Today's Tidbit... 1876 IFA Rule #59: Officials
This is #59 in a series covering football's original 61 rules adopted by the Intercollegiate Football Association in 1876. We review one rule each Friday.
One of the general themes readers of Football Archaeology hear repeatedly is the extent to which the athletes controlled the early game. The team captains selected and trained the team, decided when to ask for time out, and made all critical on-the-field decisions other than play calling that was often delegated to the quarterback.
In the version of the Rugby Rules adopted in Canada in 1873, the game did not have a referee or other officials. The team captains called or protested the opposing team's illegal actions and settled disputes like gentlemen. Their rule reflecting that stance was quite simple:
Rule 59 (Canada). The Captains of the respective sides shall be sole Arbiters of all disputes.
The Rugby Union modified its rules in 1876 based on input from the Auckland Club in New Zealand. They added the potential for the teams to name an umpire or umpires to remove the officiating burden from the captains. They offered the opportunity to appeal decisions or disputes to the Rugby Union Committee. The rule read as follows:
Rule 59 (Rugby Union): Unless an umpire or umpires shall have been agreed upon prior to the commencement of the match, the captains of the respective sides shall be the sole arbiters of all disputes, and their decisions shall be final. If the captain of either side challenge the construction placed on any rule, he shall have the right to appeal to the Rugby Union Committee.
Perhaps because they did not trust themselves to settle disputes gentlemanly or relieve captains of the officiating burden, the IFA opted for an independent referee and a judge or advocate for each team. The IFA rule read:
Rule 59: There shall be two judges, one for each side, and also a referee, to whom disputed points shall be referred, and whose decision shall be final.
Under American rules, each team appointed an umpire who intervened as needed for their side but whose actions were subject to the referee's decision. The umpires were akin to lawyers advocating for each side and subject to decisions made by the referee or judge.
Although not explicitly stated, the team captains agreed to the referee in advance or upon arriving at the game. Early on, these were generally former players or players from other teams considered sufficiently knowledgeable and honorable to call games impartially.
While the officiating crews came to include a referee, umpire, head linesman, and field judge by the early 1920s, it was not until then that conference and regional officiating authorities took responsibility for naming the game officials. Even then, schools had the opportunity to protest the assignment of officials they did not like for one reason or another.
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 | #46 Try At Goal | #47 Try At Goal Spot | #48 Touched Down Between Posts | #49 Puntout Spot | #50 Heel-In Mark | #51 No Fair Catch OOB | #52 TD Interference | #53 Missed Kicks | #54 Charging | #55 Charge At Once | #56 Charging Locations | #57 Hacking | #58 Gutta Percha
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