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History of Football Essay

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HISTORY OF FOOTBALL The history of football is interesting as well as exciting, from the first forms of the game ever played, to the multi million dollar organizations of today. The game continues to evolve and change with the times. Football is a sport that evolved from many different games. Football is mainly known as a different form of rugby or soccer, but there is more to the origin of the game than just those two sports. Football games were played around the world before the game was actually called football. " Football is believed to have descended from a Greek game called Harpaston " (Source C). The rules in Harpaston were not very strict. Running, kicking, or passing the ball across the goal line could earn points. " It …show more content…

The first professional games took place between athletic clubs. The first player to play for money was William W. "Pudge" Heffelinger. "Heffelinger played at Yale University where he made the Walter Camp All American team for three straight years. Heffelinger was paid five hundred dollars to play a game for the Allegheny Athletic Association of Pittsburgh. Heffelinger is known as the first professional football player" (Source H). The first professional to sign a contract was Grant Dilbert who signed with the Pittsburgh Athletic Club. Soon after this, many teams started paying money for the best players. "On September 17 1920 representatives met to form the American Professional Football Association (APFA)" (Source H). In 1922 the APFA was renamed the National Football League (NFL). During this time, any town that could fund the money was forming a football team, even two Philadelphia baseball teams established professional football teams. During this time, professional football was not as popular as college football. Due to betting and recruiting scandals, Americans were not as interested in the NFL as they were in the collegiate games. The league reached an all time low in 1932 when it had a membership of eight teams. However, over time the formation of legendary teams like the Decatur Staleys, later renamed the Chicago Bears, and the small town Green Bay Packers, and also due to the emergence of heroic players, this new league would win

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