Today's Tidbit... 1876 IFA Rule #46: Try At Goal

This is #46 in a series covering football's original 61 rules adopted by the Intercollegiate Football Association in 1876. We review one rule each Friday.

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Of the 61 football rules adopted by the IFA in 1876, Rule 46 best shows how much football has changed in the intervening 147 years since Rule 46 made sense when football was a kicking game. The rule reads:

Rule 46: A side having touched the ball down in their opponents' goal shall try at goal either by a place kick or a punt-out.

A player stretching to touch the ball down. Note that Oberlin’s coach in 1893 was John Heisman. (1893 Oberlin yearbook)

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The rule is straightforward and tells us that a team touching the ball down in the opponent's goal can attempt either a free placekick for a goal or execute a puntout, which, when executed correctly, gives them the opportunity for a kick at goal. Touchdowns did not score points or equivalencies in 1876. They had no value per se but provided the opportunity for a free kick, which was a big deal since opponents contested kicks at goal from scrimmage.

More broadly, Rule 46 reminds us that the only way to score in English rugby or American football in 1876 was to kick the ball over the crossbar and between the uprights. The team scoring the most goals won the match.

Football has changed drastically since then. Scoring touchdowns is now the point of the game; kicking field goals and goals after touchdown is valuable but secondary unless you are Iowa.

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Click the appropriate link for previous stories in the series:

Intro | #1 Drop Kick | #2 Place Kick | #3 Punt | #4 Goal Posts | #5 Goal | #6 Goal ≠ Punt | #7 Scoring | #8 Dead Ball | #9 Touchdown | #10 Tackle | #11 Scrimmage | #12 Ball Handling | #13 Dead Ball | #14 Scrimmage Ball Handling | #15 Run In | #16 Goal Line | #17 Boundary Lines | #18 Crying “Down” | #19 Maul In | #20 Maul in Pax | #21 Touch-in Goal | #22 Onside | #23 Offside | #24 Return to Onside | #25 Defensive Offside | #26 Throwing Back | #27 Knocking On | #28 Fair Catch | #29 Punt-out | #30 Punt-On | #31 Into Touch | #32 Inbounding | #33 Pushed Into Touch | #34 Right Angle Throw Out | #35 No Fair Catch | #36 Kickoff | #37 Kickoff Timing | #38 Change Goals | #39 Toss Up | #40 Loser Kicks | #41 Kickout | #42 Kickout Procedure | #43 Fair Catch Free Kick | #44 Free Kick Location | #45 Own Goal Touch Down

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