Today's Tidbit... 1876 IFA Rule #53: Missed Kicks

This is #53 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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One of the reasons early football games finished in less than two hours was that the ball was seldom declared dead. There were no incomplete passes, and the ball stayed live when it went out of bounds. One of the few times the ball became dead was when a goal from the field (field goal) or a goal from touchdown (later, the extra point) was successful. The first part of Rule 53 tells us what occurred when a kick was successful.

Rule 53: The ball is dead whenever a goal has been obtained; but if a try at goal be not successful, the kick shall be considered as only an ordinary kick in the course of the game.