COLLEGE FOOTBALL

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COLLEGE FOOTBALL
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HARVARD 0 YALE 0 NOV.25, 1911. LIBRARY OF
CONGRESS, PRINTS AND PHOTOGRAPHS DIVISION,
LC-USZ62-130692
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Football practice at Yale (1908-1915)

• Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs
  Division. LC-UCZ62-128537

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SUMMARY

• FOOTBALL MULTIPLE ORIGINS
• THE STUDENT ERA, 1870-1905
• WALTER CAMP PRINCIPLES
• PROFESSIONAL FOOTBALL FIRST ATTEMPTS, FOOTBALL
  WORLD SERIES
• FOOTBALL REFORM, 1905-1920
• KING FOOTBALL ERA, 1920-1945
• FOOTBALL vs. BASEBALL 1920-1930s CONTEST

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EARLY HISTORICAL ORIGINS

• MANY CULTURES PRACTICED SPORT COMPETITIONS THAT
  COULD BE CONSIDERED ANCESTORS OF FOOTBALL. IN
  ANCIENT GREECE AND ROME ADVANCING A BALL INTO THE
  OPPONENTS GOAL WAS CALLED HARPASTON OR HASPASTUM
• LATER IN EUROPE ENGLISH VILLAGES ORGANIZED MANY
  GOAL/BALL-KICKING COMPETITIONS, SOMETIMES
  INVOLVING THE MOST ATHLETIC BOYS IN EACH VILLAGE
  OR PARISH
• IN RENAISSANCE ITALY A BALL-KCKING SPORT WAS THE
  CALCIO
• BALL-CARRYING COMPETITIONS WERE COMMON TO MANY
  CULTURES IN PREINDUSTRIAL SOCIETIES
• INFORMAL RULES APPLIED TO FIELD SIZE, SCORING,
  ETC.

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BRITISH HERITAGE

• BRITISH TRADITIONS ARE THE DIRECT ANCESTORS OF
  AMERICAN FOOTBALL
• IN THE 19TH CENTURY FOOTBALL WAS A FAVORITE
  SCHOOL YARD GAME AND COMPETITIONS IN BRITAIN.
• FOOTBALL ASSOCIATION (SOCCER) AND RUGBY WERE
  DIFFERENT VARIATIONS OF THE SAME TRADITION, AND
  ONLY SEPARATED WITH AUTONOMOUS RULES IN THE
  SECOND HALF OF THE 19TH CENTURY
• 1823 WILLIAM WEBB ELLIS STORY AND THE BIRTH OF
  RUGBY.
• 1860s-70s ENGLISH RUGBY AND SOCCER ASSOCIATIONS.
• STUDENT ORGANIZATIONS.
• 1863 LONDON FOOTBALL ASSOCIATION WAS BORN

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FOOTBALL TRADITIONS IN THE UNITED STATES

• FOLLOWING THE BRITISH TRADITIONS, STUDENTS IN
  PRIVATE SCHOOLS IN THE EAST COAST ORGANIZED
  FOOTBALL GAMES AS AFTER SCHOOL RECREATIONAL
  ACTIVITIES
• 1840s YALE UNIVERSITY- AFTER SCHOOL FOOTBALL
  GAMES.
• BLOODY MONDAY WAS A HARVARD FOOTBALL TRADITION,
  ABOLISHED BY THE UNIVERSITY AUTHORITIES IN 1860.
• STUDENT ORGANIZATIONS TRADITIONALLY FEATURED
  FOOTBALL CONTESTS IN FESTIVITIES AND OTHER
  OCCASIONS.
• FOOTBALL FOLLOWED DIFFERENT VARIATIONS OF
  FOOTBALL ASSOCIATION AND RUGBY

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FOOTBALL IN THE U.S.

