Gridiron football - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Gridiron football sometimes known as North American football, is an umbrella term

Umbrella term

An umbrella term is a word that provides a superset or grouping of concepts that all fall under a single common category. Umbrella term is also called a hypernym. For example, cryptology is an umbrella term that encompasses cryptography and cryptanalysis, among other fields...

for related codes of football

Football

Football may refer to one of a number of team sports which all involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball with the foot to score a goal. The most popular of these sports worldwide is association football, more commonly known as just "football" or "soccer"...

primarily played in the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

and Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

. The predominant forms of gridiron football are American football

American football

American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...

and Canadian football

Canadian football

Canadian football is a form of gridiron football played exclusively in Canada in which two teams of 12 players each compete for territorial control of a field of play long and wide attempting to advance a pointed prolate spheroid ball into the opposing team's scoring area...

. The terms refer to the sport's characteristic playing field

Playing field

A playing field is a field used for playing sports or games. They are generally outdoors, but many large structures exist to enclose playing fields from bad weather. Generally, playing fields are wide expanses of grass, dirt or sand without many obstructions...

, which is marked with a series of parallel lines resembling a gridiron

Gridiron (cooking)

A gridiron is a metal grate with parallel bars typically used for grilling meat, fish, vegetables, or combinations of such foods. It may also be two such grids, hinged to fold together, to securely hold food while grilling over an open flame.-Development:...

.

"Gridiron" football developed in the late 19th century out of the older games related to the games now known as rugby football

Rugby football

Rugby football is a style of football named after Rugby School in the United Kingdom. It is seen most prominently in two current sports, rugby league and rugby union.-History:...

and association football. It is distinguished from other football codes by its use of helmets and shoulder pads, the forward pass

Forward pass

In several forms of football a forward pass is when the ball is thrown in the direction that the offensive team is trying to move, towards the defensive team's goal line...

, the system of downs, a line of scrimmage

Line of scrimmage

In American and Canadian football a line of scrimmage is an imaginary transverse line beyond which a team cannot cross until the next play has begun...

, more specialist positions

American football positions

In American football, each team has eleven players on the field at one time. Because the rules allow unlimited substitution between plays, the types of players on the field for each team differ depending on the situation...

and formations

Formation (American football)

A formation in American football refers to the position players line up in before the start of a down. There are both offensive and defensive formations and there are many formations in both categories.-Offense:...

, free substitution, platooning—the use of different players for offense and defense, measurements in yard

Yard

A yard is a unit of length in several different systems including English units, Imperial units and United States customary units. It is equal to 3 feet or 36 inches...

s, and the ability to score points while not in possession of the ball by way of the safety. Walter Camp

Walter Camp

Walter Chauncey Camp was an American football player, coach, and sports writer known as the "Father of American Football". With John Heisman, Amos Alonzo Stagg, Pop Warner, Fielding H. Yost, and George Halas, Camp was one of the most accomplished persons in the early history of American football...

is credited with creating many of the rules that differentiate gridiron football from its older counterparts.

The international governing body for all forms of gridiron football is the International Federation of American Football

International Federation of American Football

International Federation of American Football is the international governing body of American football associations. Its headquarters are in La Courneuve, France, and its current president is Tommy Wiking...

(IFAF).

Terminology

The term "gridiron" in reference to football first developed in the United States. It originally referred to the sport's playing field, alternately known as the "grid", due to the its patterned markings which give it the appearance of a gridiron

Gridiron (cooking)

. The terms "gridiron" and "grid" were thence applied loosely to the game itself.

Especially outside of the U.S. and Canada, the terms "gridiron" and "gridiron football" are often used to distinguish the North American sport from other codes of football

Football

. "Gridiron" is particularly common in Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

and New Zealand

New Zealand

New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...

. In some cases the terms are used specifically for American football

American football

, sometimes even in distinction from Canadian football

Canadian football

, though it is now often used as a blanket term for all North American variants.

