Portal:American football

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The American Football Portal

American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with possession of the oval-shaped football, attempts to advance down the field by running with the ball or throwing it, while the defense, the team without possession of the ball, aims to stop the offense's advance and to take control of the ball for themselves. The offense must advance at least ten yards in four downs or plays; if they fail, they turn over the football to the defense, but if they succeed, they are given a new set of four downs to continue the drive. A game is won by the team with the higher number of points, which are scored primarily by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone for a touchdown or kicking the ball through the opponent's goalposts for a field goal.

American football evolved in the United States, originating from the sports of soccer and rugby. The first American football match was played on November 6, 1869, between two college teams, Rutgers and Princeton, using rules based on the rules of soccer at the time. A set of rule changes drawn up from 1880 onward by Walter Camp, the "Father of American Football", established the snap, the line of scrimmage, eleven-player teams, and the concept of downs. Later rule changes legalized the forward pass, created the neutral zone, and specified the size and shape of the football. The sport is closely related to Canadian football, which evolved in parallel with and at the same time as the American game, although its rules were developed independently from those of Camp. Most of the features that distinguish American football from rugby and soccer are also present in Canadian football. The two sports are considered the primary variants of gridiron football.

American football is the most popular sport in the United States in terms of broadcast viewership audience. The most popular forms of the game are professional and college football, with the other major levels being high-school and youth football. , nearly 1.04 million high-school athletes play the sport in the U.S., with another 81,000 college athletes in the NCAA and the NAIA. The National Football League (NFL) has the highest average attendance of any professional sports league in the world. Its championship game, the Super Bowl, ranks among the most-watched club sporting events globally. In 2022, the league had an annual revenue of around $18.6 billion, making it the most valuable sports league in the world. Other professional and amateur leagues exist worldwide, but the sport does not have the international popularity of other American sports like baseball or basketball; the sport maintains a growing following in the rest of North America, Europe, Brazil, and Japan. (Full article...)

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The Johns Hopkins–Navy football rivalry was an American intercollegiate football rivalry between the Johns Hopkins Blue Jays football team of Johns Hopkins University and the Navy Midshipmen football team of the United States Naval Academy. The two institutions, located within the span of a few miles in the state of Maryland, first met for a football game in 1882. Following the initial contest, both teams played each other annually for eight years, before it was called off for unknown reasons. The teams competed again in 1911 and 1912, again disbanding the contest until a final match took place in 1919.

The rivalry was controlled by Navy for its entirety, with the Midshipmen winning nine out of twelve contests played. While Johns Hopkins' largest win was a 25–12 defeat of the Naval Academy in 1888, Navy shutout Hopkins five times, including a 66–0 blowout in the 1919 contest. The rivalry was an essential contest for the beginning of both schools' football programs. Prior to the first game, Navy had competed in only a single contest. Johns Hopkins began their football program with the rivalry, originally having to play under a fake title in order to compete. The teams also have a historic rivalry in college lacrosse (see Johns Hopkins–Navy lacrosse rivalry). (Full article...)

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General images

The following are images from various American football-related articles on Wikipedia.