• SCHOOL TRADITION, IVY LEAGUE COLLEGES.
• 1869 NASSAU HALL (PRINCETON) vs. RUTGERS,
  FOOTBALL MATCH. FIRST FOOTBALL GAME. HYBRID
  SOCCER RUGBY, 45 MIN-HALVES, 15on15, RUGBY
  SCRUM, KICKING CARRYING.
• 1874 McGill vs. HARVARD
• NOV 13 1875 HARVARD vs. YALE FOOTBALL, A FOOTBALL
  MATCH HISTORIANS CONSIDERED THE FIRST SINCE IT
  WAS PLAYED UNDER RULES DIFFERENT FROM BOTH SOCCER
  AND RUGBY.
• THE EVENT HAD OVER 2,000 SPECTATORS, 50 CENTS
  ENTRY, YALE 4-HARVARD 1 FINAL SCORE.

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YALE ERA

• FIELD SIZE 140 BY 70
• MARKS GOALS AND HALF FIELD
• BLOCKING TACKLING UNRULED
• BALL KICKED-BALL IN PLAY RULE
• RUGBY SCRUM, NO SCRIMMAGE LINE
• TWO 45 MINUTES HALVES
• ADVANCE BY CARRYING THE BALL

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INTERCOLLEGIATE FOOTBALL ASSOCIATION, 1876.

• HARVARD, YALE, COLUMBIA, PRINCETON.
• ORIGINAL RULES WERE A COMBINATION FROM SOCCER
  RUGBY GAMES.
• STUDENT RUN RECREATIONAL ACTIVITY COMPETITION.
• RITUAL OF MANHOOD, SCHOOL LOYALTY AND ELITES
  PHYSICAL EXERCISE.
• BY THE LATE 1870s FOOTBALL WAS IN A FAST PROCESS
  OF EVOLUTION INTO A SPORT COMPLETELY DIFFERENT
  FROM SOCCER AND RUGBY.
• FOOTBALL MIRRORED THE ASPIRATIONS OF UPPER CLASS
  STUDENTS IN PRIVATE SCHOOLS TO PROJECT A POSITIVE
  IMAGE OF MANHOOD WHILE DISPLAYING LOYALTY TO
  THEIR OWN UNIVERSITY AGAINST OTHER STUDENTS.

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YALE FOOTBALL TEAM 1908.
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THE FATHER OF AMERICAN FOOTBALL

• WALTER CAMP, YALE STUDENT, 1870s.
• 1888-1892 COACH FOR YALE, FIRST COACH IN
  FOOTBALL. WALTER CAMP IS CREDITED WITH THE
  INNOVATIONS THAT TRANSFORMED FOOTBALL INTO A
  FAST-PACED, STRATEHY-BASED SPORT IN THE 1880s.
  UNDER HIS LEADERSHIP FOOTBALL BECAME A UNIQUE AND
  INDEPENDENT SPORT. HERE ARE SOME THE RULES HE
  ADOPTED
• RULES CHANGE 11on11, 110-120 YARDS FIELD-SIZE.
• LINE OF SCRIMMAGE RULE
• CONTINUED POSSESSION
• OFFENSIVE PLAYS PLANNED IN ADVANCE.

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WALTER CAMP

• BORN IN A MIDDLE CLASS FAMILY, NEW HAVEN, CT.
• PLAYER, TEAM CAPTAIN, TEAM ADVISOR (NEVER
  OFFICIALLY DESIGNATED COACH), RULES-MAKER,
  WRITER, LECTURER.
• BUSINESS EXECUTIVE, ALSO A MANAGER IN A CLOCK
  FACTORY IN NEW HAVEN, INTERESTED IN HIGH
  EFFICIENT WAYS OF MANUFACTURING.
• TRIED TO ADAPT SOME TIME-MOTION THEORIES OF
  SCIENTIFIC MANAGEMENT TO THE SPORT OF FOOTBALL
• THE TIME-MOTION SYSTEM MANAGEMENT INNOVATIONS BY
  CAMP GAVE YALE FOOTBALL TEAM A CONSIDERABLE EDGE
  IN THE COMPETITION.