Gridiron football codes

American football
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...

is the most common and widely known of the gridiron-based football codes. It is played with eleven men to a side, four downs and a 100-yard field. The IFAF uses the name "American football" in its name and statutes, identifying it as being "made up by American football played under whatever set of rules, Canadian football, flag football, touch football, peewee-football, indoor American football and related activities for amateur and professionals". Note that the premier professional league in America, the NFL, has its own distinct code, Official Playing Rules of the National Football League. Colleges in America generally play under the code defined in NCAA Football Rules and Interpretations. High Schools in America generally follow the rules and interpretations published by the National Federation of High School Associations (NFHS), although at some states follow the NCAA code for high school play. Youth games (below high school age) generally follow NFHS code with modifications. Adult semi-pro, amateur, touch, flag, etc. may follow any one of these codes or use their own rules. While the vast majority of the game is the same among these three codes, subtle variations in rules can lead to large difference in play. Many of the differences are in penalty enforcement and the definitions of fouls.
Canadian football
Canadian football
Canadian football is a form of gridiron football played exclusively in Canada in which two teams of 12 players each compete for territorial control of a field of play long and wide attempting to advance a pointed prolate spheroid ball into the opposing team's scoring area...

is played exclusively in Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

. It was originally more closely related to rugby until the Burnside rules
Burnside Rules
The Burnside rules were a set of rules that transformed Canadian football from a rugby-style game to the gridiron-style game it has remained ever since...

were adopted. The game is played on a 110-yard field and has three downs and twelve men to a side. The Canadian game also allows players to move forward toward the line of scrimmage before the snap
Snap (football)
A snap starts each American football and Canadian football play from scrimmage.-Action:...

, which is forbidden in most versions of American football, and also features a one-point "single
Single (football)
In Canadian football, a single is awarded when the ball is kicked into the end zone by any legal means, other than a successful field goal, and the receiving team does not return, or kick, the ball out of its end zone...

" for a ball kicked into the end zone and not returned by the receiving team.
Nine-man football
Nine-man football
Nine-man football is a type of American football played by high schools that are too small to play the usual eleven-man game. As of 2007, Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota had nine man football....

, eight-man football
Eight-man football
Eight-man football is a type of American football, generally played by small high schools. Rules and formations vary greatly among states and even among different organizations, but the one constant is eight players from each team on the field at one time, as opposed to eleven-man football, which...

and six-man football
Six-man football
Six-man football is a variant of American football that is played with six players per team, instead of 11.-History:6-man football was developed in 1934 by Chester High School coach Stephen Epler as an alternative means for small high schools to field a football team during the Great Depression...

are varieties of gridiron football played with fewer players. They are played with four downs (often with a 15 yard requirement for a new set of downs, as opposed to 10 in other codes), fewer offensive linemen, and an 80-yard field.
Indoor football is played with special rules to accommodate smaller indoor facilities. It is played on a 50-yard field with seven or eight men to a side (depending on the league). Prototype games were played in 1902
World Series of Football (1902)
The World Series of Football was a series of football games played indoors at New York's Madison Square Garden in 1902 and 1903. It originally comprised five teams, four from New York state and one from New Jersey...

and 1932
NFL Playoff Game, 1932
The 1932 NFL Playoff Game was the first ever playoff game held by the National Football League , the major professional American football sports league in the United States. Due to extremely cold weather, the game was played indoors on December 18, 1932 at Chicago Stadium in Chicago...

, both of which used the shortened field but followed the outdoor standard 11 men to a side. However, indoor football did not gain popularity until James F. Foster's proprietary version, arena football
Arena football
Arena football is a variety of gridiron football played by the Arena Football League . It is a proprietary game, the rights to which are owned by Gridiron Enterprises, and is played indoors on a smaller field than American or Canadian outdoor football, resulting in a faster and higher-scoring game....

, debuted in 1986, and set most of the standards for indoor leagues today.
Touch football
Touch football (American)
Touch football is a variant of American football in which the basic rules are similar to those of the mainstream game , but instead of tackling players to the ground, the person carrying the ball need only be touched by a member of the opposite team to end a down...

