January 12: The Day that Changed Football

On 12 January 1906, the NCAA allowed the forward pass.

In the year 1905, 18 football players died from football injuries and 159 players suffered season ending injuries. Government officials wanted football to be banned in the U.S., but President Teddy Roosevelt demanded a rule change rather than a ban of the sport. The National College Athletic Association then knew that they needed to make a change to the rules to prevent a ban of their most popular sport.

Before the rule change, teams were only allowed to hand the ball off to their halfbacks and where allowed to pass backwards only (also called laterals). These movements of the ball were dangerous because they caused more contact between players. The forward pass was really a “game-changing” rule, because it created a huge difference between American Football and Rugby, which were both very similar at the time.

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In 1920, the ball shape changed to the current shape, which is meant to help in passing of the football. The addition of the forward pass changed American history as we know it, and added a vital rule into America’s most beloved sport.

–I.B. Mourad

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