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111-565: The first known American football league based in Wilmington, Delaware , was called the "All-Wilmington Football League" and operated in 1913. Little information is known about it. From 1922 to 1924, another league based in Wilmington, Delaware operated under the "Wilmington Football Association" name. Teams in 1922 included the Seventh Ward Chicks , Parkside, Defiance Academy Bulldogs, and

222-403: 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

333-401: 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,

444-525: 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

555-453: 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

666-693: A game to be named "Delaware State champions", the Blue Jackets lost to Fort duPont. They played a game against the Wilmington City League champion Tonies on December 15 and won on a game-winning safety near the end of the fourth quarter. After the Wilmington Association season was over, The News Journal published an All-Star team written by a fan. In the City League, the St. Mary's Cats left, and

777-457: 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

888-533: 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

999-579: A league member while Fifth Ward was new. The league arranged the Democrats' first game to be against the Eleventh Ward Whitejackets , who had won the championship for the past two seasons. The game, scheduled for October 1 at Lattimer Field , ended in a 0–26 defeat. The Morning News wrote, "Approximately 3500 fans witnessed the game at the Whitejacket's new field and were well pleased with

1110-408: 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

1221-420: 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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1332-496: 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

1443-474: 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

1554-583: 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

1665-427: 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

1776-456: A rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense , the team with possession of the oval-shaped football , attempts to advance down 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

1887-494: 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

1998-436: 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

2109-403: 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

2220-552: 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 . Fifth Ward Democrats The Fifth Ward Democrats were

2331-410: 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

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2442-618: A short-lived semi-professional American football team that played one season in the Wilmington Football Association . The team played five games before forfeiting their franchise in mid-November. The team was based in Delaware . In September 1933, the Wilmington Football Association announced the additions of two teams for the 1933 season: the Fifth Ward Democrats, and Ninth Ward Ducks . The Ducks had previously been

2553-508: A shutout, losing 0–26 versus the Ninth Ward Ducks on the same venue. The loss moved them down to last place in the league, sharing the position with the St. Mary's Cats . The team's next scheduled game, against the last-place St. Mary's, was postponed as both teams were eliminated from the first-half title race and desired to rest to prepare for the second half. An October 30 article by The Morning News wrote, "The Democratic Club, with

2664-416: 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

2775-502: A touchdown by Haley) to the fourth, before Taggart, of Fifth Ward, returned a Defiance pass 95 yards to tie the game. The tie put them fourth of six in the league's standings. Fifth Ward would move one place down in the standings following their week three game against the Delaware Panthers . The Panthers "smothered" Fifth Ward, shutting them out 0–65. The game was played at Panther Field on October 15. The next week would also be

2886-460: 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

2997-425: 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

3108-437: 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

3219-563: 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,

3330-403: 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

3441-407: 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

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3552-421: 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

3663-437: 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

3774-756: 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;

3885-669: The Brandywine Hawks , who had previously had a stint in the league, joined. The "Tonies" won the league championship against Price's Run. They compiled a record of 7–1–1. Results for the 1935 Wilmington Football Association are unavailable.  †  Wilmington City Football League champions. In September 1936, the Wilmington Football Association and Wilmington City League merged. An article by The Morning News stated that six teams were planned. The Eleventh Ward Blue Jackets, Price Run A.A. (who had absorbed

3996-584: 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, 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

4107-412: 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

4218-409: 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

4329-545: 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 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

4440-411: 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

4551-407: 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

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4662-407: 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

4773-464: The "City Football League", the "Tonies", St. Ann's, Eighth Ward, Price's Run, the "Black Diamonds", and Brandywine Hawks. The "Tonies" were league champions. However, another article stated the top team in the Wilmington Football Association was Eleventh Ward, meaning there were two Wilmington Leagues at the time. A few days later, an article about Penn-Del, champions in '29 and '30, said they were an independent team. It then described that they would play

4884-625: The "White Eagles" got a bye, while the Brandywine A.A. and Eleventh Ward Whitejackets battled for the remaining spot in the championship. Eleventh Ward advanced, but lost to the White Eagles, 15 to 12. The White Eagles won the second half championship as well, winning 2–0 against the Defiance Bulldogs. Results of the Wilmington Football Association, first half.  †  Wilmington Football Association champions (first half). Results for

4995-508: The '41 season. The St. Mary's Cats left, while the Wilmington All-Stars and Defiance Bulldogs joined. The Defiance team was the last original member of the league, as well as only member of the 1922–1924 league still active. 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

5106-413: 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

5217-552: 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

5328-502: The Brandywine Hawks), Defiance Bulldogs, and Newark were already entered. The Tonies were considered "almost certain" to join, and either Kennett Square or Marcus Hook would get the last spot in the league. The White Eagles, Brandywine A.A., and South Side A.C. dropped out. A second meeting was held the following week. The News Journal reported that Price Run, St. Anthony's, Eleventh Ward, and Defiance had been entered while Newark

