In Europe, “football” is the term used for the game we call soccer. Oddly enough, North American football was actually devised from the game of soccer.
Professional football is conducted under the rules of the National Football League (NFL). The game as we know it, is very different from those early days. The first soccer game ever played in America was between Princeton and Rutgers colleges. This evolved into football and in 1876, Walter Camp, known as the “Father of American Football”, wrote the rules of American football.
In the early 1900s, football players were paid only $500 to play professional football. You can’t even get a pro player to attend an autograph signing for that amount these days. The Allegheny Athletic Association and the Pittsburgh Athletic Club were the first teams to play football, as we know it. As professional football evolved, more teams began to form. The first teams to become professional were the Pittsburgh Pirates (now known as the Steelers), the Bears, Cardinals, Giants, and Packers. The Cardinals were the very first professional football team. At that time, the Cardinals were based in Chicago. Over...