# Canonical recap data for American Football Association Formed (1869)
# Source: https://recap.at/1869/first-football-game
# Format: YAML 1.2 (UTF-8). Generated at request time.
slug: first-football-game
canonicalUrl: "https://recap.at/1869/first-football-game"
title: American Football Association Formed
subtitle: The first organized American football game between Rutgers and Princeton in 1869 marked the sport's emergence from rugby chaos into codified competitive rules.
recapType: global_event
eventStatus: concluded
startDate: 1869-01-01
datePrecision: year
year: 1869
decade: 1860
country:
name: United States
slug: united-states
summaryShort: "American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with possession of the oval-shaped football, attempts to advance down the "
summaryLong: American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with possession of the oval-shaped football, attempts to advance down the field by running with the ball or throwing it, while the defense, the team without possession of the ball, aims to stop the offense's advance and to take control of the ball for themselves. The offense must advance the ball at least ten yards in four downs or plays; if they fail, they turn over the football to the defense. If they succeed, they are given a new set of four downs to continue the drive. Points are scored primarily by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone for a touchdown or kicking the ball through the opponent's goalposts for a field goal. The team with the most points at the end of the game wins. In the case of a tie after four quarters, the game enters overtime.
heroImageUrl: "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/df/Larry_Fitzgerald_catches_TD_at_2009_Pro_Bowl.jpg/1280px-Larry_Fitzgerald_catches_TD_at_2009_Pro_Bowl.jpg"
heroImageCredit: Wikipedia · "American football"
importance: 81
sourceConfidence: 75
keyFacts: []
timeline: []
sources:
- url: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_football"
  title: American football
  provider: Wikipedia
related: []
categories:
- sports
metaDescription: American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of el
wikidataQid: Q41323
archiveSnapshots:
- url: "https://web.archive.org/web/20260627203828/https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_football"
  capturedAt: 2026-06-27
  label: American football
  originalUrl: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_football"