, flag football
Flag football
Flag football is a version of Canadian football or American football that is popular worldwide. The basic rules of the game are similar to those of the mainstream game , but instead of tackling players to the ground, the defensive team must remove a flag or flag belt from the ball carrier to end...

and backyard football
Street football (American)
Street football, also known as backyard football or sandlot football, is a simplified variant of American football primarily played informally by youth...

are informal varieties of the game, played primarily at an amateur and recreational level.

Play of the game

This is a minimal description of the game in general, with elements common to all or almost all variants of the game. For more specific rules, see each code's individual articles.

Prior to the start of a game, a coin toss

Coin flipping

Coin flipping or coin tossing or heads or tails is the practice of throwing a coin in the air to choose between two alternatives, sometimes to resolve a dispute between two parties...

determines which team will kick off the ball to their opponent. Each team lines up on opposite halves of the field, with a minimum ten yards of space between them for the kickoff.

At this point, play from scrimmage begins. The team in possession of the ball is on offense and the opponent is on defense. At least half of the players (the exact number varies by code) on the offense must line up on the line of scrimmage

Line of scrimmage

In American and Canadian football a line of scrimmage is an imaginary transverse line beyond which a team cannot cross until the next play has begun...

, including the snapper, who handles the ball before play commences; the rest must line up behind the line. Neither the offense nor the defense can cross the line of scrimmage before the play commences. Once the offense sets in formation

Formation (American football)

, the snapper snaps

Snap (football)

A snap starts each American football and Canadian football play from scrimmage.-Action:...

the ball to one of the players behind him. The play has now commenced, and the offense's goal is to continue advancing the ball toward their opponent's end zone

End zone

In gridiron-based codes of football, the end zone refers to the scoring area on the field. It is the area between the end line and goal line bounded by the sidelines. There are two end zones, each being on an opposite side of the field...

. This can be done either by running with the ball or by a rule unique to gridiron football known as the forward pass
Forward pass
In several forms of football a forward pass is when the ball is thrown in the direction that the offensive team is trying to move, towards the defensive team's goal line...

. In a forward pass, a player from behind the line of scrimmage throws the ball to an eligible receiver

Eligible receiver

In American football and Canadian football, not all players on offense are entitled to receive a forward pass. Only an eligible pass receiver may legally catch a forward pass, and only an eligible receiver may advance beyond the neutral zone if a forward pass which crosses the neutral zone is thrown...

(another back or one player on each end of the line), who must catch the ball before it touches the ground. The play stops when a player with the ball is tackled to the ground, runs out of the boundaries of the field, or a forward pass hits the ground without being caught. In order to keep play moving, the offense must make a certain amount of progress (10 yards in most leagues) within a certain number (3 in Canada, 4 in the United States) of plays, or downs. If the offense does indeed make this progress, a first down is achieved, and the team gets 3 or 4 more plays to achieve another 10 yards. If not, the offense loses possession to their opponent at the spot where the ball is. More commonly, however, the team on offense will, if they have a minimal chance of gaining a first down and have only one play left to do it (fourth down in the U.S., third down in Canada), attempt a scrimmage kick. There are two types of scrimmage kick: a punt

Punt (football)

In some codes of football, a punt is a play in which a player drops the ball and kicks it before it touches the ground. A punt is in contrast to a drop kick, in which the ball touches the ground before being kicked....

is when the ball is kicked downfield as far as possible; the kicking team loses possession of the ball after the kick and the receiving team can attempt to advance the ball. The other scrimmage kick is a field goal

Field goal (football)

A field goal in American football and Canadian football is a goal that may be scored during general play . Field goals may be scored by a placekick or the now practically extinct drop kick.The drop kick fell out of favor in 1934 when the shape of the ball was changed...

attempt. This must be attempted by place kick

Placekicker

Placekicker, or simply kicker , is the title of the player in American and Canadian football who is responsible for the kicking duties of field goals, extra points...

or (more rarely) drop kick

Drop kick

A drop kick is a type of kick in various codes of football. It involves a player dropping the ball and then kicking it when it bounces off the ground. It contrasts to a punt, wherein the player kicks the ball without letting it hit the ground first....

, and if they pass through the goal set at the edge of the opponent's end zone, the team scores three points (four in rare variants and special circumstances).

