attempted only if the passer is behind the line of scrimmage; only one forward pass can be attempted per down. As in rugby, players can also pass the ball backwards at any point during a play. In the NFL, a down also ends immediately if the runner's helmet comes off. The offense is given a series of four plays, known as downs . If
1694-583: A player being paid to participate in a game of American football , although many athletic clubs in the 1880s offered indirect benefits, such as helping players attain employment, giving out trophies or watches that players could pawn for money, or paying double in expense money. Despite these extra benefits, the game had a strict sense of amateurism at the time, and direct payment to players was frowned upon, if not prohibited outright. Over time, professional play became increasingly common, and with it came rising salaries and unpredictable player movement, as well as
1815-427: A quarter ends, play continues until the down is completed. If certain fouls are committed during play while time has expired, the quarter may be extended through an untimed down . Games last longer than their defined length due to play stoppages—the average NFL game lasts slightly over three hours. Time in a football game is measured by the game clock. An operator is responsible for starting, stopping and operating
1936-636: A resuscitated Hollywood Bears team (8–2–1) and the Oakland Giants (7–2) led by league MVP Mel Reid, another victim of the NFL color line . Seven years after playing in front of crowds of 15,000 people as they marched through a perfect season in the major league American Football League, the Bulldogs were averaging less than 10,000 per game in Gilmore Stadium in the Pacific Coast Professional Football League’s last season as
2057-783: A rival to his team, but Myers declined the offer, dooming the league. The Bulldogs followed their perfect season with a 10–2–2 campaign, including a 2–1–2 record in games against NFL teams (the Chicago teams in Charleston, West Virginia , the Pittsburgh Pirates in Colorado Springs, Colorado , and home games against the Pirates and the Rams). LA’s other loss was to the Bengals, which also had success against
2178-494: A round ball. An 1875 Harvard–Yale game played under rugby-style rules was observed by two Princeton athletes who were impressed by it. They introduced the sport to Princeton, a feat the Professional Football Researchers Association compared to "selling refrigerators to Eskimos ". Princeton, Harvard, Yale, and Columbia then agreed to intercollegiate play using a form of rugby union rules with
2299-436: A secondary signal. Women can serve as officials; Sarah Thomas became the NFL's first female official in 2015. The seven officials (of a standard seven-man crew; lower levels of play up to the college level use fewer officials) on the field are each tasked with a different set of responsibilities: Another set of officials, the chain crew , are responsible for moving the chains. The chains, consisting of two large sticks with
2420-403: A separate sport from rugby, and the resulting five-yard lines added to the field to measure distances made it resemble a gridiron in appearance. Other major rule changes included a reduction of the field size to 110 by 53 + 1 ⁄ 3 yards (100.6 m × 48.8 m) and the adoption of a scoring system that awarded four points for a touchdown, two for a safety and a goal following
2541-565: A set of equipment. At a minimum players must wear a football helmet and a set of shoulder pads , but individual leagues may require additional padding such as thigh pads and guards, knee pads, chest protectors, and mouthguards . Most injuries occur in the lower extremities, particularly in the knee, but a significant number also affect the upper extremities. The most common types of injuries are strains , sprains , bruises , fractures , dislocations , and concussions . Gil Lefebvre Gilbert Lefebvre (March 10, 1910 – May 7, 1987)
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#17328455931792662-410: A short circumference of 20 + 3 ⁄ 4 to 21 + 1 ⁄ 4 inches (53 to 54 cm). Football games last for a total of 60 minutes in professional and college play and are divided into two halves of 30 minutes and four quarters of 15 minutes. High school football games are 48 minutes in length with two halves of 24 minutes and four quarters of 12 minutes. The two halves are separated by
2783-564: A short, futile “life” as an independent team. With the return of Paul Schissler and Kenny Washington, the Bears were back, but the Rangers quit the league rather than join forces with the other team from Hollywood (tailback Dean McAdams left the Rangers and signed with the Bulldogs soon afterward). Helped by the defection, the Bulldogs improved to 5–5–1 with the help of a newly signed quarterback, Frankie Albert . The Bulldogs finished in third place, behind
2904-544: A team after being granted a “probationary franchise” by the NFL. Myers' first hire was Gus Henderson as the team's first head coach; both started to sign players with NFL experience (lineman Ray Richards (formerly of the Chicago Bears ) and end Ike Frankian of the New York Giants ) and University of Tulsa alumni Roy Berry , Hal Wickersham , Frank Greene , and Homer Reynolds , all of whom played for Henderson. In
3025-416: A touchdown , and five for a goal from the field . Additionally, tackling below the waist was legalized, and a static line of scrimmage was instituted. Despite these new rules, football remained a violent sport. Dangerous mass-formations like the flying wedge resulted in serious injuries and deaths. A 1905 peak of 19 fatalities nationwide resulted in a threat by President Theodore Roosevelt to abolish
3146-564: A “probationary franchise” and an implied promise that the team would join the league, the NFL owners chose Homer Marshman 's Cleveland Rams , second-place finishers in the second AFL in 1936. Soon afterward, the Bulldogs opted to take the Rams’ place in the AFL. Despite the new league, the Los Angeles Bulldogs' roster stayed relatively constant. Former Chicago Cardinals back Al Nichelini joined
