- Image by Landahlauts via Flickr
Back in the early days of American football (which is known as gridiron in other parts of the world), it was a brutally dangerous sport. Granted, football will probably never reach a point where it is gentle and refined. But back in those days, broken bones happened during every game, and deaths on the field were disturbingly commonplace. While many people will reference the lack of game related protection (and it definitely played a part), the early game itself had a flaw or two that endangered the lives of those who played it. All the padding in the world will only protect you so much, after all- especially when you’re essentially fighting a war without weapons.
It is true that in the early days of the game, players did not wear helmets or padding. Back in those days, wearing a sweater and leather pants was all the body protection a guy could get. And in order to protect their heads, the players actually grew their hair long, as if that would help in some fashion. As you can probably surmise, injuries were common to the point of uninjured players being regarded as being freakishly lucky. In time, helmets were introduced… but that was when the game was over ten years old. Players from that generation had some seriously hard knocks to contend with.
As well, the way the game was played could be considered barbaric… or a great way to reduce the male population, depending on how cruel your sense of humor may be. Before anyone invented the passing game, carrying the football to the opposite end of the field generally consisted of running at full force toward the other team, with the intention to go through them with pure, brutal force. While the spectacle must have been amazing, human bodies were not meant to crash into each other at full speed. At that speed, the impacting force would be rather like crashing your car.