If the team in possession of the ball, at any time, advances the ball into the end zone, it is a touchdown

Touchdown

A touchdown is a means of scoring in American and Canadian football. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchdown by advancing the ball into the opponent's end zone.-Description:...

, and the team scores six points and a free play known as a try. In a try, a team attempts to score one

Convert

The convert or try, in American football known as "point after", and Canadian football "Point after touchdown", is a one-scrimmage down played immediately after a touchdown during which the scoring team is allowed to attempt to score an extra one point by kicking the ball through the uprights , or...

or two

Two-point conversion

In American and Canadian football, a two-point conversion is a play a team attempts instead of kicking a one-point convert immediately after it scores a touchdown...

points (rules vary by each league, but a field goal on a try is usually worth one point while another touchdown is worth two).

If the player with the ball is tackled while he is in his own end zone, the defense scores a safety, worth two points.

After a try, safety or field goal, the team that had possession of the ball goes back to the middle of the field and kicks the ball off to their opponent, and play continues as it did in the beginning of the game.

Play continues until halftime. (Each team switches sides of the field with each other halfway through each half, at the end of a quarter.) After the halftime break, the team that did not kick off at the beginning of the game kicks off. Whichever team has more points at the end of the game is declared the winner; in the event of a tie, each league has its own rules for overtime

Overtime (sports)

Overtime or extra time is an additional period of play specified under the rules of a sport to bring a game to a decision and avoid declaring the match a tie or draw. In most sports, this extra period is only played if the game is required to have a clear winner, as in single-elimination...

to break the tie.

Origin of the gridiron

According to the early rules of American football, fields were marked in a checkerboard pattern of grids. The ball would be snapped in the grid in which it was downed on the previous play. This system was abandoned in favor of the system of yard lines and hash marks

Hash marks

Hash marks are short lines, running perpendicular to sidelines or sideboards, used to mark locations, primarily in sports.-Usage in ice hockey:...

now used and brought the gridiron design more in line with Canadian football.

As described in Outdoor Sports and Games (1911):

A football field is 330 feet long by 160 feet wide. At each end are goal posts set 18 feet 6 inches apart, with a crossbar 10 feet above the ground. The field is marked off in chalk lines similar to a tennis court, these lines being 5 yards apart. The centre of the field where the play starts is 55 yards from either end. It is usually customary to run lines parallel to the sides of the field, also 5 yards apart, but as a field is but 160 feet wide the first and last of these lines are but 5 feet from the side lines instead of 5 yards. The lines on a football field make a checkerboard effect and have given to the field the name of "gridiron."

An example of a field that was marked in the original gridiron pattern was the old Archbold Stadium

Archbold Stadium

Archbold Stadium was a multi-purpose stadium in Syracuse, New York. It opened in 1907 and was home to the Syracuse University Orangemen football team prior to the Carrier Dome opening in 1980. It was the third concrete football stadium built in the country....

at Syracuse University

Syracuse University

Syracuse University is a private research university located in Syracuse, New York, United States. Its roots can be traced back to Genesee Wesleyan Seminary, founded by the Methodist Episcopal Church in 1832, which also later founded Genesee College...

, which has since been torn down.

Usage

The word gridiron alone can refer either to the field or to the sport. In North America, however, it is mostly used in reference to the field, usually in a somewhat figurative or poetic sense (e.g. "the players are getting set to battle it out on the gridiron".) In some other English-speaking countries—particularly Australia

Australia

and New Zealand

New Zealand

—it is the primary term used to refer to the sport, differentiating it from other forms of football

Football

such as Australian football

Australian rules football

Australian rules football, officially known as Australian football, also called football, Aussie rules or footy is a sport played between two teams of 22 players on either...

, association football, rugby league

Rugby league

Rugby league football, usually called rugby league, is a full contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular grass field. One of the two codes of rugby football, it originated in England in 1895 by a split from Rugby Football Union over paying players...

, and rugby union

Rugby union

Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...

. In British parlance the most frequently used term is American football
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...

, but gridiron is also used to describe the game.

Terminology

Gridiron football codes

Play of the game

Origin of the gridiron

Usage

See also