The Father of American Football

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December 11, 2019


By Michael Hope

A Yale, and Hopkins School grad, and known by most as “The Father of American Football”, Walter Camp played a leading role in the creation of football. In the sport’s infancy, football resembled both rugby, and Association Football, Camp proposed a series of changes, such as the introduction of a line of scrimmage, and the legalization of blocking, helping distinguish American football as its own identity.

Camp attended Yale from 1876 to 1882 and was a member of the football team. As a member of the team, Camp played the halfback position, was team captain, and in 1878 became a member of the Intercollegiate Football Association, where he became a fixture. That same year at the Intercollegiate Football Association, Camp took the bold move in proposing the reduction of the number of players on a field from 15 to 11, a proposal that was initially rejected, but later implemented in 1880. (PFRA) That same year, Camp proposed another revolutionary new rule change. Displeased by the rugby “Scrum” and the lack or orderly possession, Camp’s new line of scrimmage would abolish the disorder. Giving a side undisturbed possession, he paved the way for teams to use strategic, and tactical ways to advance the ball. Described in 1883, a scrimmage occurred when a “player of the side holding the ball-being in the field of play -puts it down on the ground in front of him and puts it in play by “snapping” it back.” (Boston Globe) This new rule change was accepted unanimously, essentially marking the beginning of American Football as we know it.

As schools attempted to adjust to this new line of scrimmage, figuring out which formations would work more beneficially, Camp’s Yale team came up with the seven man on the
line, quarterback behind center, halfbacks on both sides placed deep behind the quarterback, now known as the T-formation. The adaption of the line of scrimmage did not come without its faults, the new rule was expected to cause the ball to change possession often, as at the time whenever a team had bad field position, they would punt the ball away. This did not happen. Princeton quickly discovered a new tactic, whenever they found necessary, they would sit on the ball for whole halves not giving opposing team’s chances to score, resulting in low scoring games. After this tactic was implemented against Yale in 1881 in the first half of the game, and then repeated by Yale in the second half, resulting in a scoreless draw, the crowd became angry, and as talk about abolishing the line of scrimmage began. Camp improvised and created the “yards to go” rule which gave teams four downs to move the ball 5 yards, or else the ball would be turned over. In 1882 the rule was accepted by the Intercollegiate Football Association, planting another stone in the foundation of football. (PFRA)

As Camp’s tenure as Yale’s captain came to an end, his relationship with Yale football did not, Camp served as an unpaid head coach, from 1888 until 1892, winning 3 National championships, eventually giving up coaching, as he worked his way up the chain at his family- run business, the New Haven Clock Company, where he would later serve as president. After a brief stint coaching Stanford football, Camp became part of the Yale Financial Union, and accumulated $100,000 put forth to finance a new Yale stadium. This laid the financial groundwork for the construction of the now iconic Yale Bowl. (100 Years)

Camp’s influence of the game did not stop there, as throughout his life Walter Camp became a leading voice in the early growth of the game, writing 30 books, and over 250 magazine articles, some appearing in national periodicals such as Harper's Weekly, Outing, and Outlook, describing everything about the sport, from the positions, to new rules changes.
Beginning in 1898 and up until 1924 Walter Camps All-America teams was “the team, his selections were the last word in collegiate football”, these players were to be honored as the top players in the country that year. (The Tribune) In 1905 Camp was part of a small group of representatives from Harvard, Yale, and Princeton who met with President Roosevelt at the White House to discuss ways to reduce violence in football. The three schools agreed to draft an agreement that the schools would play in the spirit of the sport. This meeting proved to be unsuccessful, as Roosevelt had no authority over the schools, leading to another meeting in New York a few months later with 60 other schools, the result was the development of the Inter Collegiate Athletic Association, (now the NCAA) to govern the sport. (Library of Congress)

On March 14, 1925 Walter Camp suffered a fatal heart attack in his sleep, while in New York City for a meeting of the intercollegiate football rules committee. Camps death was a shock wave throughout the country, For almost 50 years Camp was a leading figure in football, giving the game its shape, organization, and structure, through rule change such as the line of scrimmage, “yards to go”, and the forward pass, virtually recreating the game from its origins. In 1951 Walter Camp was part of the inaugural class of the College Football Hall of Fame. Every year since 1967 the Walter Camp award has been given out to the collegiate football player of the year, and the Walter Camp Football Foundation oversees the selection of All-American players. (WCFF) Camp opened the game to more fans, and increasing the popularity of the sport, according to the Omaha World Harold “it was undoubtedly the enthusiasm which Walter Camp gave to the development of the game that finally led to its great popularity.” (Nashville Banner) Camp’s forward thinking, and ability to resolve conflicts, helped shape the sport, enabling it to become Americas game.






Walter Camp in 1910 (courtesy of Wikipedia) 

Bibliography 



“The 1905 Movement to Reform Football.” The 1905 Movement to Reform Football - Topics in       
             Chronicling America (Newspaper and Current Periodical Reading Room, Library of                             Congress), www.loc.gov/rr/news/topics/football1.html.


“Death of Camp Is Big Loss to Sports.” The Scranton Republican , 8 Mar. 1925, p. 8.

“Loss of Camp Great Lost Sport, Says Editor .” Nashville Banner , 8 Mar. 1925, p. 8.
           Marazzi, Richard. A Bowl Full of Memories: 100 Years of Football at the Yale Bowl. Sports
           Publishing, 2014.

PFRA Research. “Camp and His Followers.” Pro Football Researchers,
         www.profootballresearchers.org/articles/Camp_And_Followers.pdf.

“Rules of the Roughest and Most Popular American Sports.” The Boston Globe , 12 Nov. 1883, p. 5.
           Walter Camp Football Foundation, 5 Dec. 2019, waltercamp.org/.

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