Image 1Original entrance to the Pro Football Hall of Fame (from Pro Football Hall of Fame)
Image 2Sign at the old entrance to the Pro Football Hall of Fame (from Pro Football Hall of Fame)
Image 3Walter Camp, the "Father of American Football", pictured here in 1878 as the captain of the Yale University football team (from History of American football)
Image 4One of the two Harvard vs. McGill games played in 1874 (from History of American football)
Image 5Lehigh Valley Steelhawks (gold jerseys with black accents) vs. Triangle Torch (black jerseys with red and yellow accents) play an Indoor Football League at Dorton Arena in Raleigh, North Carolina, March 25, 2016 (from Arena football)
Image 6Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium with the Hall of Fame in lower right (from Pro Football Hall of Fame)
Image 7A football signed by the 1974 Pro Football Hall of Fame enshrinement class (from Pro Football Hall of Fame)
Image 8Jim Thorpe was the first president of the NFL. (from History of American football)
Image 9Colorado's first football team in 1890 (from History of American football)
Image 10An arena football goalpost structure featuring the rebound nets on either side of the uprights. (from Arena football)
Image 11An early American football team, from the turn of the twentieth century (from History of American football)
Image 12Tom Davies of Pittsburgh runs against undefeated and unscored upon Georgia Tech in the 1918 game at Forbes Field (from History of American football)
Image 13An AFL goalpost (from Arena football)
Image 14Touchdown monument outside the Canadian Football Hall of Fame in Hamilton, Ontario (from Canadian football)
Image 151902 football game between the University of Minnesota and the University of Michigan (from History of American football)
Image 16A Native American college football team (from History of American football)
Image 17The Big Game between Stanford and California was played as rugby union from 1906 to 1914 (from History of American football)
Image 18A game between the 4th Canadian Armoured Division Atoms and First Canadian Army Red and Blue Bombers, in Utrecht, Netherlands, October 1945 (from Canadian football)
Image 19Don Hutson in 1940. (from History of American football)
Image 20Montreal Alouettes quarterback Anthony Calvillo looks down field with the ball during the 93rd Grey Cup game at BC Place. (from Canadian football)
Image 21Diagram of a Canadian football field (from Canadian football)
Image 22High school football stadium in Manhattan, Kansas (from History of American football)
Image 23A game between the Hamilton Tigers and the Ottawa Rough Riders, 1910 (from Canadian football)
Image 24Sewanee's 1899 "Iron Men" (from History of American football)
Image 25Inside the original structure in 2008 (from Pro Football Hall of Fame)
Image 26A college football game between Colorado State University and the Air Force Academy (from History of American football)
Image 27A modern down indicator box is mounted on a pole and is used to mark the current line of scrimmage. The number on the marker is changed using a dial. (from Canadian football)
Image 281906 St. Louis Post-Dispatch photograph of Brad Robinson, who threw the first legal forward pass and was the sport's first triple threat (from History of American football)
Image 29Morgan Athletic Club (pictured c. 1900), predecessor of the Arizona Cardinals (from History of American football)
Image 30A moment of the second game between Tufts and Harvard at College Hill, October 1875 (from History of American football)
Image 311897 Latrobe Athletic Association football team: The first entirely professional team to play an entire season. (from History of American football)
Image 32The Hall is made up of several sections with display of the inductees at its heart (from Pro Football Hall of Fame)
Image 33Footballs and a helmet at a Calgary Stampeders (CFL) team practice (from Canadian football)
Image 34Edmonton's Commonwealth Stadium, originally built for the 1978 Commonwealth Games, pictured in 2005. (from Canadian football)

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Gerald Ford

Credit: Gerald R. Ford Library

Gerald Ford, the 38th President of the United States, played center and linebacker for the Michigan Wolverines, helping his team to two national titles.

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Taylor in 1967

James Charles Taylor (September 20, 1935 – October 13, 2018) was an American professional football player who was a fullback in the National Football League (NFL) for ten seasons, with the Green Bay Packers from 1958 to 1966 and with the expansion New Orleans Saints in 1967. With the Packers, Taylor was invited to five straight Pro Bowls and won four NFL championships, as well as a victory in the first Super Bowl. He was recognized as the NFL Most Valuable Player (MVP) after winning the rushing title in 1962, beating out Jim Brown. An aggressive player and fluent trash talker, Taylor developed several personal rivalries throughout his career, most notably with New York Giants linebacker Sam Huff. This confrontational attitude, combined with his tenacious running style, a penchant for contact, and ability to both withstand and deliver blows, earned him a reputation as one of the league's toughest players.

Playing college football for the LSU Tigers, Taylor led the Southeastern Conference (SEC) in scoring in 1956 and 1957 and earned first-team All-America honors as a senior. He was selected by the Packers in the second round of the 1958 NFL draft and was used sparingly as a rookie, but with the arrival of coach Vince Lombardi in 1959 Taylor soon became the team's all-purpose back, especially when only a few yards were needed. In this role, his spirited performance against the Giants in the 1962 NFL Championship Game came to define his mental and physical toughness. (Full article...)

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Calendar

2023 season: NFL • NCAA FBS (Bowl games)
Jan 8	College Football National Championship: #1 Michigan vs #2 Washington
Jan 13-15	NFL: Wild Cards
Jan 20-21	NFL: Divisional games
Jan 28	NFL: Conference games
Feb 4	NFL: Pro Bowl Games
Feb 11	NFL: Super Bowl LVIII