In one of the tidbits on the IFA rules, you mention that rugby of the 1870s was much more of a scrumming/kicking game than modern rugby, but us Americans started to carry the ball a lot more even before allowing blocking and possession and down and distance. I'm curious as to what the rules for those 1869 games were, and if they sorta resembled a tackle/pushing version of soccer, and if so how much they resembled early rugby?
Looking forward to listening to the podcast - i think I see the merits on 1876 - everyone playing under the same set of rules that the game evolved from - but also see the merits of 1869 (as discussed in the comments of that linked post). However, I'm most sympathetic to 1884 and allowing blocking and down and distance as when American football became different from rugby. Every one of those dates was a milestone - 1869, 1874, 1876, 1880, and 1884 - that saw football develop as something different than town games/soccer/become organized and finally, become different from rugby.
There are numerous articles out there about the rules of the 1869 games. Here's one: https://www.princetonianamuseum.org/artifact/0d00a048-6918-4bb5-9cd1-7205f48edbaa
Thanks!
In one of the tidbits on the IFA rules, you mention that rugby of the 1870s was much more of a scrumming/kicking game than modern rugby, but us Americans started to carry the ball a lot more even before allowing blocking and possession and down and distance. I'm curious as to what the rules for those 1869 games were, and if they sorta resembled a tackle/pushing version of soccer, and if so how much they resembled early rugby?
Looking forward to listening to the podcast - i think I see the merits on 1876 - everyone playing under the same set of rules that the game evolved from - but also see the merits of 1869 (as discussed in the comments of that linked post). However, I'm most sympathetic to 1884 and allowing blocking and down and distance as when American football became different from rugby. Every one of those dates was a milestone - 1869, 1874, 1876, 1880, and 1884 - that saw football develop as something different than town games/soccer/become organized and finally, become different from rugby.