While the constant noise piped through stadium loudspeakers can sometimes be annoying, in the world before loudspeakers, announcers could either shout loudly or use a big ol’ megaphone to be heard above the din. Or both.

The first stadium loudspeaker systems arrived in the 1910s, about the same time as referees’ signals. Had stadiums been able to pipe the referee’s voice through the stadium sound system as they do today, football might not have developed the referee signals that do not rely on the spoken word.

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