What was football like in the 1950s?

Answer 1

The Pittsburgh Steelers went from 40 year doormats to the most dominant team of the decade.

Bob Brown was the biggest offensive lineman in the league at 285 pounds. Most offensive lineman weighed in the 260 range.

The AFC played a more wide open game than the NFC.

Many outdoor teams played on Astroturf.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers entered the league and promptly lost their first 26 games. Two years after their first win they would play for the NFC championship. The Buccaneers and Seahawks joined the NFL in 1976.

The Miami Dolphins went 17-0 to post the only undefeated season in the history of the NFL.

The Rams played in Los Angeles, the Cardinals played in St. Louis, the Titans played in Houston as the Houston Oilers, the Baltimore Colts were years away from moving to Indianapolis, the Cleveland Browns weren't the Baltimore Ravens, the Oakland Raiders hadn't moved to L.A. and then back to Oakland. The Super Bowl was played in the afternoon. Players still wore one bar facemasks. Home games were blacked out. It wasn't until 1973 that home games were televised so that everyone in the home market could see the game. The Minnesota Vikings lost 4 Super Bowls. Quarterback Bobby Douglass of the Chicago Bears set the single season quarterback rushing record with 968 yards in 1972. That same season he completed 37.9 percent of his passes and threw 5 TDs and 12 INTs. There was no overtime for tie games until 1974. Ironically enough, the first ever overtime game between the Steelers and Broncos ended in a tie. Many place kickers still used the straight ahead style instead of the soccer style. Monday Night Football began in 1970. 43 year old straight ahead place kicker and second string quarterback George Blanda had one of the greatest seasons in NFL history in 1970. Blanda retired at the age of 48 in 1975. In the 1970 and 1971 seasons, the hashmarks were located on the same area of the field as they are in college ball. Between 1970-1973, kickoffs were from the 40 yard line, the goal posts were located on the goal line, and missed field goals that went through the end zone were considered a touchback and the ball placed at the 20 yard for the upcoming offensive series. There was no 2 point conversion after touchdowns. Tom Dempsey kicked a 63 yard field goal. The World Football League was founded in 1975 and lured many players away from NFL teams. Joe Namath was the first quarterback to throw for over 4,000 yards in a single season.

Answer 2

Rugby

ANSWER:

American football has always been known as "football," which is a reflection of its origins as a kicking-oriented game on American college campuses in the mid-19th century. When the first set of standardized rules were drawn up in the 1870s, they were based on the English rugby code. So the game at that point could have easily been called "American rugby." But "rugby" is really "rugby football" anyway, so the name stuck.

Sometimes the game is called "gridiron football," a reference to all the lines and hashmarks on the field.

Answer 3

Well... actually, Football started in England... This one person was "BORED TO DEATH," so, he took some leather, wrapped it around who knows, and called it "Football." I have no idea where he got the name. He made up the rules... He told his friends about it... And they told their friends about it... It's a long story, so, let's get finished... You're Welcome :)

Answer

The answer to the question depends on whether the discussion is about 'Football Association Rules' football (F.A. rules) or all forms of football.

The FA rules were written by Ebenezer Cobb Morley in 1863. To prove any link with F.A. rules and the ancient game played in China it would be necessary to demonstrate that Ebenezer was in some way, directly or indirectly, influenced by the game of 'Cuju' played 500BC. And despite any similarities between the two games publicized by FIFA and attempts by them to establish a link between China and British colonialists no such evidence exists to support their hypothesis. The reality is F.A. Rules Football (1863) and the earlier Cambridge Rules football (1848) both evolved from attempts to standardise the various forms of football which had been played in public schools and in the villages of England for hundreds if not thousands of years. This culminated into the creation of two forms of football 'Soccer' and 'Rugger'. Today these are simply referred to as 'Football' and 'Rugby' respectively.

As for other forms of football, there is evidence dating back to 2500 BC that supports the idea the ancient Egyptians played some form of kicking games. Linen balls, some covered in catgut for better bounce, were recovered from Egyptian tombs. However, the rules to Egyptian ball games are unclear so it is debatable weather they were playing games we would look upon as football. It is documented that the ancient Greeks developed a form of football called 'Episkyros' or 'Phaininda' which they played as early as 2000 BC. This game was played on a pitch between two teams of 12 -14 players. Later on The Romans developed this game further calling their version 'Harpastum'. When the Romans came to Britain they introduced the game to the native Celts only to find they were already played a kicking game. What type of game this was is unclear, but what is known is that there were trade routes that extended to Greece long before the Romans arrived so the Celts may well have been playing a form of Episkyros introduced via the trade routes. What is certain is that the ancient Greeks were playing a form of football 1500 years before the Chinese game of 'Cuju' appeared in China. Incidentally, an image of player ball juggling take from an ancient Greek pot known as a lekythos appears on the UEFA European Cup.

Conclusion: Although the possibility that the Ancient Egyptians played football cannot be ruled out, the ancient Greeks played football by the earliest recorded football rules. This game, adopted by the Romans, could have spread to China. However, for such as simple game, it is likely the Chinese created their own unique game independent of outside influence. Recent research has shown the native populations North and South Americas developed their own form of football which supports the idea football is a truly global phenomenon that transcends localize innovations.

Answer 4

Football was different in the 1950's than today. There were no face masks o or helmets. The football was rounder and harder to grip. There were no mouthpieces, Football fields were smaller.

Answer 5

They just had a championship no trophy or anything just to see who was the greatest team that year the Super Bowl started in 1960

Answer 6

different past years and different now