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WALTER CAMP PRINCIPLES

• TIME-AND-MOTION
• EFFICIENCY CONCEPTS FROM FREDERICK W. TAYLOR
  TAYLORISM, ENGINEERING/MANUFACTURING PRODUCTION
  SYSTEMS.
• FOOTBALL SPECIALIZATION IN THE FIELD,
  SYNCHRONIZED COLLECTIVE ACTION OVER INDIVIDUAL
  SPONTANEITY.
• ORGANIZED, RATIONAL, PLANNED ADVANCE OVER
  FREE-FLOW ACTION

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WALTER CAMP PRINCIPLES

• FOOTBALL WAS REORGANIZED BY SCIENTIFIC PLANNING
  WITH STRATEGY AND TACTICS TEAMS ORGANIZED
  HUMAN MACHINES, TEAM ADVISORS INDUSTRIAL
  MANAGERS.
• ORGANIZED PATTERNS OF PLAY, LEARNED AND EXECUTED
  THROUGH DISCIPLINE, STUDY AND SPECIALIZATION.
• NO ROOM FOR CHANCE AND SPONTANEITY
• METHOD, NOT MEN, SPECIFIC RESPONSIBILITIES FOR
  SPECIFIC PLAYERS.
• OVERALL, CAMP EXPERIMENTS WERE A CRUCIAL
  COMPONENT OF YALES SUPREMACY IN THE FIELD
• OVERALL, CAMPS INNOVATIONS WERE PIVOTAL IN THE
  DEFINITIVE TRANSFORMATION OF FOOTBALL AS A
  COMPLETELY UNIQUE SPORT, BASED ON CAREFULLY
  PREARRANGED OFFENSIVE PLAYS DESIGNED TO ACHIEVE
  THE HIGHEST GAINS UNDER THE MOST EFFICIENT WAYS
  TO ORGANIZE PLAYERS POSITION AND MOVEMENT.

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LINE OF SCRIMMAGE FIRST DOWN RULES IMPACT

• THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE LINE OF SCRIMMEAGE IN
  FOOTBAL GAVE THE QUARTER BACK A NEW IMPORTANT
  ROLE IN THE SPORT
• THE USE OF SIGNS AND OTHER PLAY-CALLING DEVICES
  MADE POSSIBLE TO PLAN IN ADVANCE DIFFERENT
  OFFENSIVE PLAYS
• OFFENSIVE PLAYS WERE NO LONGER IMPROVISED, BUT
  FOLLOWED A TIME-MOTION STRATEGY CAREFULLY
  DESIGNED IN ADVANCE
• FIRST DOWN RULE 3 CHANCES TO GAIN 5 YARDS.
• LINES IN EVERY FIVE YARDS
• SCORING SYSTEM TD2, FIELD GOAL5, SAFETY1,
  1883 TD4, FG2, SAFETY2..

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1890s FOOTBALL

• LINE OF SCRIMMAGE
• FIRST DOWN RULES
• GRIDIRON LINING
• TD MORE VALUE THAN FG
• PREMEDITATED OFFENSIVE PLAYS
• STUDENT GLADIATORS IMAGE
• COLLEGE RITUAL AND ATHLETIC ASSOCIATIONS AFTER
  GRADUATION.
• TACKLING BELOW THE WAIST ALLOWED
• THANKSGIVING BIG GAME IN NYC

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1900s FOOTBALL

• WALTER CAMP INFLUENCE-LEGACY, COACH-SCHOOL
• COACHES REPLACED TEAM CAPTAINS
• COLLEGE AUTHORITIES REPLACED STUDENT
  ORGANIZATIONS
• IVY LEAGUE HEGEMONY
• UPPER CLASS RITUAL OF LOYALTY/MEMBERSHIP. SCHOOL
  SPIRIT
• AS RIVAL TEAMS IMITATED YALES STRATEGIES THE
  GAME BECAME MORE EFFICIENT, FASTER AND
  SIGNIFICANTLY MORE VIOLENT
• TEAM MASCOTS RITUAL VIOLENCE ACCORDING TO
  SOURCES IN 1908 HARVARD COACH STRANGLED A BULLDOG
  IN THE LOOKER ROOM WITH THE INTENT TO INSPIRE HIS
  PLAYERS.

