By Darin Before we start looking at football in 1896, let’s review what was happening at the time. The big eastern schools were divided into two factions over the use of mass momentum and mass interference plays. One group, led by Harvard and Penn, supported mass plays. Another, led by Yale and Princeton, opposed the concept and enacted new rules to outlaw it. The result was chaos in 1895, as the sport saw two sets of rules in use.
What made the situation worse was that teams in other parts of the country began to resent that all changes were being made in the East. Feeling excluded, they saw more variations of the football code arise. Recognizing that football could not survive this way, both sides decided to meet and resolve their differences in the spring of 1896.
The Great Compromise of Early Football
The meeting was successful. Both sides of the controversy made concessions. The big compromise was in the rule revision, which made it mandatory that at least five offensive players be on the line of scrimmage at the snap. The other six could group together, but two of them had to be five yards behind the ball or further. Another new rule stated that no player on offense could take more than one step toward his opponent’s goal before coming to a complete stop before the snap. This did not stop mass momentum altogether, but it did slow it down considerably.
A scheme combining the mass interference concept (a tactic in which several players work together to block defenders and clear a path for the ball carrier) with the new rules was developed by Princeton coach Phil King. His offense was called the “revolving-tandem” formation. It had five players on the line and moved the ends (players who normally play at the outermost positions on the line) into the backfield, where the backs (players positioned behind the line of scrimmage) normally play. The formation used a variation of the “turtle-back” style (a strategy in which players form a tight, rounded group to maximize pushing force) to build mass momentum. The key was that the right end played back and blocked inside the right tackle, while a pulling left tackle (an offensive lineman who leaves his spot to block elsewhere) went with him. The tandem created a hole for the runner.
The confusing turtle-back play confounded defensive opponents all season long. The turtle-back was an oval-shaped, mass-interference formation that slowly unwound blockers. As it developed, the runner emerged from the whirlwind. Defenses found it extremely difficult to determine who had the ball or to maneuver through the entourage of interference.
Another outcome of the 1896 rules was the place kick supplanting the drop-kick for a score. The drop kick still has its place in modern football rule books, but is seldom seen. On January 1, 2006, in an NFL game, Patriots QB Doug Flutie performed the first drop kick for points since 1941. He paid homage to the ancient tradition of kicking for points.
Other rules changes adopted
The compromise of 1896 also saw football adopt the heel mark system for fair catches, as explained in the last edition. This and other new rules prevented the defense from touching the ball until after the snap and prohibited the snapper-back from running with the ball until it touched two other players.
A Deep Dive into 1896 Football History and Highlights
- February 8, 1896 – Big 10 Conference is founded – The second meeting of the organization (1st on January 11, 1895), which became the founding members of the Western Conference (Big 10). During the process, the University of Michigan replaced Lake Forest after Lake Forest skipped the meeting.
- Summer 1896 – The Football Rules committee convened to institute new rules, including adopting the heel mark system for fair catches and requiring at least five offensive players to be on the line of scrimmage at the snap.
- October 24, 1896 – The University of Pennsylvania’s unbeaten streak was snapped by a Lafayette 6-4 upset victory. More on the Lafayette Upset here.
There was much more change in store for early football. Check out our 1897 post to continue the journey.