| American football emerged from the | | | | four. |
| European game of Rugby in 1879. Walter | | | | In 1873, the Intercollegiate Football |
| Camp, a player and coach of Yale | | | | Association was formed by the |
| University, is recognized as "The Father | | | | representatives of Columbia, Rutgers, |
| Of American Football" as the early rules | | | | Princeton, and Yale. Till then, the |
| of the game was instituted by him. | | | | increasingly popular game was being |
| However, previous to that, the students | | | | played with many different rules. The |
| of Princeton were already playing a game | | | | association brought into effect the |
| called "Ballown". It was about fisting | | | | first set of rules of intercollegiate |
| the ball and then using their feet to | | | | football which allowed fifteen players |
| advance the ball past their opponents. | | | | in each team. However, it was Walter |
| There were no hard and fast rules that | | | | Camp, a coach at Yale, who began the |
| applied and could be stated as the | | | | final process of evolution from rugby |
| easiest form of football at it's early | | | | like game to what we know today as the |
| times. However, the physical aspect of | | | | American Football. The number of players |
| the game was immense and often it turned | | | | was reduced to eleven and the standard |
| violent. | | | | size of the field was set to hundred and |
| At Harvard too, a football-type game was | | | | ten yards. A little later downs were |
| being played on the first Monday of the | | | | introduced and tackling below the belt |
| school year. This game was so much | | | | was legalized. |
| physical that the day it was played was | | | | However, the violent physical challenge |
| often mentioned as "Bloody Monday". The | | | | that the game demanded, caused many |
| year 1865 was very important for | | | | serious injuries and deaths in the next |
| American Football. The Civil War had | | | | few years. As a result, though still |
| ended and football started gaining | | | | gaining popularity, football was banned |
| popularity in the colleges. It was in | | | | in many colleges. In 1905, under a |
| this year that some basic rules for the | | | | directive from President Theodore |
| game were established and the game got | | | | Roosevelt, Yale, Harvard and Princeton |
| its patent for the first time. Thus on | | | | setup a couple of meetings between |
| 6th November, 1869 the first | | | | schools and formed a seven member Rules |
| inter-collegiate football was played | | | | Committee which was later came to be |
| between Rutgers and Princeton where | | | | known as National Collegiate Athletic |
| Rutgers won by a score of six goals to | | | | Association, or the NCAA. |