Antedating of American "Football"

Thu Apr 14 23:47:28 UTC 2011

The hell with football, let's hear some more about "tetotaciously"

Bill P

On Thu, Apr 14, 2011 at 4:24 PM, George Thompson <george.thompson at nyu.edu>wrote:

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> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       George Thompson <george.thompson at NYU.EDU>
> Subject:      Re: Antedating of American "Football"
>
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
>        We had our foot ball on the Green today and were just beginning to
> enjoy some good sport with it, when the old Praeses put his veto on it and
> knocked up our sport tetotaciously.
>        George Templeton Strong, Diary, ed. Allan Nevins & Milton Halsey
> Thomas. New York: Macmillan, 1952, I:65, entry of May 23, 1837.  [scene is
> Columbia College, then near NY City Hall]
>
> There are quite a number of references to "playing ball", "ball games", &c,
> in the U. S. from the early 19th c, and indeed the 18th c, but,
> irresponsibly, most do not give enough detail to show whether the ball was
> being hit with a bat, kicked or thrown.
>
> GAT
>
> George A. Thompson
> Author of A Documentary History of "The African Theatre", Northwestern
> Univ. Pr., 1998, but nothing much lately.  Working on a new edition, though.
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Joel S. Berson" <Berson at ATT.NET>
> Date: Thursday, April 14, 2011 12:09 pm
> Subject: Re: Antedating of American "Football"
>  To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
>
> > Following in the (base) path, or foot steps, of John Thorn, and
> > wondering how soon U.S. newspapers reported the "first match of the
> > [first?] season" --
> >
> > The question of when "American football" started is definitely beyond
> > my untangling.  Simplifying [!], Wikipedia's article "History of
> > American football" starts with varieties of English "mob football";
> > the banning of football at Yale and Harvard in 1860 and 1861; the
> > "Boston game" and its "Oneida Football Club" of 1862; and the revival
> > of intramural football in the late 1860s.  Progressing to
> > "Intercollegiate football", it discusses Rutgers--Princeton (1869),
> > "played with a round ball under "Football Association" rules (i.e.
> > soccer) but [] often regarded as the first game of intercollegiate
> > football"; rules standardization in 1873--1880; and finally Walter
> > Camp and his 11-man team, "line of scrimmage", and "snap" to the
> > quarterback, adopted in 1880.
> >
> > So was the game named in Fred's 1873 citation "American
> > football"?  The question is not, I think, facetious -- although
> > perhaps pointless, since between 1862 (the Oneida Club year) and 1880
> > (Walter Camp's year), 19th Century U.S. Newspapers has 629 quotations
> > for "football"!  Finding quotations that actually say anything about
> > the rules seems like the proverbial haystack.  I only looked for/at:
> >
> > 1808 -- the earliest hit for "football", which happens to be figurative.
> > "football" + "Oneida" -- the earliest hit is 1898, from Milwaukee.
> > "football" + "Boston" -- the earliest hit is 1887, from [doh] Boston
> > (University).
> > 1873 -- a couple below.
> > "football" + "camp" -- the earliest hit is 1889, an interview with
> > Walter after Yale's defeat.
> > "American football" (as phrase) -- the earliest hit is 1885; this
> > plus 1889 (as far as I went) are perhaps useful (see (0) below).
> >
> > Citations all from 19th C. U.S. Newspapers.
> >
> > (0)  "American football" [here adjectival], s.v. "American, n. and
> > adj.", interdates OED2 1879 -- 1943
> >
> > (0A)  1885 --
> >
> > World of Sport.
> > [continued from Second Page]
> > ...
> > The football controversy continues to flourish. C. J. Williams, an
> > English amateur athlete and football player of great experience and
> > who is now captain of the Chicago football club, gives his experience
> > with American football players as follows. "On November 22 last," he
> > writes, "I took a team of English Rugby football players to Ann
> > Arbor, Mich., to play the University at that place. We played under
> > the American Intercollegiate rules and had about the roughest game I
> > ever played, and I have played the game for over twenty years. As the
> > Harvard committee very justly remark, 'International off-side play