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Walter Camp Sr. 1925. New York World Telegram

• Library of Congress, USZ62-116343

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Walter Camp, Coach. Library of Congress, Prints
and Photographs Division.
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Walter Camp, Portrait Bust Library of Congress,
Prints and Photographs Division.
LC-DIG-ggbain-0838
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PRO FOOTBALL 1890s

• AS COLLEGE FOOTBALL BECAME VERY POPULAR IN THE
  EAST COAST URBAN AREAS ATHLETIC ASSOCIATION CLUBS
  IN DIFFERENT CITIES DECIDED TO EXTEND THEIR
  RIVALRIES BY FIELDING FOOTBALL TEAMS WITH COLLEGE
  AND SEMI-PROFESSIONAL PLAYERS.
• 1893 PITTSBURGH ATH CLUB vs. ALLEGHENY ATH ASSOC.
  FIRST PRO PUDGE HEFFELFINGER WAS PAID 500 TO
  PLAY FOR PITTSBURGH.
• 1898 MORGAN ATHLETIC CLUB, CHICAGO, RACINE-CLUB,
  BECAME LATER CHICAGO CARDINALS, ULTIMATELY AN NFL
  FRANCHISE IN ST-LOUIS, AND CURRENTY IN ARIZONA.
• PROFESSIONAL AND AMATEUR PLAYERS PARTICIPATED IN
  THESE FOOTBALL TOURNAMENTS, DESPITE CRITICISM
  FROM SCHOOL AUTHORITIES.

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FOOTBALL WORLD SERIES 1902-1903.

• ONE OF THE FIRST EFFORTS TO CREATE A PROFESSIONAL
  FOOTBALL ORGANIZATION CAME IN 1902-1903 WITH THE
  FOOTBALL WORLD SERIES, WHICH TRIED TO FOLLOWED
  THE SUCCESS OF THE BASEBALL WORLD SERIES IN 1903,
  THE FIRST ONE ORGANIZED BY MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL
  
• INDOOR TOURNAMENT, MADISON SQUARE GARDEN
• TOM OROURKE, PROMOTER, RECRUITED TEAMS AND
  PARTICIPANTS ATHLETIC CLUBS.
• SOME PLAYERS WERE ALSO FROM COLLEGE TEAMS
• TEAMS HAD NO SCHOOL AFFILIATION, PUBLIC
  ATTENDANCE WAS LOW.
• THE EVENT HAD NO APPEAL FOR LOWER CLASSES
• PRO FOOTBALL DISAPPEARED FROM THE EAST, MOVED TO
  THE MIDWEST AND GREAT LAKES IN THE NEXT YEARS

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FOOTBALL REFORM, 1905-1920

• IN THE FIRST DECADE OF THE 20TH CENTURY COLLEGE
  ATHLETICS EXPERIENCE THEIR FIRST MAJOR CRISIS, A
  FOOTBALL-BASED CRISIS. HERE ARE THE FOLLOWING
  ELEMENTS
• THE NEED TO CLEARLY ESTABLISH AND PROTECT THE
  AMATEUR STATUS OF THE PLAYERS (ELEGIBILITY,
  RECRUITMENT, SUBSIDIZATION)
• THE NEED TO CURBE VIOLENCE IN THE SPORT, TO
  REDUCE INJURIES AND DEATHS ON THE FIELD
• TRAMP ATHLETES SAT-SUN/COL-PRO
• 1905 3 COLLEGE PLAYERS, 18 H.S. PLAYERS DIED, 167
  SUFFERED SERIOUS INJURIES. THE UNITED STATES
  PRESIDENTS SON BROKEN NOSE vs. YALE,
  RECONSTRUCTIVE SURGERY
• PRESIDENT ROOSEVELT INTERVENTION
• WHITE HOUSE MEETING, OCTOBER 9, 1905
• BIG-THREE MEETING, HARVARD-PRINCETON-YALE