3267-460: Is a sport in which two competing teams vie for control of a ball, which can be kicked through a set of goalposts or run into the opponent's goal area to score points. What is considered to be the first American football game was played on November 6, 1869 , between Rutgers and Princeton , two college teams. They consisted of 25 players per team and used a round ball that could not be picked up or carried. It could, however, be kicked or batted with
3388-425: Is called on the offense. There are two main ways the offense can advance the ball: running and passing . In a typical play, the center passes the ball backwards and between their legs to the quarterback in a process known as the snap . The quarterback then either hands the ball off to a running back, throws the ball, or runs with it. The play ends when the player with the ball is tackled or goes out-of-bounds or
3509-437: Is caught or recovered behind the line of scrimmage. If it is touched or recovered by the kicking team beyond this line, it becomes dead at the spot where it was touched. The kicking team is prohibited from interfering with the receiver's opportunity to catch the ball. The receiving team has the option of signaling for a fair catch , which prohibits the defense from blocking into or tackling the receiver. The play ends as soon as
3630-563: Is commonly considered the first American football game, several years prior in 1862, the Oneida Football Club formed as the oldest known football club in the United States. The team consisted of graduates of Boston's elite preparatory schools and played from 1862 to 1865. The introduction of the snap resulted in an unexpected consequence. Before the snap, the strategy had been to punt if a scrum resulted in bad field position. However,
3751-403: Is known as a two-point conversion . In general, the extra point is almost always successful, while the two-point conversion is a much riskier play with a higher probability of failure; accordingly, extra point attempts are far more common than two-point conversion attempts. A field goal (FG), worth three points, is scored when the ball is place kicked or drop kicked through the uprights and over
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3872-407: Is responsible for all kicking plays. The special teams unit of the team in control of the ball tries to execute field goal (FG) attempts, punts , and kickoffs , while the opposing team's unit will aim to block or return them. Three positions are specific to the field goal and PAT (point-after-touchdown) unit: the placekicker (K or PK), holder (H), and long snapper (LS). The long snapper's job
3993-421: Is to block members of the defensive line from tackling the ball carrier on running plays or sacking the quarterback on passing plays. The leader of the offensive line is the center, who is responsible for snapping the ball to the quarterback, blocking, and for making sure that the other linemen do their jobs during the play. On either side of the center are the guards (G), while tackles (T) line up outside
4114-437: Is to snap the football to the holder, who will catch and position it for the placekicker. There is not usually a holder on kickoffs, because the ball is kicked off a tee; however, a holder may be used in certain situations, such as if wind is preventing the ball from remaining upright on the tee. The player on the receiving team who catches the ball is known as the kickoff returner (KR). The positions specific to punt plays are
4235-756: The Bowl Championship Series (BCS) in 1997. The BCS arrangement proved to be controversial , and was replaced in 2014 by the College Football Playoff (CFP). A football game is played between two teams of 11 players each. Playing with more on the field is punishable by a penalty. Teams may substitute any number of their players between downs; this "platoon" system replaced the original system, which featured limited substitution rules, and has resulted in teams utilizing specialized offensive, defensive and special teams units. The number of players allowed on an active roster varies by league;
4356-473: The Super Bowl , ranks among the most-watched club sporting events globally. In 2022, the league had an annual revenue of around $ 18.6 billion, making it the most valuable sports league in the world. Other professional and amateur leagues exist worldwide, but the sport does not have the international popularity of other American sports like baseball or basketball ; the sport maintains a growing following in
4477-412: The center (C), are allowed to line up in or cross the neutral zone until the ball is snapped. Interior offensive linemen are not allowed to move until the snap of the ball. The main backfield positions are the quarterback (QB), halfback/tailback (HB/TB), and fullback (FB). The quarterback is the leader of the offense. Either the quarterback or a coach calls the plays. Quarterbacks typically inform
4598-409: The commissioner . NCAA and NFHS teams are "strongly advised" to number their offensive players according to a league-suggested numbering scheme. Although the sport is played almost exclusively by men, women are eligible to play in high school, college, and professional football. No woman has ever played in the NFL, but women have played in high school and college football games. In 2018, 1,100 of
4719-494: The drive . Points are scored primarily by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone for a touchdown or kicking the ball through the opponent's goalposts for a field goal . The team with the most points at the end of the game wins. American football evolved in the United States, originating from the sports of soccer and rugby . The first American football game was played on November 6, 1869 , between two college teams, Rutgers and Princeton , using rules based on
