Football Coach

Father of American Football.

Walter Camp, who was associated with football at Yale University from 1876 to 1910, first as a player and then as a coach, is considered the "Father of American Football." He played football at Yale from 1876 to 1882, four years as an undergraduate and the final two as a medical student. As the team captain, from 1877 to 1880, Camp developed rule changes that cast the foundation of modern American football; among his innovations were the scrimmage and the downs system. He also served as secretary of the intercollegiate football rules convention from 1877 to 1906.

Unofficial Coach.

Although Camp started working for the Manhattan Watch Company in New Haven, Connecticut, in 1882, he served as Yale's unofficial advisory coach until 1910. Since he could not attend the team's daily practice sessions, he analyzed the team's progress from detailed notes taken by his wife. In the evenings Camp...