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FOOTBALL REFORM

• THE FOOTBALL CRISIS PROVOKED A NEGATIVE REACTION
  BY SCHOOL AUTHORITIES IN VARIOUS CAMPUSES
  UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS AND COLUMBIA
  UNIVERSITY DECIDED TO ABOLISH FOOTBALL GAMES
  ALTOGETHER
• IN 1906 THE INTERCOLLEGIATE ATHLETIC ASSOCIATION
  WAS CREATED TO ADDRESS THE PROBLEMS, IN 1910 IT
  BECAME THE NATIONAL COLLEGE ATHLETICS ASSOCIATION
  (NCAA).
• AT THE INITIATIVE OF THE U.S. PRESIDENT 62
  COLLEGES SEND AUTHORITIES TO THE MEETING
• PRINCIPLES RULES COMMITTEES TO CURB VIOLENCE,
  MAINTAIN AMATEUR STATUS.
• FORWARD PASS APPROVED TO REDUCE VIOLENT CONTACT.
  IN ADDITION FIRST DOWNS WERE TO BE GRANTED ONLY
  AFTER 10 YDS GAIN.

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FOOTBALL REFORM

• FORWARD PASS ALLOWED TO REDUCE VIOLENCE AT THE
  SCRIMMAGE LINE.
• MASS MOMENTUM PLAYS (PUSHING, PULLING,
  LAUNCHING BALL CARRIERS THROUGH/OVER THE LINE)
  PROHIBITED.
• SEVEN MEN LINE, MANDATORY, TO AVOID FULL SPEED
  CRASHES INTO ONE DEFENSIVE POINT.
• BALL RESHAPED (ELONGATED AND TIGHTLY INFLATED)
  TO ENCOURAGE ACCURACY IN PASSING.

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FOOTBALL REFORM

• THE MOST IMPORTANT TRANSFORMATION IN THE SPORT,
  HOWEVER, OCCURRED OUTSIDE THE FIELD LINES, AS THE
  IAA AND NCAA BECAME THE REGULATORS OF THE GAME
  AND TRANSFERRED ITS ORGANIZATION AND SCHEDULE
  FROM STUDENT ASSOCIATION TO COLLEGE AUTHORITIES
  AND ADMINISTRATIVE PERSONEL.
• FOOTBALL SEASON AND ANY OTHER INTERCOLLEGIATE
  ATHLETIC COMPETITION WOULD BE NOW CONCEIVED,
  ORGANIZED, RUN AND SUPERVISED BY NCAA OFFICIALS.
• STUDENT FRATERNITIES AND ASSOCIATIONS WOULD BE
  RELEGATED AS SPECTATORS OR FANS.
• TEAMS WOULD REPRESENT THE INSTITUTION.

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FOOTBALL REFORM

• THE TRANSFORMATION OF COLLEGE FOOTBALL AND
  COLLEGE ATHLETICS FROM A STUDENT-RUN RECREATIONAL
  ACTIVITY TO AN INTER-INSTITUTIONAL COMPETITION
  SANCTIONED BY THE NCAA, IN COMBINATION WITH THE
  NEW SET OF RULES AND CHANGES IN THE SPORT, MADE
  FOOTBALL GAMES MORE ATTRACTIVE AND APPEALING TO
  BOTH STUDENTS AND ALUM.
• AS FOOTBALL BECAME MORE POPULAR, IT ALSO BECAME
  AN IMPORTANT SOURCE OF SCHOOL PRIDE, IDENTITY AND
  EVEN ECONOMIC REVENUE.
• COLLEGE AUTHORITIES AND STATE GOVERNMENTS DECIDED
  TO RAISE FUNDS TO INVEST IN SIGNIFICANT SPORTS
  INFRASTRUCTURE, TO CREATE WINNING FOOTBALL TEAMS
  AND TO BUILD SUCCESFUL ATHLETIC PROGRAMS.