> > and unlawful interference with opponents who were not running with
> > the ball were the rule rather than the exception," ..."
> >
> > [The rest of the article does not imply anything more about the
> > rules, only describing the "savage" play but the "gentlemanly" players.]
> >
> > Rocky Mountain News, (Denver, CO) Monday, February 02, 1885; pg. 2
> > [continuation presumably on page 3]; col A [in continuation of
> > article, 2nd col.]
> >
> > (0B)  1889 --
> >
> > Football Next. / The Game as Played by American Students.  [By Edward
> > Bunnell Phelps.]
> >
> > ["American football organization" appears in the first column.  The
> > article goes on with a lengthy discussion of the playing field and
> > rules, calling it "a rough description of the American game of
> > football".  The description has Camp's eleven players, scrimmage
> > line, and "quarter back" to whom the ball is passed; and [like
> > rugby?] running, handing off, and kicking.  There is no mention of 10
> > yards in 4 downs; play is continuous until a goal is
> > scored.  (Strangely, the article seems not to say what constitutes a
> > "goal"!) The article ends by listing the members of the
> > Intercollegiate Football association, and praising Yale's success.]
> >
> > Bismarck Daily Tribune, (Bismarck, ND) Saturday, September 14, 1889;
> > pg. 4; col A
> >
> >
> > 1)  1808 -- Football, n., sense 3., figurative,  interdates OED2 1711
> > - 1879
> >
> > Perish the wretch who would tamely submit to be the football of
> > George and Napoleon, to furnish sport for these ambitious despots!
> >
> > Raleigh Register, and North-Carolina Weekly Advertiser, (Raleigh, NC)
> > Thursday, February 04, 1808; Issue [437]; [page apparently the last;
> > contains colophon]; col B.
> >
> >
> > 2)  1873 Oct. 9 -- perhaps/perhaps not sense 2.b [same year as Fred's
> > quotation, slightly earlier, but before the convention and the
> > Rutgers--Yale game]
> >
> > Another curious illustration of the way that games rise and fall in
> > Yale College has just been afforded. Three years ago football was
> > unknown; last year the football ground was crowded every afternoon;
> > this year nobody takes the slightest interest in it.
> >
> > Boston Daily Advertiser (Boston, MA) Thursday, October 09, 1873;
> > Issue 87; [page not given]; col G
> >
> > [What rules were used at Yale in 1873, when no-one took the slightest
> > interest in it?  At least in *early* October!  :-) ]
> >
> >
> > 3)  1873 Nov. 6 -- the "Boston game"?  [this is chronologically the
> > next hit in 1873 after Oct. 9]
> >
> > Cambridge, Wednesday, Nov. 5---The regular meeting of the board of
> > alderman was held this evening ... The committee on public property,
> > which had under consideration the petition of the Harvard students
> > for leave to play football on the Public Common, reported leave to
> withdraw.
> >
> > Boston Daily Advertiser (Boston, MA) Thursday, November 06, 1873;
> > Issue 111; [apparently page 1]; col C
> >
> > Joel
> >
> > At 4/14/2011 06:38 AM, Shapiro, Fred wrote:
> > >I posted this citation some years ago, but let me do so again in
> > >response to Victor's recent post about the word "football."  The
> > >following antedates the OED for the American sense of the word
> "football":
> > >
> > >
> > >football (OED, 2.b., 1881)
> > >
> > >1873 _Forest and Stream_ 30 Oct. 189  The game of Foot Ball is truly
> > >pleasing, not only for the spirit and amusement which it affords to
> > >the mind, but the good results which the constitution derives from
> > >such active exercise.  There is no game, not even base ball, which
> > >combines so much bustle, so much "hurrying to and fro," or heathful
> > >[sic] pastime for the young men of our Universities and Colleges, as
> > >foot ball. ... The Foot Ball season opened on October 18th.  The
> > >following Colleges sent delegates to the convention which was held
> > >in this city, namely -- Rutgers, Yale and Princeton.  Harvard
> > >College having adopted rules of their own, it was useless for them
> > >to send any members to the convention.  Columbia College was not
> > >represented.  The first match of the season was played on October
> > >25th at Hamilton Park between Rutgers and Yale.
> > >
> > >
> > >Fred Shapiro
> > >Editor
> > >YALE BOOK OF QUOTATIONS (Yale University Press)
> >
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