5439-564: The Claymont Dragons, also had representatives. Another meeting was held on September 29 at the Defiance Academy building. By December 7, Penn-Del had only one loss with two games remaining and were considered a top team in the state championship race. In a November 1932 article, it was stated that the "Eleventh Ward team, [were] champions of the 1931 Wilmington Football Association League". In 1932 standings, six teams were listed in

5550-552: The Eleventh Ward Whitejackets, champions of the Wilmington Football Association, in a Thanksgiving game. Penn-Del won the game, 7 to 0. In the Wilmington Football Association, there were four teams in the 1932 season, the Eleventh Ward Whitejackets , Defiance Bulldogs , St. Mary's Cats , and the Brandywine Athletic Association . Defiance and St. Mary's were the two teams from the 1930 season still in

5661-508: 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

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5772-564: 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

5883-439: The P.A.M.A. on Thanksgiving Day 6–0 for the league championship. They then played and won against the independent "First Engineers" to be named "Delaware champions".  †  Wilmington Football Association champions. Results for the 1931 season have not been found. In mid-September a meeting was held to discuss plans of continuing the league. Representatives from each team were requested. Two other teams, Fort duPont and

5994-725: The Shamrock A.C., Eleventh Ward, Ninth Ward, the Defiance Academy Bulldogs, the South Side-Eden Snappers, Hillside, and the Rockford Yellow Jackets. The Yellow Jackets did not join and were replaced by Parkside; they soon after left and were replaced by the "Hibernians". By November 17, 1924, the Defiance Bulldogs led the league with a 7–0 record, second was Shamrock, and third was South Side. A possible deciding game on c. Dec. 1 between Defiance and South Side

6105-543: The St. Mary's Cats. Ben Greenstein, editor for The Evening Journal , was named president. Defiance clinched the 1922 championship by winning 78–0 against Seventh Ward. Seventh Ward left in the second season, bringing the league down to three teams. They set up a six-game schedule, with Defiance winning out again. In a meeting held on September 16, 1924, seven teams planned to join and Ed Fegley replaced Ben Greenstein as league president. Teams who planned to join on September 16 included,

6216-539: The Wilmington Association, the Ninth Ward Ducks left for the second time, the St. Mary's Cats left for the City League, while the Brandywine Athletic Association who left the year prior, joined. Another team that joined were the newly formed "White Eagles". The rules were changed for there to be two championships, one for the first half of the season, and one for the second. In the first half playoffs

6327-579: The Wilmington City Football League, four teams left, and one joined, bringing the total to the original number of four. The 1933 champion Black Diamonds left the league as well as Eighth Ward, Defiance, and St. Ann's. The remaining four teams were the South Side Terrapins , Price's Run, St. Anthony's Catholic Club , and the St. Mary's Cats , who joined from the Wilmington Association. The South Side Terrapins were named champions. In

6438-455: The addition of several new players, expect to give a good account of themselves in the second half." The team's first second half game was the same as the first, against the Eleventh Ward Whitejackets, who had just won their third consecutive league title. The game, played in Lattimer field again, finished with a 0–13 loss. The next game was against Defiance, at Krebbs Field. Fifth Ward forfeited

6549-460: 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),

6660-550: 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

6771-435: 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

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6882-430: 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

6993-610: The city title over St. Anthony's while the Defiance Bulldogs won against the Price Run Raiders for the second class championship. The Tonies won the "state semi-pro title" in 1939, winning 26–6 against Defiance. The league was reorganized in 1940. An article by The Morning News reported that seven teams were entered. They were the Price Run Red Raiders, Parkside, St. Mary's Cats, Brandywine, Fairview Owls, St. Anthony's C. Y. O. and St. Joseph's Boy's Club. Brandywine left

7104-573: 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

7215-543: 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

7326-541: 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

7437-413: 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

7548-399: 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

7659-430: 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

7770-472: 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

7881-404: 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

7992-499: 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

8103-416: The football to the defense, but if they succeed, they are given a new set of four downs to continue 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

8214-419: 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

8325-618: 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

8436-443: 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

8547-434: 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

8658-539: 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,

8769-448: 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

8880-427: The last game of the season, a redo of a disputed game, for the A.A. to be named champions.  †  Wilmington Football League champions. Two teams left and two joined for the second season. The Shamrock Reserves and Ninth Ward Ducks left, and were replaced by the St. Mary's Cats and St. Anthony's Catholic Club, known more popularly as, the "Tonies". Penn-Del won their second consecutive league title, beating

8991-463: The league as well as two-time champion. Fifth ward was able to tie the Bulldogs 7–7, due to a late 95-yard interception return to tie the game in the fourth quarter. A game recap by The Morning News said, "In a hard-fought battle at Talleyville yesterday, Defiance and Fifth Ward Democrats battled to a 7 to 7 deadlock in their Wilmington Football Association game." Defiance led from the second quarter (on

