Those who believed that crossing the goal line was the ultimate test of a team’s strength succeeded over the next twenty-five years in increasing the value of the touchdown and point after until the combination exceeded the value of two field goals. A touchdown followed by a successful goal after touchdown play resulted in six points, establishing the precedent that the ability to cross the opponent's goal line mattered.įootball's scoring system from 1983 to the present.Īs shown in the table above, the shifting perspectives on the game led to the touchdown and goal after touchdown switching point values in 1887. Still, since football was less than a decade removed from rugby, kicking a goal from field (via drop kick) was the most highly valued play and earned five points. The IFA eliminated its equivalency-based scoring system in 1883 when Walter Camp pushed for the point-based system we have today. Rather than keep rugby's rule, the IFA reduced the value of goals after touchdowns by making them worth one-fourth the value of a goal from field. The try had value because it gave the offensive team an uncontested attempt to kick a goal. ![]() In rugby, the try (or touchdown) was not worth points in itself. Rugby did not differentiate goals kicked from the field (field goals) from those coming from a free kick following a try (or touchdown). Under the rugby rules of the time, the team kicking the most goals won the game. The Intercollegiate Football Association meeting of 1876, which established the rules of American football, adopted England’s Rugby Code almost verbatim, with the most significant exception being the game’s scoring. The touchdown is primary and counts six points, while the point(s) after is secondary, worth one or two points, but that was not the case when football began. Those of us living in the 21st Century know the point(s) after touchdown are less important than the touchdown itself. These differences resulted in dramatic changes in the number of points awarded and the process of earning those points over time. Although it seems so today, the process of scoring points following a touchdown has been among football’s most controversial issues, reflecting differences in the desired style of play among football's stakeholders.
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