Greek/Roman Football History

Perhaps the closest relative to modern football are the games that were formed by the Greeks during the prime of their culture. They had numerous varieties of football style games, some of which required hands, some of which forbade hands.
In the end, after the Roman conquering of Greece, the game Harpastum is what modern football would be based from. This game, probably a modified version of the Greek's "Harpaston", which translates roughly to handball. While grossly misnamed, this game is what is considered to be one of the precursors to modern football.

Japanese Football History

Kemari, the Japanese version of "Football", is perhaps one of the most different forms of the sport, in comparison to modern football. Kemari was a game of "keep it up", much like modern hacky sacks, although used with a larger ball that was stuffed with saw dust. This version involves a "pitch", or the field, designated by the selection of four trees, the cherry, maple, pine and willow. Many great houses in Japan would grow trees to have a permanent pitch, or field, established.
Kemari was normally played with two to twelve players. Established in roughly 1004 B.C., it vies for position of the oldest game with China's Tsu Chu. In fact, China's Tsu Chu players and Japan's Kemari players were the first to have an "International" game of their versions of Football, which is dated to have occurred in roughly 50 B.C., although a definite date of 611 A.D. is known. Regardless, this game stands with China as a sister sport to Football, while it never affected the modern version of the game.

History of Football

The origins of modern football originated in Britain, but there is a great deal of evidence that points to this game as having a much older history.
This is a short history on some of the main known varieties of football, for instance it misses out the Native Americans who had their own variety mostly because of a lack of documentation on its origins.

Chinese Football History
To many, this is the oldest version of football to exist. However, there is quite a lot of controversy of whether or not this is the oldest, or Japan's version is the elder. The likelihood is that as this version was much more organised it would of evolved from an older form of the game such as the Japanese version. The Chinese version of the game, originally named "Tsu Chu", involved players on a field that had to hit a leather ball stuffed with fur into a small hole. Like Football, no hands were permitted during the play of the game, and it was considered an honour to be a member of a team.
The Emperor of the Han Dynasty, when the game was developed, was an avid player and fan, and spread the popularity of this game all over China during his reign. This roughly dates back to 300 B.C., although there is controversy on the subject of dating, which could result in the origins of the game being as far back as 5000 B.C. Regardless, this version of Football is extremely old. Despite that, there is still a version of Tsu Chu played today.

The History of Football Spin-Offs

Flag football has been around since the 1940’s. It was designed as recreation for soldiers on military bases. Every December since 1979, there has been a National Collegiate Flag Football Championship. Children are often introduced to the sport of football through flag football, which many feel is much safer than tackle football.
In 1981, a man watching an indoor soccer game got the idea for Arena Football. In 1987, the first game was played. The sport is much faster paced and higher scoring than traditional football.
In 2001, there was a spring league formed called the XFL (Extreme Football League) with ties to professional wrestling. The games were very low-rated on TV and the league only lasted one disastrous season.
Whether it’s high school football on Friday nights, College Football on Saturdays, or NFL games on Sundays and Monday nights, football is one of the most popular sports in the United States (as well as Canada and Australia). It will no doubt continue to be played, perfected, and loved for many decades to come.

Monday Night Football

Monday Night Football began as an idea that the NFL tried to sell to CBS or NBC. Both networks declined. CBS had the successful "Laugh In" on that night, and NBC had the "Doris Day Show." ABC was the last to be offered the deal, and they jumped on it. In September of 1970, Monday Night Football made it’s debut. It, of course, was wildly successful, and is still on today.
Incidentally, one of the main arguments against prime time, weekday football was that women would never watch, which might keep households from watching. In 2003, women made up a little over 40% of the Monday Night Football audience.

Professional Football

Football players are outrageous these days will be shocked to learn that the first paid player got $500 for one game. In 1892, that was a small fortune. The cause of it was a serious local rivalry. The Allegheny Athletic Association (AAA) was playing the Pittsburgh Athletic Club (PAC). The AAA was so desperate to win this game that they found a guard who played for Yale and the All-America team and paid him to make sure they won. His name was William "Pudge" Heffelfinger, and the AAA did win (four to nothing) after he ran 35 yards for a touchdown.
In 1893, the PAC wised up. They made a smarter decision than their rivals did, and signed the first player to a professional paid contract. The player had to play for Pittsburgh for the entire year. Not to be outdone, in 1896, the AAA decided to have the first completely pro team, but only played two games that season.
In 1897, the Latrobe Athletic Association team also went to a completely paid team, and they were the first to play a full season as professionals. The history of football now goes pro.
In 1899, the longest running pro team began. On the south side of Chicago, the Morgan Athletic Club was formed. After going through a handful of name changes, they are now (since 1994) the Arizona Cardinals.
For the next twenty years, chaos grew. Salaries were rising, and the players were abandoning teams and contracts and running to the highest bidder. College players were playing both college and pro, teams were disbanding and forming throughout every season, and the sport lacked organization. In 1920, the American Professional Football Association was formed.
In 1922, the association officially changed their name to the National Football League. The first American Football League came and went in 1926, lasting only the one season. There were several other leagues, including the AAFC, USFL (a spring league), and many reincarnations of the AFL. All finally merged with the NFL..
The first NFL draft took place in 1936. The first drafted player was Jay Berwanger, a halfback for Chicago. He chose not to play.
On September 7, 1963, the Pro Football Hall of Fame opened in Canton, Ohio, where the NFL was first formed as the APFA. That same year, NFL Properties, Inc., was formed to deal with the licensing of merchandise including replica jerseys.
Birth of the Super Bowl
1966 was the most contentious year between the NFL and the AFL. Both leagues spent a record amount of money recruiting the best players. They finally agreed to merge, but not until 1970. At the end of the 1966 season, the first AFL - NFL World Championship Game was played. The Green Bay Packers beat the Kansas City Chiefs 35 to 10. The third AFL-NFL World Championship was called the "Super Bowl" in 1969 (after the 1968 season). The name stuck, and the 1967 World Championship became the first Super Bowl. After the two leagues combined in 1970, the Super Bowl became a game played between the two best NFL teams, which were now divided into conferences.
Ever wonders when the Super Bowl commercials started to become big business? In 1984, a British director named Ridley Scott directed a commercial for Apple Computers where they announced the upcoming availability of Macintosh Computers. The rest is history - Scott became a famous director (Black Hawk Down, Gladiator), and Super Bowl commercials are definitely the most expensive, and usually the most entertaining, on television.