9102-605: The league before the season started, bring the league down to six teams. Two playoff games were held before the league championship, with Price Run winning 10–6 against St. Joseph's, and St. Anthony's winning against Fairview. The Price Run Red Raiders won the league championship, 13–0, against St. Anthony's. It ended a perfect 12–0 season for the Red Raiders, the best ever record by a Wilmington Association team. Results, excluding playoffs.  †  Wilmington Football Association champions. One team left and two joined for

9213-407: The league championship against Eighth Ward, winning 13 to 6. Results of the Wilmington Football Association, as of week 4.  †  Wilmington Football Association champions. Note: The Fifth Ward Democrats (0–2–1) forfeited their franchise in week 4. The results of their games were removed from the standings. Standings for the 1933 Wilmington City Football League are unavailable. In

9324-508: The league, all joined. The Brandywine Athletic Association left, however. The Eleventh Ward Whitejackets clinched their third consecutive league title by week 4. In the Wilmington City League, one team left and two joined, bringing the league to 7 teams. The Brandywine Hawks left, while the South Side Terrapins and Defiance (not to be confused with the Defiance Bulldogs of the Wilmington Association) joined. The Black Diamonds won

9435-540: The league. Results of the Wilmington City Football League, as of week 8.  †  Wilmington City Football League champions. Results of the Wilmington Football Association, as of week 4.  †  Wilmington Football Association champions. In the Wilmington Football Association, the Fifth Ward Democrats , Delaware Panthers , and Ninth Ward Ducks , a charter member of

9546-429: 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

9657-507: The orderly manner in which the game was conducted. The Fifth Ward eleven while boasting a strong eleven, the starting lineup containing several Penn-Del players, showed the need for more practice, and if this fault is overcome the Taylor outfit should give the rest of the clubs a merry chase for title honors." The team's next matchup was against the Defiance Bulldogs , the oldest member of

9768-427: The other by Norman I. Harris Jewelers. Another league named "Wilmington Football Association" was founded in 1925. Shamrock, St. Ann's, St. Anthony's, and Eleventh Ward were the four teams reported to have joined. The third league folded on November 4, 1925, citing financial difficulties, and the inability to find another team after the folding of St. Ann's as causes. A final meeting was held on November 10. The league

9879-445: 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

9990-448: 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

10101-541: The primary proponents of 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,

10212-429: 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 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

10323-422: 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

10434-401: 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

10545-631: 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

10656-499: 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

10767-550: The season was called "out of the question" by a Morning News article. Results for the 1937–1939 seasons have not been found. Though the teams continued, articles would not mention whether or not they were part of the league. A November 1937 article by The Morning News reported that the Tonies won the "City Grid Crown" after defeating the Eleventh Ward Blue Jackets 7–0. In 1938, the Eleventh Ward Blue Jackets claimed

10878-401: The second half are unavailable.  †  Wilmington City Football League champions. For the first time, the Wilmington Association had no changes, each team stayed. The season started on October 13 with the White Eagles and Eleventh Ward Blue Jackets (previously named Whitejackets) winning by 6 points. Eleventh Ward would win the first half championship as well as the second half. In

10989-503: 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

11100-539: The sport does not have the international popularity of other American sports like baseball or basketball ; the sport maintains a growing following in 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

11211-439: 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 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

11322-411: 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

11433-408: 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

11544-408: 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

11655-426: Was "likely" to join and a sixth team was still being sought. On September 29, The Morning News reported that "Inability to secure a fourth team will probably result in the disbandment of the Wilmington Football Association for this season.". It also stated that at a meeting on the previous night, only three teams (St. Anthony's "Tonies", Price's Run A.A., and Eleventh Ward Whitejackets) intended to join. A day later

11766-436: Was called at 12–12 in total darkness. The teams protested the game and the arbitration board (George N. Boggs, Ben Greenstein (former president), and Joseph D. M'Laughlin) declared that the game would not count, due to errors in the officiating. By week 12 the Defiance Bulldogs (10–1) and South Side-Eden Snappers (10–2) were tied for 1st due to the standings running on points rather than win-loss percentage. A protest-play-off game

11877-545: Was founded in September 1929. There were six teams in the first season, the Penn-Del A.A., Ninth Ward Ducks, Shamrock Reserves, Polish American Military Alliance (P.A.M.A.), Defiance Academy Bulldogs, and Kentmere Red Sox. The rankings went on points instead of win-loss percentage. A win was worth two points and a tie was worth one. The Penn-Del A.A. won the league title after posting an 8–1–1 record, scoring 17 points. It took until

11988-418: 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,

12099-440: 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

12210-542: 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

12321-552: Was scheduled for January 3 between Defiance and South Side. The game was postponed due to the field being covered in snow. A meeting was held between the league officials a few days later. The Snappers won a game against Defiance on c. March 29 in front of 1,200 fans, making another game necessary to decide the league champions. Eventually the Shamrock A.C. were in position to play in the league championship and won against Defiance, 25 to 6. The Shamrock A.C. were awarded two championship trophies, one provided by Bottomley and Company, and

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