4840-465: The first AFL 's Wildcats of 1926 were actually traveling teams based in Chicago ). They were considered "the best football team in existence outside the NFL". The 1937 Bulldogs are one of three pro football teams that have gone undefeated and untied during a season, joining the 1972 Miami Dolphins (17–0–0, NFL), and the 1948 Cleveland Browns (15–0–0, AAFC). The Bulldogs hold the distinction of being
4961-411: The kickoff , which starts the first and third quarters and overtime and follows a try attempt or a successful field goal; the safety kick follows a safety. On a kickoff, the ball is placed at the 35-yard line of the kicking team in professional and college play and at the 40-yard line in high school play. The ball may be drop kicked or place kicked. If a place kick is chosen, the ball can be placed on
Los Angeles Bulldogs - Misplaced Pages Continue
5082-407: The neutral zone was created along the width of the football before the snap. Scoring was also adjusted: points awarded for field goals were reduced to three in 1909 and points for touchdowns were raised to six in 1912. Also in 1912, the field was shortened to 100 yards (91 m) long, two 10-yard-long (9.1 m) end zones were created, and teams were given four downs instead of three to advance
5203-407: The punter (P), long snapper, upback , and gunner . The long snapper snaps the football directly to the punter, who then drops and kicks it before it hits the ground. Gunners line up split outside the line and race down the field, aiming to tackle the punt returner (PR)—the player who catches the punt. Upbacks line up a short distance behind the line of scrimmage, providing additional protection to
5324-416: The 1943 PCPFL season. The reconstituted team finished in fifth place with a 3–4 record, one win behind Freelove’s Mustangs (4–4), which finished in a tie for second with Oakland. The San Diego Bombers won its second consecutive league title with a 7–1 record. After the end of the 1943 season, the off-the-field fireworks continued. The league ownership registered their disapproval of Bill Freelove’s raiding of
5445-413: The 1966 season. Once the merger was completed, it was no longer a championship game between two leagues and reverted to the NFL championship game, which came to be known as the Super Bowl . College football maintained a tradition of postseason bowl games . Each bowl game was associated with a particular conference and earning a spot in a bowl game was the reward for winning a conference. This arrangement
5566-552: The 225,000 players in Pop Warner Little Scholars youth football were girls, and around 11% of the 5.5 million Americans who report playing tackle football are female according to the Sports and Fitness Industry Association. The role of the offensive unit is to advance the football down the field with the ultimate goal of scoring a touchdown . The offensive team must line up in a legal formation before they can snap
5687-529: The Alameda Mustangs (who moved to San Jose in 1944), and the Los Angeles Mustangs resulted in the league having four Los Angeles teams for competition, with one in particular creating controversy and bitter feelings for succeeding years. Almost immediately after being granted an expansion franchise for the Los Angeles Mustangs, owner Bill Freelove surprised the league membership by signing virtually
5808-643: The American Football League for the 1946 season) - entered into a working arrangement with the NFL, agreeing to being, in essence, a farm league to the “big boys” and not allowing any participants in “any outlaw league” (specifically the AAFC) to be a member of any PCPFL team. The 1946 Bulldogs had 11 players on its roster who had NFL experience., including former Detroit Lions halfback Joe Margucci , lineman Forrest McPherson , and wingback Elvin Hutchison . While
5929-459: The Bears determined the league championship in 1940 and 1941 as he was injured for a Bruins-Bulldogs game that resulted in Los Angeles winning the championship with a 7–2–1 record; a healthy Washington powered Hollywood’s undefeated romp through the schedule the following year (including three defeats of the Bulldogs as LA finished in second place with a 4–4 record). It did not matter at the time that
6050-431: The Bulldogs and Schissler’s (newly renamed) Hollywood Bears as the league did something that the NFL did not do at the time: employ African American players. While the Bears featured the talents of Kenny Washington , Woody Strode , and Kink Richards , the Bulldogs relied upon local talent as well (including, briefly, in 1941, a UCLA Bruin who lettered in four sports: Jackie Robinson ). The availability of Washington to
6171-641: The Bulldogs beat the Chicago Cardinals , Pittsburgh Pirates , and Philadelphia Eagles and tied the Brooklyn Dodgers before being shut out by the Chicago Bears and NFL champion Green Bay Packers to conclude a 6–3–1 inaugural campaign by the Bulldogs. The team had averaged 9,400 fans in the stands for the season, and over 12,000 per game in the second half. At the 1936 NFL owners' meeting, Myers joined representatives from Houston and Cleveland to pitch their teams for possible expansion. While Myers had
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#17328455931796292-416: The Bulldogs by refusing to renew his league membership. Freelove responded with the formation of a new American Football League with eight teams from Seattle and Portland to San Diego . As a result, there were an unprecedented five Los Angeles professional football teams operating simultaneously. With the leagues’ talent pool greatly diluted, the Bulldogs struggled to a 2–5 record, good for sixth place in
6413-665: The Bulldogs won the Southern Division handily (the Bulldogs’ 9–2–1 vs. the second place Hawaiian Warriors’ 8–4), the Northern Division title was decided by a forfeit in the last game of the season, ironically one involving the Bulldogs. The San Francisco Clippers apparently defeated Los Angeles by a score of 24–19 and claimed the top spot in the North. When Clippers owner Frank Ciraolo entered his team’s locker room to participate in
