Amazon Quiz (October 4): Who is known as the father of this sport?
Walter Camp
Pudge Heffelfinger
Eddie Cochems
Knut Rockne
Answer: Walter Camp
The “Father of American Football” was Walter Chauncey Camp (April 7, 1859 – March 14, 1925), an American football player, coach, and sports writer. He came up with many inventions, including the down system and line of scrimmage used in football.
Camp was one of the most accomplished people in the early history of American football, along with John Heisman, Amos Alonzo Stagg, Pop Warner, Fielding H. Yost, and George Halas. He played and coached while in Yale College while still a student.
Camp’s Yale teams were named National champions in 1888, 1891, and 1892. In 1951, Camp received his induction into the College Football Hall of Fame.
From his days as a Yale player until his passing, Camp served on the many collegiate football rules committees that helped to shape the American game. When a player was tackled, according to the then-current English rugby football rules, the ball had to be “fairly held” and must be immediately laid down for scrummage.
Camp advocated changing the contested scrimmage to a “line of scrimmage” where the team with the ball started with uncontested possession at the U.S. College Football 1880 rules meeting. As a result of this modification, American football as we know it today evolved from its rugby football roots.
He is credited with inventions like the snap-back from centre, the system of downs, and the points system in addition to the introduction of the seven-man offensive line and the four-man backfield with a quarterback, two halfbacks, and a fullback that became a standard offensive player configuration.
The “safety,” which awards two points to the defence for tackling a ball carrier in his own end zone and results in a free kick by the offence from its own 20-yard line to restart play, was also introduced by Camp. This is crucial because in rugby union, instead of awarding a point for this move, the attacking side is given a scrum five metres from the goal line.
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