This portion of our web guide focuses on gridiron football, a fast-paced team sport played primarily in the United States and Canada. In gridiron football, two teams compete to advance an oval-shaped ball into the opposing end zone through strategic plays, running, and passing.
Gridiron football is a uniquely North American creation that has since crossed borders and evolved into various forms, from the fiercely competitive National Football League to recreational flag and touch football.
The term "gridiron football" originates from the appearance of early playing fields, which were marked with a checkerboard-like grid of lines to delineate five-yard intervals. These grid markings resembled a gridiron, a metal frame used for cooking over an open flame. Although modern fields have simplified markings, the name has endured.
Gridiron football traces its roots to 19th-century England, where rugby and soccer influenced the development of the game. In 1869, Rutgers and Princeton played the first intercollegiate football game in the United States, using rules closer to soccer. Over time, American football evolved as players and organizers modified the rules to create a distinct sport.
Milestones in gridiron football include the introduction of key innovations like the line of scrimmage by Walter Camp in the 1880s, the formation of the NFL in 1920, and the rise of collegiate football as a cultural phenomenon, with events like the Rose Bowl dating back to 1902.
Gridiron football is characterized by its strategic complexity and physical intensity. The game is played on a rectangular field, typically 100 yards long, with goalposts at each end. Teams of 11 players strive to advance the ball into the opposing team's end zone to score points, primarily through touchdowns and field goals.
The gameplay is divided into four quarters, and teams alternate between offense and defense. The offense has four downs to gain ten yards, resetting the court with each successful attempt. Failure to advance the required distance results in a turnover, adding a layer of risk and reward to the game.
Various leagues organize professional gridiron football play, such as the National Football League (NFL), Canadian Football League (CFL), Arena Football League (AFL), United Football League (UFL), Indoor Football League (IFL), National Arena League (NAL), Arena Football One (AFO), and others governing American football in other countries, such as Europe, Japan, and Mexico.
Additionally, there are collegiate leagues, such as the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA), California Community College Athletic Association (CCCAA), U Sports, Collegiate Sprint Football League (CSFL), National Club Football Association (NCFA), and others governing American football overseas.
Topics related to gridiron football in general, or those referring to forms of gridiron football not represented in subcategories, are appropriate resources for this category. However, those specific to a subcategory, such as American Football, should be listed in that category or an even more specific subcategory, such as National Football League.
Categories
American FootballArena FootballCanadian Football | Flag & Touch FootballYouth Football |
Recommended Resources
Exploring the Heart of the Gridiron: Football's 50-Yard Line
Published on MetroLeague, an online magazine featuring sports, outdoor activities, and adventure, the article, written by John Rizzo, and published on September 2, 2023, discusses the 50-yard line, situated in the center of the gridiron. The article answers five frequently asked questions, beginning with "What is football's 50-yard line?" The historical origins, field layout, and matters of symmetry, balance, strategic importance, symbolism, and tradition are included.
https://www.metroleague.org/football-50-yard-line_af/
Headquartered in Ottawa, Ontario, Football Canada is the governing body for gridiron football in Canada. The organization focuses primarily on the Canadian form of the sport and is currently the world's only national governing body for Canadian football. Football Canada is also Canada's representative member of the International Federation of American Football. In this capacity, it organizes the Canada men's national team, which competes in IFAF events. The organization is featured here.
https://footballcanada.com/
Published on AceArchive, which provides information on various topics, the article on gridiron football was written by someone identified simply as Hector, and published on February 25, 2023. The article discusses gridiron football as a family of football team sports played primarily in the United States and Canada, including its two most popular forms: American football and Canadian football. Etymology, history, the versions of the sport, and professional leagues are included.
https://acearchive.org/gridiron-football
Created to showcase all of the high school, college, and professional football teams across the nation, Gridiron Football is a media company first, promoting the positive aspects of football from players, coaches, and teams. Secondly, Gridiron Football hosts camps, 7v7 tournaments, the Gridiron Football All-American Bowl Game, and other events. Its staff and board are introduced, and a media kit, memberships, sponsors, a digital magazine, and an online store are available.
https://gridironfootballusa.com/
Created by a 17-year-old who had just finished his Senior season in high school football as the QB1 for his team, intending to continue playing at Crown College, a D3 in Minnesota. The site discusses football leagues (the National Football League, College, and alternative leagues). The website includes plays and formations, 7-on-7 football playbooks, youth tackle football playbooks, a spread offense playbook, a high school tackle football playbook, and player safety information.
https://www.thegridirongeek.com/
Huddlecourt is a platform dedicated to sports enthusiasts, offering in-depth coverage and updates on various sports like basketball, football, baseball, and soccer, as well as blogs, guides, and highlights from other major events, such as the Olympics. Its section on football focuses on American football as exemplified in the National Football League (NFL), although it also covers other gridiron football teams and programs, including a guide to American football scoring rules.
https://huddlecourt.com/football/
Irish, North American & World Gridiron Football Archive
This is an archive dedicated to gridiron football in Ireland. It covers statistics and historical records for the American Football Association of Ireland (1984-1999), Irish American Football Association (2001-2019), and American Football Ireland (2020-2022), as well as other versions of the game, such as flag football, regional football leagues, Canadian football, the X-Leagues, International gridiron football, 8v8 football, 7x7 football, arena football, and early gridiron football.
https://eirball.ie/
Six-man football is a variant of gridiron football played with six players per team, rather than the standard eleven or twelve. The game is generally played in rural areas of the United States and Canada as a means for small high schools to field a football team. Touting itself as "The Bible of Six-Man Football in Texas, this site includes schedules, ranking, scores, spreads, and both fan and player resources, including discussion forums, photographs, and videos.
https://sixmanfootball.com/
