The game has ancient origins, but in the late 19th century, Walter Camp helped shape football—the American kind—into the sport we know today.

Who invented football? The transition from rugby-style play to the game we know today kicked into gear around 1876 thanks to a man named Walter Camp, known as the Father of American Football.

The person responsible for inventing the modern game of football is Walter Camp. Walter Camp, born in New Britain, Connecticut, was a student at Yale University when he was introduced to football. He played for four years, from 1876 to 1880, while at Yale.