How Football Became Football: The History of Hash Marks

Football fans seldom think about hash marks. Some don’t realize hash marks are positioned at different distances from the sideline at the high school, college, and professional levels, yet the introduction of hash mark ranks among the most important innovations in the history of football. If that statement seems far-fetched, imagine watching a football game played on a field without hash marks. Where would the referee spot the ball when the ball carrier is tackled near the sideline or runs out of bounds? If either of those events occurred in the red zone, from what spot would a team attempt a field goal?

Fans watching football in the old days did not need to imagine football without hash marks because sixty-four years of football passed before the lowly hash mark was first chalked on a gridiron in 1933. Before hash marks, each play began wherever the previous play ended. As shown in the image below of a Yale game during the 1904-1909 checkerboard field era, the teams aligned near the sideline when the previous play ended there. If the ball was placed far enough from the sideline to allow the offensive team to align in their regular or balanced formation, they did so and ran their normal plays. Having the sideline nearby constrained their play calling to that side so their primary option to gain significant ground was to run away from the sideline. Of course, the defenders understood the situation and overplayed to the wide side of the field.

Play from scrimmage near the sideline at Yale Field (c.1903-1909)

Some plays ended with the ball carrier being downed very close to the sideline and the teams adjusted their formations as a result.