Today’s Tidbit… IFA Rule #14 Scrimmage Ball Handling

This is #14 in a series covering football’s original 61 rules adopted by the Intercollegiate Football Association in 1876. We review one rule each Friday.

As covered in the discussion of Rule 12, ball movement in rugby of the 1870s primarily came from driving the scrum toward the opponent’s goals and kicking the ball downfield from within the scrum. Heeling the ball back to be picked up by a teammate behind the scrum was not illegal but was frowned upon. While the latter was an unwritten rule, ru...