When we go to a football game in today’s modern era we count on looking to the scoreboard to know the official time of the game. This was not always the case as alternative means of keeping time were the ones the game actually played to.
Its amazing how far the game clock has advanced in the last century and a half!
Back in 1873, the college students playing football had made significant efforts to standardize football was that the game was played in two 45 minute halves. Walter Camp of Yale joined Harvard’s legendary coach Loren DeLand in 1894 to write a book titled “Football, How to Watch a Game” where the stated that a game would “ proceed for 35 minutes of actual play time with time being taken out for delays of any nature. After this period of time a ten minute intermission would follow and then play would resume for another 35 minutes.” So in piecing together these clues it sounds as if a game started at noon the first half would end roughly at 12:35 unless delays had “time taken out” which would be added on by the officials, most likely the Referee. One would assume the official game timepiece was a simple pocket watch that the Ref would use by referencing the actual time of the day.
According to MentalFloss.com the football rules of the NCAA from the Rule Book publication read Rule 2(a) The length of the game shall be 60 minutes, divided into two halves of 30 minutes each,8 exclusive of time taken out. There shall be ten minutes intermission between the two halves.
The FootballZebras.com web site shares that up until 1970 the scoreboard at NFL games was not the official time, no the official time was kept on a watch by an on field official known as the line judge. At least it was the line judge from 1965 to 1970 but prior to that the field judge kept the official game time on their watch during the 1950’s and early 1960’s. Prior to 1950 the Referee himself would carry the game clock on his person. It was the task of whomever was keeping the game clock to notify each sideline and the on field players and officials as to the status of the clock and its remaining time in the quarter, especially in a tight contest near the end of a half. When the time expired, the official would fire a starter’s pistol into the air.
The Football Zebras article goes on to state that Many times in that era, football was played in baseball parks, which had no need for clocks. For instance, Cleveland Municipal Stadium (home of the Rams and Browns) and Yankee Stadium (where the New York Giants played for 18 seasons) had modified analog clocks numbered 0–14. Tiger Stadium posted only the minutes remaining on the scoreboard for Detroit Lions home games.
When stadiums were equipped with clock displays, this timing was unofficial. This led to occasions where there was still time displayed on the stadium clock, but the officials declared the game over.
That is where the two minute warning still used at the professional level really had some importance other than just another way for the clock to stop near the end of a half. It was a time where the time keeping official could officially tell all parties that the standard of approximately two minutes was remaining in the half.
