Early Codes

The 1887-88 American Football Association annual published by Peck & Snyder. From the collection of Kurt Rausch.

“The Noxious Scottish Weed”: Early North American soccer and the Laws of the Game

March 31, 2022

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AFA, Canada, Early Codes:

Ed Farnsworth, Tom McCabe, and Kurt Rausch consider why the first soccer associations in North America favored the Scottish FA over the English FA as the source for their Laws of the Game.

The Young Men's Catholic Total Abstinence Football Team of New Bedford, MA pose with their trophies after the 1913-14 season

How it Began

April 6, 2021

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Early Codes:

Brian D. Bunk on how teams and matches were organized in the early period of US soccer history.

When a goal is not a goal

When a goal is not a goal

November 19, 2015

1 comment

College Soccer, Early Codes, New Jersey, New York:

An examination of the Columbia-Rutgers game played on Nov. 2, 1872 shows it was played under a form of association football rules, not American gridiron rules.

1858: A pivotal year in early American “Foot-ball”

1858: A pivotal year in early American “Foot-ball”

October 14, 2015

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Early Codes:

By 1858, two forms of football were being played in the US, the kicking game and the carrying game.

America and the 1863 Football Association Code

America and the 1863 Football Association Code

October 6, 2015

3 comments

Early Codes:

A look at the early history of football in the US, before and after the 1863 Laws of the Game.