Calling the football field a gridiron is common but here is the story behind the term.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gridiron_football

Football fields used to be marked like this. Syracuse's Archbold Stadium

I already knew this but thanks for sharing!

College football history is fascinating.

I literally just came across this last night...I never knew. Yes old football history is fascinating. Amazing to see Ivy League stadiums as big or bigger than P5 schools back in the day.

Double click to enlarge....

My dad was born in 1918 and played high school ball on the old gridiron. He told me that when a ball carrier was tackled the ball was placed for play right where he was tackled. If he went out of bounds the ball was placed 1 yard from the sideline.

Although I knew the reason why its called a gridiron, I never thought about this question before.

Why did they switch to series of hash marks only? Why not just draw a vertical line up and down the field where the hash marks are?

Ok you probably need the hash marks to know what the yard line it is, but you could still put in a skinny vertical line where the hash marks are to better define the ball placement area. Maybe its redundant. I don't know.

I vaguely remember removal of the grid being related to the forward pass. Originally the forward pass was limited to 5 yards left or right of the center. Once the forward pass became popular and the rules relaxed, the grid was changed to the markings we have now.

My guess for the hash marks is that they represent the yard-lines. Placement of the ball left/right is not as critical as placement on the proper yard line.

You want to know it's crazy? I have a buddy who is working for a company and they are designing a field with fiber-optics in it. That way, the field can be s true soccer field with only soccer lines on a Saturday afternoon and it can immediately transition to a football field immediately following the game with the flip of a switch. It will also show things like line to gain (like you have a home) and other cool features. That's the next wave in these new artificial turf fields.

These fields will be able to turn blue or red or yellow with a simple keystroke. We are just a few years away from that.

Pass had to go at least five yards to the left or right and if the ball touched anyone but was incomplete, either team could recover as a fumble. If it touched no one in flight, defense got the ball. The passer had to be at least five yards behind the line of scrimmage.

Then they changed the incomplete pass rule. Incomplete was just a dead ball returned to the line of scrimmage but two incomplete passes on a series was a five yard penalty.

In 1934 they liberalized the rules. An incomplete pass in the endzone was no longer a turnover IF it was the first pass of the series of downs. Throw a second time incomplete and it was a touchback. The five yard penalty for two incomplete passes was repealed.

Good read - thanks Mark!

(12-21-2016 04:38 PM)Dr. Isaly von Yinzer Wrote:  You want to know it's crazy? I have a buddy who is working for a company and they are designing a field with fiber-optics in it. That way, the field can be s true soccer field with only soccer lines on a Saturday afternoon and it can immediately transition to a football field immediately following the game with the flip of a switch. It will also show things like line to gain (like you have a home) and other cool features. That's the next wave in these new artificial turf fields.

These fields will be able to turn blue or red or yellow with a simple keystroke. We are just a few years away from that.

I have a strange suspicion that Oregon will be the first to sign up for one.

So can these new fields display advertising in between plays?--if so, Roger Godell would like to order 31 of them.