Pequot Library Special Collections American Football
1. American Football
by Walter Camp
Harper and Brothers, New York,
1893
Curated by Olivia Johnson
2. Walter Camp
American Football
Harper and Brothers, New York, 1893
Football is considered America’s sport and emerged strongly during the industrial
period in America. America moved from an agricultural period, a slow moving time
when the major sport of baseball matched the lifestyle, to a period where time
mattered and everyone worked together to produce a product. Football paralleled
the new ways of life in America and Walter Camp, a Yale graduate and eventual
Yale coach, was one of the most important men in the design and rules of football.
He played for Yale and was on the rules committee until his death in 1925.
American Football was published by Harper and Brothers. The publishing company
began business in 1817 and was the publisher of Harper’s Weekly and Harper’s
Bazaar. The original publishing company has merged with a few different
publishers and is today known as Harper Collins.
3. The book outlines the basics of football including descriptions of positions including,
end rusher, tackle, guard, center or snap-back, halfback and back, and quarterback.
In addition to positions it includes a chapter about training, team play, and even a
full chapter for spectators. A remarkable characteristic of this book is that it is
illustrated with 31 pictures of early college football players from Harvard, Yale, and
Princeton. Walter Camp created many of the rules and methods that are used in
American football today including the gridiron field on which the game is still played,
which is shown in a diagram in his book. He also created the 4th down rule and
lifted tackling rules.
Student Curator: Olivia Johnson
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