6534-726: The Bulldogs – and the PCPFL – folded. The L.A. Bulldogs were formed in 1936 with the expressed intention of joining the National Football League. In the wake of failed professional football leagues on the American West Coast (the first two Pacific Coast Leagues in 1926 and in 1934, the American Legion Pro Football League in 1935), the Los Angeles regional chapter of the American Legion hired Harry Myers and budgeted $ 10,000 in payroll money to put together
6655-484: The Bulldogs, a gambling scandal involving the Hawaiians further reduced whatever fan interest remained for the PCPFL. Fourteen Hawaiian Warriors were suspended, either “permanently” or “indefinitely,” for their part in the scandal. With the departure of Salt Lake and Sacramento after the end of the 1947, the viability of the league was in doubt as only three teams remained. Former Bulldogs owner Jerry Corcoran, who co-founded
6776-556: The Bulldogs’ 7–1 (.875) record had them placed atop the league standings, ahead of Cincinnati’s 6–2 (.750) and Columbus’ 9–4 (.692). Yet in a league meeting on January 7, 1940, Columbus was declared the league champion, with a 9–2 (.818) record. Shortly afterward, Jerry Corcoran and Paul Schlissler announced the formation of the Pacific Coast Professional Football League as the APFA announced its intentions to become
6897-508: The NFL had established itself as America's premier professional football league. The dominant form of football at the time was played at the collegiate level . The upstart NFL received a boost to its legitimacy in 1925, however, when an NFL team, the Pottsville Maroons , defeated a team of Notre Dame all-stars in an exhibition game . A greater emphasis on the passing game helped professional football to distinguish itself further from
7018-564: The NFL has a 53-man roster, while NCAA Division I allows teams to have 63 scholarship players in the FCS and 85 scholarship players in the FBS, respectively. Individual players in a football game must be designated with a uniform number between 1 and 99, though some teams may "retire" certain numbers , making them unavailable to players. NFL teams are required to number their players by a league-approved numbering system, and any exceptions must be approved by
7139-661: The NFL teams after the dissolution of the second AFL. The following year featured several changes for the Bulldogs, most notably a new owner ( Jerry Corcoran ), a new league (another American Football League , soon to change its name to the American Professional Football Association), and a new head coach ( Ike Frankian replacing Gus Henderson). Kicker George Karamatic was signed from the Washington Redskins , and they lost their star of their backfield Bill Howard. After losing their opening game to
7260-607: The PCPFL (and only better than the new Hollywood Wolves) as the San Diego Bombers won their third straight league title. On December 21, 1944, the AFL merged with the PCPFL, with the AFL’s first and second place teams (Hollywood Rangers and San Francisco Clippers) replacing the Wolves and the Packers for the 1945 season. Freelove’s Mustangs were not permitted to join the reformed league and had
7381-423: The PCPFL succumbed before the beginning of the 1949 season. American football American football , referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football , is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense , the team with possession of the oval-shaped football , attempts to advance down
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#17328455931797502-557: The Redskins and being shut out in their opening APFA game by the Columbus Bullies , the Bulldogs found their stride in the new league, including beating their old nemesis Cincinnati Bengals once and Columbus thrice. As the season progressed, their offense strengthened as they beat the Dayton Bombers 65–0 on Thanksgiving weekend and the St. Louis Gunners 56–14 in mid-December. As the season ended,
7623-460: The advent of artificial rubber inside the leather outer shell to sustain crushing forces . At all levels of play, the football is inflated to 12 + 1 ⁄ 2 to 13 + 1 ⁄ 2 psi (86 to 93 kPa), or just under one atmosphere, and weighs 14 to 15 ounces (400 to 430 g); beyond that, the exact dimensions vary slightly. In professional play the ball has a long axis of 11 to 11 + 1 ⁄ 4 inches (28 to 29 cm),
7744-550: The ball 10 yards (9.1 m). The roughing the passer penalty was implemented in 1914, and eligible players were first allowed to catch the ball anywhere on the field in 1918. On November 12, 1892, Pudge Heffelfinger was paid $ 500 (equivalent to $ 16,956 in 2023) to play a game for the Allegheny Athletic Association against the Pittsburgh Athletic Club . This is the first recorded instance of
7865-435: The ball is caught, and the ball may not be advanced. Officials are responsible for enforcing game rules and monitoring the clock. All officials carry a whistle and wear black-and-white striped shirts and black hats except for the referee, whose hat is white. Each carries a weighted yellow flag that is thrown to the ground to signal that a foul has been called. An official who spots multiple fouls will throw their hat as
7986-430: The ball. An offensive formation is considered illegal if there are more than four players in the backfield or fewer than five players numbered 50–79 on the offensive line. Players can line up temporarily in a position whose eligibility is different from what their number permits as long as they report the change immediately to the referee, who then informs the defensive team of the change. Neither team's players, except
8107-516: The college game during the late 1930s. Football, in general, became increasingly popular following the 1958 NFL Championship game between the Baltimore Colts and the New York Giants , still referred to as the "Greatest Game Ever Played". The game, a 23–17 overtime victory by the Colts, was seen by millions of television viewers and had a major influence on the popularity of the sport. This, along with
