An “American” Game of Football

In 1887, following a badly managed game between Princeton and Yale, the constitution of the Intercollegiate Football Association is amended by a diverse committee under Camp’s leadership comprising faculty, graduates, and students from multiple colleges. The revised constitution essentially transfers rule making to a committee of five alumni called the Graduate Advisory Committee (GAC). Camp is a member. The new GAC immediately moves American football to a new stage by expanding the allowable range of tackling on a runner’s body (moving the lower limit from the waist to the knees) and instituting interference whereby players on offense can block ahead of the runner. Camp says that about this time, American players begin to realize the game they are playing is a distinctive new American game for which they need to take responsibility. Camp writes introductory articles for this new game in Outing and Harper’s Weekly, which is soon followed by important new opportunities for him in newspaper and magazine writing.