Today’s Tidbit… IFA Rule #16 Goal Line

This is #16 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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As the mishmash of kicking games in the United Kingdom began separating into distinct games in the 1850s and 1860s, the Association game (aka soccer) went down a path in which the ball could not be handled (carried in the hands), with goals scored by kicking the ball under the opponent’s crossbar.

Rugby took a different route. Goals were scored by kicking the ball over the crossbar, not under, and players could handle and run with it. Running the ball across the goal line and touching it down resulted in a try (called a touchdown by the IFA).

Rule 16 adds another detail about how to score touchdowns:

Rule 16: It is lawful to run in anywhere across the goal-line.