8228-594: The conference, as they favored a rugby-style game that allowed running with the ball. After playing McGill University using both American (known as "the Boston game ") for the first game and Canadian (rugby) rules for the second one, the Harvard players preferred the Canadian style of having only 11 men on the field, running the ball without having to be chased by an opponent, the forward pass, tackling, and using an oblong instead of
8349-495: The conservative NFL to expand to Dallas and Minnesota in an attempt to destroy the new league. Meanwhile, the AFL introduced many new features to professional football in the United States: official time was kept on a scoreboard clock rather than on a watch in the referee's pocket, as the NFL did; optional two-point conversions by pass or run after touchdowns; names on the jerseys of players; and several others, including expansion of
8470-413: The crossbars of the defense's goalposts. In practice, almost all field goal attempts are done via place kick. While drop kicks were common in the early days of the sport, the shape of modern footballs makes it difficult to reliably drop kick the ball. The last successful scoring play by drop kick in the NFL was accomplished in 2006; prior to that, the last successful drop kick had been made in 1941. After
8591-399: The defense is to prevent the offense from scoring by tackling the ball carrier or by forcing turnovers . Turnovers include interceptions (a defender catching a forward pass intended for the offense) and forced fumbles (taking possession of the ball from the ball-carrier). The defensive line (DL) consists of defensive ends (DE) and defensive tackles (DT). Defensive ends line up on
8712-430: The defensive backfield. They are divided into two types: middle linebackers (MLB) and outside linebackers (OLB). Linebackers tend to serve as the defensive leaders and call the defensive plays, given their vantage point of the offensive backfield. Their roles include defending the run, pressuring the quarterback, and tackling backs, wide receivers, and tight ends in the passing game. The defensive backfield , often called
8833-472: The ends and sides of the field are known as the end lines and sidelines . Goal lines are marked 10 yards (9.1 m) inward from each end line. Weighted pylons are placed the sidelines on the inside corner of the intersections with the goal lines and end lines. White markings on the field identify the distance from the end zone. Inbound lines, or hash marks , are short parallel lines that mark off 1-yard (0.91 m) increments. Yard lines , which can run
8954-404: The ends of the line, while defensive tackles line up inside, between the defensive ends. The primary responsibilities of defensive ends and defensive tackles are to stop running plays on the outside and inside, respectively, to pressure the quarterback on passing plays, and to occupy the line so that the linebackers can break through. Linebackers line up behind the defensive line but in front of
9075-457: The entire roster of the 1942 Los Angeles Bulldogs. Bulldogs owner Jerry Corcoran was contemplating the suspension of the team for 1943 when the league gave a “leave of absence” to the Hollywood Bears, whose owner and star were both unavailable for competition. As a result, Corcoran was able to sign most of the Bears (including Kink Richards), and the Bulldogs had the manpower to participate in
9196-499: The feet, hands, head, or sides, with the objective being to advance it into the opponent's goal. Rutgers won the game 6–4. Collegiate play continued for several years with games played using the rules of the host school. Representatives of Yale, Columbia , Princeton and Rutgers met on October 19, 1873, to create a standard set of rules for use by all schools. Teams were set at 20 players each, and fields of 400 by 250 feet (122 m × 76 m) were specified. Harvard abstained from
9317-412: The field by running with the ball or throwing it , while the defense , the team without possession of the ball, aims to stop the offense's advance and to take control of the ball for themselves. The offense must advance the ball at least ten yards in four downs or plays; if they fail, they turn over the football to the defense, but if they succeed, they are given a new set of four downs to continue
9438-456: The first. The Bulldogs joined the second American Football League , in 1937 and proceeded to become the first professional football team to win a league championship with a perfect record (no losses or ties), having won all eight of its league games that season (counting all exhibition games, they won all 16 of their 1937 contests). After the dissolution of the second AFL after the 1937 season, they returned to independent football for 1938, having
9559-615: The four-team league at 2–2, behind the 4–1 of charter members San Diego Bombers and the 2–1 of the San Francisco Bay Bombers. While the Bombers officially won the 1942 league championship, they lost two games to the March Field Flyers, who were undefeated in five games against league membership. While the league membership profited at the box office with the games with the service academies, the owners decided that it would be in
9680-511: The game are professional and college football , with the other major levels being high-school and youth football. As of 2022 , nearly 1.04 million high-school athletes play the sport in the U.S., with another 81,000 college athletes in the NCAA and the NAIA . The National Football League (NFL) has the highest average attendance of any professional sports league in the world . Its championship game,