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KING FOOTBALL ERA, 1920-1945

• IN THE 1920s THE COLLAPSE IN BASEBALLS
  REPUTATION, AFTER THE CHICAGO WHITE SOX SCANDAL
  IN 1919-1920, PLUS THE ARRIVAL OF RADIO
  BROADCASTING, GAVE COLLEGE FOOTBALL AN ENORMOUS
  POPULARITY BEYOND THE STUDENT POPULATION. COLLEGE
  AUTHORITIES SECURED FINANCIAL HELP TO BUILD
  ENORMOUS FOOTBALL STADIUMS, MAKING POSSIBLE TO
  NON-STUDENTS TO ATTEND GAMES.
• WITH THE NEW WAVE OF STEEL-CONCRETE STADIUMS,
  ATTENDANCE TO COLLEGE GAMES DOUBLED, INCOME
  TRIPLED.
• RADIO, NEWSPAPERS AND MOVIE THEATERS NEW COVERAGE
  TO COLLEGE FOOTBALL.
• ROSE BOWL 1920s IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA, STATES OF
  FLORIDA, TEXAS, LOUISIANA AND OTHERS FOLLOWED IN
  THE 1930s

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KING FOOTBALL ERA

• COLLEGE FOOTBALL BECAME A SOURCE OF REGIONAL AND
  LOCAL IDENTITIES IN DIFFERENT AREAS IN THE
  COUNTRY. UNLIKE PROFESSIONAL BASEBALL, WHOSE
  FRANCHISIS WERE CONFINED TO EAST COAST AND GREAT
  LAKES, COLLEGE FOOTBALL HAD TEAMS REPRESENTING
  EACH STATE OF THE NATION.
• FOOTBALL BECAME A MIRROR FOR LOCAL AND REGIONAL
  IDENTITIES.
• MEDIA AND SPORTS ANALISTS MADE COMPARISONS
  BETWEEN DIFFERENT FOOTBALL STYLES AND DIFFERENT
  REGIONSMIRROR FOR A REGION SPECIFIC CHARACTER,
  MIDWEST RUNNING, SOUTHWEST WILD WEST SHOOTOUT
  PASSING ATTACK, SOUTH OLD SOUTH PRIDE.
• RELIGIOUS AFFILIATIONS WERE ALSO ASSOCIATED WITH
  FOOTBALL TEAMS NOTRE DAME, BOSTON COLLEGE, SMU,
  ETC.

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KING FOOTBALL ERA

• COACH REGIONAL HERO
• COACHES ROLE DIFF. FROM PLAYERS ROLE. KNUTE
  ROCKNE, AMOS ALONZO STAGG, POP WARNER.
• FOOTBALL COACH SELF MADE HERO, MOVIE
  PROTAGONIST, MORAL AUTHORITY
• FOOTBALL MELTING POT FOR EUROPEAN IMMIGRANTS.
• FOOTBALL UNIQUE INFORMAL RULES FOR AFRICAN
  AMERICAN ATHLETES.

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KING FOOTBALL ERA

• 1920s FOOTBALL vs. BASEBALL
• AMATEUR, LOVE OF THE GAME, NATIONAL SPECTACLE,
  SMALL COMMUNITIES, MORE OPEN TO COMPETITION, MORE
  DIVERSE, MORE MASCULINE, MORE CHARACTER
  BUILDING
• HIGH POPULARITY, LOCAL RADIO STATIONS, LOCAL
  NEWSPAPERS.
• REACTION TO POPULARITY IVY LEAGUE, PRIVATE
  COLLEGES LOST HEGEMONY, INTEREST. 1939 U-CHICAGO
  ABOLISHED IT.