Who Invented American Football? Part Four: Once upon a time in a cozy pub in London , , ,

Who Invented This Sport? is part of the Sports History Network - The Headquarters For Sports Yesteryear.

EPISODE SUMMARY

Writing of America’s independence from Britain, Barbara Holland wrote, “Our Revolution was born and raised in taverns.” So was true for arguably the most impactful sports revolution of all time.

In 1863, a monumental meeting takes place to form a football league bonded and bounded by common rules. On a dank London night, a committee of 12 representatives from seven adult football clubs and three boarding school sides sit down at London’s Freemasons’ Tavern, drink beers, and attempt to classify and codify the laws of football from a hodgepodge of existing sets of rules.

Our guest, Professor Tony Collins, will take us back to the Freemasons' Tavern and on to Boston, where, in 1874, a consequential match takes place--one that will guide our quest to discover who invented American football.

Professor Collins is a professor of sports history at De Montfort University and the author of a number of award-winning books on the social history of sport.. His titles include How Football Began and The Oval World: a global history of Rugby.

Professor Collins' website and his rugby podcast Rugby Reload

WHO INVENTED THIS SPORT? BACKGROUND

Who Invented This Sport? is a sports time machine invented by two lifelong friends who are obsessed with the origins of sports as diverse as basketball and bobsledding and beyond. Each episode, we travel back through time and share with you a particular sport’s sources and evolution. The heroes of these treasure hunts are the sports inventors, innovators, and pioneers. And since history is not only the past but also the present and future, we interview sports experts, who will discuss their sport’s yesterday, today, and tomorrow.

The Who Invented This Sport? podcast spans the sports globe and travels through time to report on gems from the fascinating and ingenious world of sports origins history.

HOST BIOS (ROGER HARB AND DAVID DREWS)

Roger Harb and David Drews are the creators and producers of Who Invented This Sport, a podcast that spans the world of sports origins stories.

Roger and David’s life-long friendship began in college, where one summer they started their first business adventure together–a window washing partnership. Under a scorching Tennessee sun, the two washed windows and further bonded while discussing sports and other important matters.

Later collaborating on numerous media projects, including documentaries, these two sports enthusiasts dreamed of one day finding a means to share unique, intriguing sports stories with fellow students of sports history. The advent and popularity of podcasts opened the door for Roger and David to create and launch Who Invented This Sport.

Roger has 30 years experience in radio and television marketing, broadcasting, and production. Over the past 40 years, David has transitioned from being a commercial banker to a high school English teacher to a filmmaker and novelist. David is the author of the recently released Iron Tigers–a novel inspired by the team that conquered Dixie and launched Southern football.

Roger and David are grateful for the opportunity to explore and share a variety of sports origin stories and how each evolved.

Mentioned in this episode:

Sports History Network Theme Song

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