Today's Tidbit… 1876 IFA Rule #11: Scrimmage
This is #11 in a series covering football’s original 61 rules adopted by the Intercollegiate Football Association in 1876. We review one rule each Friday.
Scrimmage arose in the 15th century as a variation of skirmish or a short fight. That sense of scrimmage appeared in American newspapers by 1828, seeing far greater use than scrummage, a term used primarily in the context of rugby. So, when the IFA adopted Rule #11 in 1876, they modified rugby’s rule by substituting scrimmage for scrummage, leaving the rest of the rule as is.
Rule 11: A scrimmage takes place when the holder of the ball, being in the field of play, puts it on the ground in front of him, and all who have closed around on the respective sides endeavor to push their opponents back, and by kicking the ball, to drive it in the direction of the opposite goal-line.
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