Evolution of the Game

The game of Eborian Football looks nowadays very much like its North American cousin, apart from terminology and field being slightly wider not too different at all. This hasn’t always been the case.

The origins of Football, Eborian style were originally focused on an 1800s adaptation of a Gaelic football game and then adapted further once news of the the very exciting new game that was making waves in the late 1900s in Northern England- the Northern Rugby Union or Rugby League. The league rules continued mimic Rugby League until the 1930s, when, under American influence, teams experimented with the North American rules.

The original game featured Rugby style posts with teams scoring one point for a goal over (an ‘Over’) the crossbar and two points for under the bar (an ‘Under’). Teams used goalkeepers in the beginning.  Teams were setting up all over the land and regional leagues were forming as soon as one was needed. This continued until the Northern English rules starting taking over in 1905. This caused a split and Eborian Football changed its path, whilst the ‘purists’ stuck to the amateur Eborian ‘Real Football’.

Over a period of around twenty years the influence of Rugby League took over and the oval ball was increasingly gaining preference as the running game flourished.  the ‘under’ goal was removed and replaced by the Try for Goal. That was worth 1 point, with the (over) field goal worth 3 points. The field was divided into 25 yard quarters. Teams were allowed five tackles to move out of the quarter field  or hand the ball to the opposition.

In 1925 the Eborian Football League (EFL)  was set up. The Professional game now had a national league. Play in the Universities was slow outside of the Alpha League Schools, this was partly due to the indifference of the people to the schools, but also to regional rules being employed.  1920s Football was confusing if you weren’t a local. National league rules differed from the local leagues and collegiate ranks, as they used 4 tackles to get 10 yards.

So, in 1937, The EFL and the NUSA (National University Sports Association) got together to set up unified rules, to codify the game properly.

Forward Pass controversy
One of the big differences between the EFL and NUSA was the EFL’s decision to legalise the forward pass in 1947. This allowed one forward pass per tackle (down), if made before crossing the Scrummage line.  The NUSA committees has flat-out refused, they wouldn’t come around to it until the mid 1960s, when peer pressure was too much.

Initially, the ‘purists’, who denied the forward pass as a legal tool, said this was why the EFL went bust in 1949, that the pro game had destroyed itself. However, the way that regional competitions and the national Donnelly Cup gained traction with fans, stated otherwise. The student game was seen as stuffy, need modernising. With the rush to university education being promoted nationally in the 1950s, it was a chance to get more Eborians on-side with their product and create allegiances.

In 1981, the number of points for a touchdown was changed from five to six points, meaning with the conversion you got seven points, better than two field goals. The new scoring system was :
Touchdown – 6 pts
Conversion (Extra Point) – 1 pt
Double Conversion/ Rogue (safety) / Penalty kick – 2 pts
Field Goal 3 pts.

Having reduced the players from 14, to 13 and then 11, standardised 4 tackles (now downs) to get 10 yards, added pads and helmets and standardised scoring, the game became more alike their Northern American counterparts.