9801-419: The game clock based on the direction of the appropriate official . A separate play clock is used to show the amount of time within which the offense must initiate a play. The play clock is set to 25 seconds after certain administrative stoppages in play and to 40 seconds when play is proceeding without such stoppages. If the offense fails to start a play before the play clock reads "00", a delay of game foul
9922-618: The game unless major changes were made. In response, 62 colleges and universities met in New York City to discuss rule changes on December 28, 1905. These proceedings resulted in the formation of the Intercollegiate Athletic Association of the United States, later renamed the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). The legal forward pass was introduced in 1906, although its effect
10043-443: The ground or a tee; a holder may be used in either case. On a safety kick, the kicking team kicks the ball from their own 20-yard line. They can punt, drop kick or place kick the ball, but a tee may not be used in professional play. Any member of the receiving team may catch or advance the ball. The ball may be recovered by the kicking team once it has gone at least ten yards and has touched the ground or has been touched by any member of
10164-434: The guards. The principal receivers are the wide receivers (WR) and the tight ends (TE). Wide receivers line up on or near the line of scrimmage, split outside the line. The main goal of the wide receiver is to catch passes thrown by the quarterback, but they may also function as decoys or as blockers during running plays. Tight ends line up outside the tackles and function both as receivers and as blockers. The role of
10285-517: The highest level league on the West Coast. While the Bulldogs have one more league championship in the post-World War II years, the anticipated arrival of the Cleveland Rams into Los Angeles heralded seismic changes in the professional football landscape in California. In 1946, the Bulldogs, which were founded with the intention of joining the National Football League, found themselves competing against
10406-539: The illegal payment of college players who were still in school. The National Football League (NFL), a group of professional teams that was originally established in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, aimed to solve these problems. This new league's stated goals included an end to bidding wars over players, prevention of the use of college players, and abolition of the practice of paying players to leave another team. By 1922,
10527-448: The innovations introduced by the new American Football League (AFL) in the early 1960s, helped football to become the most popular sport in the United States by the mid-1960s. The rival AFL arose in 1960 and challenged the NFL's dominance. The AFL began in relative obscurity but eventually thrived, with an initial television contract with the ABC television network. The AFL's existence forced
10648-410: The league champions. Shortly afterward, the Bulldogs announced their intention to leave the AFL to become a charter member of a new Pacific Coast Professional Football League (the AFL soon dissipated when three more member teams defected to a new league, which soon became the “ third American Football League ”). Winning PCPFL championships in 1940 and 1946, the Bulldogs were the only team to compete in
10769-499: The league in 1940, managed a revived Hollywood Bears team in 1948. The Bears, charter members of the PCPFL, rejoined the league as a traveling team . The Bulldogs, under new management, moved their home games to Long Beach, CA, where they played their only home game at Wilson High School's Stephen's Field on October 17, 1948, defeating the Hollywood Bears, 21–7 [Ref. at newspaperarchive.com, Long Beach Press-Telegram 10/18/1948, Page A-15]. After playing all of their scheduled road games and
10890-597: The league in every year of its existence (1940–1948). With the establishment of the Los Angeles Rams in the NFL and Los Angeles Dons in the All-America Football Conference in 1946, the popularity of the Bulldogs diminished to the point of moving their home games from Gilmore Stadium to Veterans Memorial Stadium in Long Beach in 1948, and when the attendance dropped below 1,000 people per game,
11011-444: The league inch toward its demise as the Bulldogs overwhelmed the rest of the league in the first half of the season and completed its perfect season at home in the second half. The Shamrocks and Yankees, both of which averaging over 10,000 attendance in home games in the 1936 season , totaled 4500 people in their home games against the Bulldogs in 1937. On the other hand, the Bulldogs drew 15,000 in each of their AFL home games and became
11132-578: The league would end the 1941 season two weeks early because of the attack on Pearl Harbor and the U. S. military ’s ongoing fear of a possible Japanese attack on the American West Coast . Unlike the Dixie League , the American Association , and the third American Football League , the PCPFL joined the NFL in continuing its competition in the World War II years of 1941–1945. The league schedule
11253-497: The league’s best interests not to be overshadowed by the military teams; so the games with March Field and Santa Ana were dropped. It was first of several changes of the PCPFL for 1943, some involving the Los Angeles Bulldogs. The league expanded from four to eight teams, with the return of the Oakland Giants after a two-season absence, and the addition of the Richmond Boilermakers (who dropped out midway through league play),
11374-578: The mainlanders an opportunity of playing them in front of a home crowd, and competition from the Dons and the Rams are proving too much for owner Jerry Corcoran, who eventually sold the Bulldogs as he was drowning in red ink . After LA’s 35–34 victory over the Warriors put the two teams in a virtual tie for first place, the Hawaiians won the rematch (and the league championship) 7–6 later in the week. While it did not involve
