Reform of American football

Both forms of rugby and American football were noted at the time for serious injuries, as well as the deaths of a significant
number of players. By the early 20th century in the U.S.A., this had resulted in national controversy and
American football was banned by a number of colleges. Consequently, a series of meetings was held by 19
colleges in 1905–06. This occurred reputedly at the behest of President Theodore Roosevelt.
He was considered a fancier of the game, but he threatened to ban it unless the rules were modified to
reduce the numbers of deaths and disabilities. The meetings are now considered to be the origin of the
National Collegiate Athletic Association.One proposed change was a widening of the playing field.
However, Harvard University had just built a concrete stadium and therefore objected to widening,
instead proposing legalisation of the forward pass. The report of the meetings introduced many
restrictions on tackling and two more divergences from rugby: the forward pass and the banning of
mass formation plays. The changes did not immediately have the desired effect, and 33 American football players
were killed during 1908 alone. However, the number of deaths and injuries did gradually decline.