By Darin When we last left this series in 1902, a challenge was issued as to why football is called the “gridiron.” How did you do with the challenge? My experience with different search engines in finding an answer to this question was only partially successful. The best answer was that after lines were added to the fields five yards apart in 1882 to negotiate the new line to gain rule of obtaining five yards in three downs, someone high in the stands exclaimed that the field looked like a giant gridiron.
How Gridiron Became Associated With Football
This was part of the truth, but not the whole story. The fields in 1882 had 23 horizontal lines, including the goal lines (the fields were 110 yards long, goal to goal). (See figure) There were only two lines, the side lines, which were perpendicular to the other twenty-three. A gridiron has much more of a grid pattern to it, which means there would need to be
To achieve a grid-like appearance, many more vertical lines would need to intersect the existing horizontal ones.
Many vertical lines were added to football fields prior to the 1903 season due to a rule change meant to make the game a bit more wide open and thus reduce some of the roughness. The rule was that the player receiving the snap could, for the first time in history, advance it forward, provided that he crossed the line of scrimmage at least five yards away from the point where the “snapper-back” initiated action on that particular play. Prior to this rule, only players receiving the ball second or more after the snap could advance the ball forward towards an opponent’s goal line. This five-yard distance was difficult for the three officials to determine without assistance, so the rule’s wise innovator, Walter Camp, requested that eleven additional vertical lines be added to the sidelines, evenly spaced five yards apart, from one goal line to the other.
The field was fifty-three yards wide, so Camp did some quick math and had the two inner vertical lines closest to the sidelines be only one and one-half yards away from each sideline. The additional vertical lines, in conjunction with the already existing horizontal lines, made a checkerboard pattern across the field of play. (See figure B) The ball was always placed on one of these vertical lines before the snap in relation to the progress obtained on the previous play. There were no hash marks as in our era of play, so in essence, a play could start 1-1/2 yards away.
from one of the sidelines. The person receiving the direct snap, usually the quarterback, could advance the ball now by running only if he crossed the line of scrimmage at least one vertical line or more away from the one from which the ball was snapped.
More from the Rule Committee, March 1903
The same meeting that produced the forward pass by quarterbacks also started a rarely known rule. The rule stated that, for the 1903 season, the teams would exchange goals and ends of the field after every point scored on a touchdown attempt and after every goal from the field. Additionally, the team that scored could either take the free kick or kick it off themselves to the team that scored. I am not totally sure why any team would have opted for this, or even if it was ever done, but there must have been a reason for the rule. Another part of this same rule stated that the teams would defend the opposite goals in the second half than they had in the first.
Another rule revision of note from the 1903 season was that the linesman was given the authority to declare a player offside, as well as to penalize players for tripping and unnecessary roughness to the back after a kick. Umpires had to determine whether the optional headgear was worn and whether it was made of materials and constructed in a manner deemed safe for both the player and the opponent. Head protectors made of sole leather and even papier-mache were deemed illegal materials for helmet construction.
The game was somewhat tamed by the rule-makers to help ease public dissatisfaction over its excessive injuries in the 1890’s. It diffused the hot topic for the immediate future, but trouble still loomed large on the horizon as football and its opponents would cross paths. Right here on PigskinDispatch.com, your place for the good news about football.
A Deep Dive into 1903 Football History and Highlights
- March 28, 1903 – Atlantic City, NJ – The Football Rules Committee met and passed new rules that disallowed hard surfaces on headwear during games. Also, that teams would exchange goals and ends of the field after every point scored on a touchdown attempt and after every goal from the field. Additionally, the team that scored could either take the free kick or kick it off themselves to the team that scored. Quarterbacks were now allowed to run with the ball without it touching a third player after the snap. (Source)
- June 6, 1903 – Philadelphia, PA – The Football Rules Committee met and passed new rules that seven men should play in the rush line of both the attacking and defending teams. When, however, the ball is within either of the twenty-five-yard lines, either team may play with as few as only five men in the line. A Holding foul, formerly penalized as loss of possession, would now be a 25-yard penalty. (Source)
- October 23, 1903 – Montgomery, Alabama – The 8th installment of the famed Iron Bowl took place as the Alabama Crimson Tide knocked off the Auburn Tigers 18-6. The victory helped head Coach W.B. Blount’s Alabama team finish the season with a 3-4 record, while Auburn, coached by Billy Bates, finished 4-3 according to sports-reference.com’s records.
- October 28, 1903 – Franklin, Pennsylvania – The undefeated Jamestown Club team traveled to play the Franklin All-Stars. Franklin, the World’s Greatest Pro Gridiron team, demolished the visitors 46-0. Check out our book on the World’s Greatest Pro Gridiron Team: The 1903 Franklin All-Stars.
- November 14, 1903 – What many say is the First American Football Game Ever Filmed was played: 1903 Princeton Tigers vs Yale Bulldogs. Princeton won the game 11-6 in front of 30,000 at Yale Field.
- December 17, 1903 – Madison Square Garden, NYC – The 1903 World Series of Football culminated in the title game, as the host Watertown Red Blacks faced the Franklin All-Stars. The All-Stars took the prize with a 12-0 blanking of the Watertown Eleven. Check out our book on the World’s Greatest Pro Gridiron Team: The 1903 Franklin All-Stars.
We are able to provide this in-depth look into history from so long ago through careful research. Using someone who was contemporary to the period is the best source. So, a very special shout-out to our main source of reference for this article: Parke H. Davis, in his 1911 book, Football-The American Intercollegiate Game.