Football

a field game played in the United States, Great Britain, Canada, and Australia. The game is said to have originated among the Romans, but it was under the guidance of the public schools of Great Britain that it advanced and became popular. There are at present several styles of football, the American and English Rugby, and the A ociation games, being the most popular. The American Rugby game is played among the colleges, schools, and athletic clubs of the United States. The game is played on a field 330 feet long and 160 feet wide, é the boundaries being marked, off with chalk lines, with lines at every five yards, py fo running acro the field. 3 Two goal posts are placed 18 feet 6 inches apart in the middle of each end line. These posts are 20 feet high and have a cro bar 10 feet from the ground. The ball has an oval-shaped leather covering containing an_inflated rubber bladder. ‘The * football team consists of 11 men, the center, two guards, LD AT two tackles, two halfbacks, E two ends, the quarterback,. and the — fullback. The game is commenced by one team placing the ball in the center of the field and cae it into the opponents’ territory. One of the opponents catches it, and runs forward until tackled and thrown by one of the other team. The ball is then put down for scrimmage. The center of the team holding the ball pa es it back between his legs to the quarterback, who in, turn pa es it to some man who runs with it. The men on the opposing team try to keep the ball from advancing by throwing the runner. When the runner is stopped he calls “down” and the ball is held. The team is allowed three downs, in which it must either advance the ball 5 yards, or Jose 20 yards, or surrender the ball to its opponents. The game continues until one team forces the ball over its opponents’ goal line. This is called a touchdown, and scores five points. The ball is then taken out, about 15 yards from the goal line, in a line parallel to the side lines, from the point where the ball was downed. A member of the team then tries to kick the ball over and between the opponents’ goal posts. This kicked goal counts one point. The ball is then taken out to the center of the field and kicked off again by the losing team. The game is a: in two halves of 35 minutes each, with a 10 minute intermi ion. The game has been greatly developed by the American colleges, and a ~—r system of rules governs the play. The English game differs from the American in. that 15 men, instead of 11, form a team. The game is more open, more kicking being done, but does not develop team work and interference to any great extent. In the A ociation game the ball is advanced entirely by kicking, butting with the head, “ kneeing ” and “ breasting,” the hands not being used at all. The team consists of five forwards, three halfbacks, two fullbacks, and a goal tender. The goals are made by kicking the ball between goal posts, 8 feet apart, and under a bar 8 feet from the ground.