Fenton wrote:American football I think originally came from Rugby League..the idea of seperate plays afater each tackle unlike rugby Union where the paly is ongoing, the only difference being the forward pass..In rugby league each side has 6 attempts to score a try then if unsuccesful the ball is turned over to the opposition though usuallyon the last attempt the ball is kicked away downfield, though no specialist teams come on to achieve this
Wasnt the reason that so many people were dying in American Football due the the 'Flying wedge' tactic rather than the hitting though?
There is certainly more similarity between League Rugby and American Football than there is with Union Rugby, but American Football was played long before the split between League and Union. The first official College Football Game in America was played in 1869.
This just points to what a fine idea downs are. Also, the Line of Scrimmage is more than just stopping after a tackle...it's what makes A. Football the "Collision" sport that it is, and creates, at least 9, more positions than there are in League Rugby.
All these games developed around the same time...and of course have their origins in whatever was being played in England before Rugby, Football, etc began to seperate...I know from talking to Grumpy that Australian Football began to develop around the same time that American football did.
Personally, I am fascinated by this stuff. And the football history books are starting to compete for space with the British Empire history books on my shelves.
Yes the flying V or Wedge kept the medics very busy, but it was just the most obvious death trap on the field. Of course they weren't wearing anything back then but canvas jackets. My Daddy played in the 50's and he didn't wear a face-mask. The helmets and shoulder pads have kept pace with the speed and force of the game, but only just...this years been particularly bad. Almost every week somebody was carted off the field strapped to a board...everybody waiting at night to hear the report from the hospital.
The game could be played in a jersey and shorts...that's how we played it as kids in the back yard. It would just have to be slower. I don't know why it hasn't been tried that way in other countries...of course if the game was played with the same ferocity that rugby is played with...nobody would survive it.