11495-429: The offense advances ten or more yards in the four downs, they are awarded a new set of four downs. If they fail to advance ten yards, possession of the football is turned over to the defense. In most situations, if the offense reaches their fourth down they will punt the ball to the other team, which forces them to begin their drive from farther down the field; if they are in field goal range , they might attempt to score
11616-423: The one home game, the Bulldogs were one game behind the Hawaiians, who clinched a tie for the league title with a 5–1 record. The Bulldogs had a 3–1 record and could tie the Warriors if they beat San Francisco and Hollywood in Long Beach, but after drawing only 850 in their first home game, the Bulldogs did not try to play the two rescheduled games, cancelling them instead. The existence of the Bulldogs came to an end;
11737-587: The only AFL team to make a profit in the 1937 season. The league folded in 1938. With the collapse of the second American Football League, playing games against NFL teams became an option for the Bulldogs again for 1938 as they returned to independent status. The season featured games against the Pittsburgh Pirates, both Chicago NFL teams, and the Cleveland Rams, plus two games against former AFL franchise Cincinnati. The Bulldogs were asked by Hollywood Stars owner Paul Schissler to join his new California League as
11858-445: The plane of the two end lines. The crossbar of these posts is 10 feet (3.0 m) above the ground, with vertical uprights at the end of the crossbar 18 feet 6 inches (5.64 m) apart for professional and collegiate play, and 23 feet 4 inches (7.11 m) apart for high school play. The uprights extend vertically 35 feet (11 m) on professional fields, a minimum of 10 yards (9.1 m) on college fields, and
11979-448: The point(s)-after-touchdown (PAT) or conversion, which is a single scoring opportunity. This is generally attempted from the two- or three-yard line, depending on the level of play. If the PAT is scored by a place kick or drop kick through the goal posts, it is worth one point, typically called the extra point. If the PAT is scored by what would normally be a touchdown, it is worth two points; this
12100-409: The premier season of 1936, superlatives came early for the new team. Gil Lefebvre had already established himself as a punt return threat, and both Berry and Ed Stark electrified crowds with their long runs. While professional football leagues often had traveling teams , the Bulldogs played all their games of the 1936 season in 18,000-seat Gilmore Stadium . Six of the contests involved NFL teams –
12221-473: The punter. In football, the winner is the team that has scored more points at the end of the game. There are multiple ways to score in a football game. The touchdown (TD), worth six points, is the most valuable scoring play in American football. A touchdown is scored when a live ball is advanced into, caught, or recovered in the opposing team's end zone. The scoring team then attempts a try, more commonly known as
12342-401: The receiving team. The three types of scrimmage kicks are place kicks, drop kicks, and punts. Only place kicks and drop kicks can score points. The place kick is the standard method used to score points, because the pointy shape of the football makes it difficult to reliably drop kick. Once the ball has been kicked from a scrimmage kick, it can be advanced by the kicking team only if it
12463-411: The rest of North America, Europe, Brazil, and Japan. In the United States, American football is referred to as "football". The term "football" was officially established in the rulebook for the 1876 college football season , when the sport first shifted from soccer-style rules to rugby-style rules. Although it could easily have been called "rugby" at this point, Harvard, one of the primary proponents of
12584-631: The rest of the offense of the play in the huddle before the team lines up. The quarterback lines up behind the center to take the snap and then hands the ball off, throws it, or runs with it. The primary role of the halfback, also known as the running back or tailback, is to carry the ball on running plays. Halfbacks may also serve as receivers. Fullbacks tend to be larger than halfbacks and function primarily as blockers, but they are sometimes used as runners in short-yardage or goal-line situations. They are seldom used as receivers. The offensive line (OL) consists of several players whose primary function
12705-499: The role of minority players, actively recruited by the league in contrast to the NFL. The AFL also signed several star college players who had also been drafted by NFL teams. Competition for players heated up in 1965, when the AFL New York Jets signed rookie Joe Namath to a then-record $ 437,000 contract (equivalent to $ 4.23 million in 2023). A five-year, $ 40 million NBC television contract followed, which helped to sustain
12826-515: The rugby-style game, compromised and did not request the name of the sport be changed to "rugby". The terms " gridiron " or "American football" are favored in English-speaking countries where other types of football are popular, such as the United Kingdom, Ireland, New Zealand, and Australia. American football evolved from the sports of rugby and soccer . Rugby, like American football,
12947-451: The rules of soccer at the time. A set of rule changes drawn up from 1880 onward by Walter Camp , the "Father of American Football", established the snap , the line of scrimmage , eleven-player teams, and the concept of downs. Later rule changes legalized the forward pass , created the neutral zone , and specified the size and shape of the football. The sport is closely related to Canadian football , which evolved in parallel with and at
13068-435: The same time as the American game, although its rules were developed independently from those of Camp. Most of the features that distinguish American football from rugby and soccer are also present in Canadian football. The two sports are considered the primary variants of gridiron football . American football is the most popular sport in the United States in terms of broadcast viewership audience. The most popular forms of
