Talk:History of American football

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[edit] Size of the field

I think it would be interesting to add a section on the differences in the size of the fields. The US field at some early point was reduced fromBold text the bigger size still used in Rugby, soccer and CFL. It makes a crucial difference in the game. Most US football history books are sketchy on when this happened and why. ThisItalic text article is so well done, I thought someone mightItalic text have access to this information. Ggetzin 22:46, 12 August 2006 (UTC)

Rugby union field: 144m x 70m American football field: 120 yards (110 meters) x 53⅓ yards (49 meters) wide.

AFAIK the reduced width of the American field was down to Walter Camp wanting the widest field possible with Yale's facilities which is why it is not a round number.

I don't know that the rugby field was standardised at this point anyway. Soccer still does not have uniform pitches with the length and width merely having to be within a maximum and minimum. Teams have been known to alter pitches to suit their team strength.GordyB 13:35, 26 August 2006 (UTC)

There is also no standard field in Australian rules either. The shape (although they are referred to as "ovals") varies from circular to rectangles with rounded corners and the size from 135-185m long and 110-155m wide. The Australian game emerged as a hybrid of rugby football and other games, in 1858-59. Grant | Talk 05:10, 9 February 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Shape of the ball

A section should also be added (or merged into the article) about the evolution of the shape of the football itself, which is very much overlooked IMHO. When this sport actually began, the ball certainly wasn't the same shape as we see it today in the NFL.