The big scrum

John J. Miller

During the late nineteenth century, the game of football was a work in progress that only remotely resembled the sport of today. There was no agreement about many of the basic rules, and it was incredibly violent and extremely dangerous. Numerous young men were badly injured and dozens died in highly publicized incidents, often at America's top prep schools and colleges. Objecting to the sport's brutality, a movement of proto-Progressives tried to abolish the game. President Theodore Roosevelt, a vocal advocate of "the strenuous life" and a proponent of risk, acknowledged football's dangers but admired its potential for building character. In 1905, he summoned the coaches of Harvard, Yale, and Princeton to the White House. The result was the establishment of the National Collegiate Athletic Association, as well as a series of rule changes that ultimately transformed football into the quintessential American game.--From publisher description.