13189-503: The secondary, consists of cornerbacks (CB) and safeties (S). Safeties are themselves divided into free safeties (FS) and strong safeties (SS). Cornerbacks line up outside the defensive formation, typically opposite a receiver to be able to cover them. Safeties line up between the cornerbacks but farther back in the secondary. Safeties tend to be viewed as "the last line of defense" and are responsible for stopping deep passing plays as well as breakout running plays. The special teams unit
13310-542: The team that entered the NFL in their stead in 1937 – and with the formation of the Los Angeles Dons of the new All-America Football Conference , the Bulldogs suddenly found themselves third in the Los Angeles pecking order as both the Rams and the Dons started to draw upwards of 40,000 people in the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum . While the PCPFL was suddenly diminished in stature with the incursion of
13431-529: The team. Back Bill Howard led the league in scoring as the Bulldogs marched through the American Football League’s schedule, being the first professional football team to win all their contests and win the league championship in the same season. Home games are in CAPITAL letters; AFL games are in bold print The scheduling plan adopted by the AFL and the Bulldogs as a cost containment measure helped
13552-514: The two major leagues into California, the six-year-old league underwent a few changes as it expanded to nine teams and divided into two divisions. Teams based in Honolulu , Salt Lake City , Sacramento , and Tacoma, Washington . Team rosters were limited to 25 players, and, for the first time, all league games were to be played on Sunday. The league – along with the Dixie League and the newly resuscitated American Association (which changed its name to
13673-651: The victory celebration, he noticed that John Woudenberg , tackle for the AAFC’s San Francisco 49ers , was wearing a uniform that was assigned to the Clippers’ Courtney Thorell . After the “discrepancy” was reported to league officials, the game was declared a 1–0 forfeit to the Bulldogs. As a result, the Northern Division champions were the Tacoma Indians. The Bulldogs defeated Tacoma in the league championship game, 38–7, on January 19, 1947. The game
13794-411: The width of the field, are marked every 5 yards (4.6 m). A one-yard-wide line is placed at each end of the field; this line is marked at the center of the two-yard line in professional play and at the three-yard line in college play. Numerals that display the distance from the closest goal line in yards are placed on both sides of the field every ten yards. Goalposts are located at the center of
13915-408: The winning team decides to defer, the losing team chooses the option the winning team did not select—to receive, kick, or select a goal to defend to begin the second half. Most teams choose to receive or defer, because choosing to kick the ball to start the game allows the other team to choose which goal to defend. Teams switch goals following the first and third quarters. If a down is in progress when
14036-408: The young league. The bidding war for players ended in 1966 when NFL owners approached the AFL regarding a merger, and the two leagues agreed on one that took full effect in 1970. This agreement provided for a common draft that would take place each year, and it instituted an annual World Championship game to be played between the champions of each league. This championship game began play at the end of
14157-418: Was initially minimal due to the restrictions placed on its use. The idea of a 40-yard-wider field was opposed by Harvard due to the size of the new Harvard Stadium . Other rule changes introduced that year included the reduction of playing time from 70 to 60 minutes and an increase of the distance required for a first down from 5 to 10 yards (4.6 to 9.1 m). To reduce infighting and dirty play between teams,
14278-440: Was necessary to prevent this strategy from taking hold, and a reversion to the scrum was considered. However, Camp successfully proposed a rule in 1882 that limited each team to three downs , or tackles, to advance the ball 5 yards (4.6 m). Failure to advance the ball the required distance within those three downs would result in control of the ball being forfeited to the other team. This change effectively made American football
14399-539: Was pared as Paul Schissler entered military service and wound up coaching the Santa Ana Flyers, a service team coached by former Bulldog Garrett Arbelbide competed against the PCPFL teams in addition to March Field, another service team. Schissler’s Bears, handicapped by the absence of their owner-coach and the unavailability of Kenny Washington, went winless in league play under interim player-coach Kink Richards . The Bulldogs didn’t fare much better, finishing third in
14520-684: Was played in Gilmore Stadium in front of only 5200 fans. It was the last game of the Indians’ existence, and an indication of the decline of the Bulldogs as a box office draw in Los Angeles. As the Bulldogs prepared to defend their second PCPFL title (their first since 1940), the league was starting to come apart at the seams in 1947. The runners-up of 1946 (Tacoma) was gone, as were longtime league members Hollywood, San Diego, and Oakland. The emerging Hawaiian Warriors played all their games in Honolulu, depriving
14641-542: Was profitable, but it tended to prevent the two top-ranked teams from meeting in a true national championship game, as they would normally be committed to the bowl games of their respective conferences. Several systems have been used since 1992 to determine a national champion of college football. The first was the Bowl Coalition , in place from 1992 to 1994. This was replaced in 1995 by the Bowl Alliance , which gave way to
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