he first edition of this new series left us at a certain game played in 1876 between Yale and Harvard. We promised at the end of the last edition to reveal the road leading to that monumental game in New England. So without further ado....
A long, long time ago…
American football without dispute was a spin-off of both soccer, or football as it is called in the old world, and rugby. Historians tell us that the ancient Greeks developed and played a game called harpaston. Harpaston is mentioned frequently in classical Greek literature, where it is often referred to as a "very rough and brutal game."
The rules of that ancient sport were pretty simple. There were two teams, and each would have a line to protect. The goal of the game was to score points, which were awarded when a player would cross the protected line of his opponents by one of a few ways; kicking the ball, running with it across the goal line, or throwing it across the line to another player on his team.
Continued...
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