The history of American football can be traced to early versions of rugby football and association football. Both games have their origin in multiple … See more

Pioneer period (1869–1875)
On November 6, 1869, Rutgers University faced Princeton University (then known as the College of New Jersey) in a game that was played with a … See more

Football is a popular participatory sport among youth. One of the earliest youth football organizations was founded in Philadelphia, in 1929, as the Junior Football Conference. Organizer Joe Tomlin started the league to provide activities and … See more

Other codes of football share a common history with American football. Canadian football is a form of the game that evolved parallel to American football. While both games share a … See more

Predecessors
In Ancient Greece, men played a similar sport called Episkyros where they tried to throw a ball over a … See more

Early players, teams, and leagues (1892–1919)
In the early 20th century, football began to catch on in the … See more

American football has been played outside the US since the 1920s and accelerated in popularity after World War II, especially in countries with large numbers of U.S. military personnel, who often formed a substantial proportion of the players and spectators. See more