Football Archaeology

Football Archaeology

Share this post

Football Archaeology
Football Archaeology
Today's Tidbit... Football Before Points-Based Scoring
Copy link
Facebook
Email
Notes
More
Tidbits (Paid)

Today's Tidbit... Football Before Points-Based Scoring

Football Archaeology's avatar
Football Archaeology
Sep 09, 2022
∙ Paid
1

Share this post

Football Archaeology
Football Archaeology
Today's Tidbit... Football Before Points-Based Scoring
Copy link
Facebook
Email
Notes
More
Share
Penn’s 1882 football team (University of Pennsylvania, University Archives Image Collection)

The 1882 Penn football team picture included a guy wearing a top hat, but that was not the weirdest thing about the season during which the Quakers finished with a 2-5 record. Looking back, the oddest thing about the season was that football used an equivalency-based scoring system borrowed from rugby in 1876. Rule 7 covered scoring

A match shall be decided by the majority of touchdowns; a goal shall be equal to four touchdowns; but in case of a tie, a goal kicked from a touchdown shall take precedence over four touchdowns.

Keep reading with a 7-day free trial

Subscribe to Football Archaeology to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.

Already a paid subscriber? Sign in
© 2025 Timothy P. Brown
Privacy ∙ Terms ∙ Collection notice
Start writingGet the app
Substack is the home for great culture

Share

Copy link
Facebook
Email
Notes
More