The history of American football can be traced in the early forms of rugby and soccer. In the mid 19th century England, the kind of football played had either the ball kicked at the goal or carried over a line.

Both soccer and American football have 22 players on the field when the game is on. They still share some terms for player positions such as halfback and fullback.

American football and rugby have some chief variations. The differences in the rules of play were initiated by Walter Camp, who is now known as the Father of American Football. Two important changes that Walter Camp effected were the ‘down and distance’ rule and the ‘line of scrimmage’. Late 19th and early 20th century coaches like Knute Rockne, Glen Pop Warner and Amos Alonzo Stagg changed the method of playing by bringing in forward pass.
For the better half of the 20th century, college American football dominated as it had grown a lot in popularity. It boasted of massive national viewers because of the football Bowl games. Like now, college football had huge rivalries even back then.

The American Professional Football was started in 1920. The first game was won by the Triangles with a score of 14-10 against the Columbus Panhandles on 3rd October 1920 in Dayton. In 1922, the name was changed to National Football League (NFL) and grew into a major league. The American Football League (AFL) started in 1960 as a rival but it merged with NFL which led to the formation of the Super Bowl. The Super Bowl is the most viewed event on television in the US every year.