Walter Camp

Walter Chauncey Camp (1859-1925), played a major role in reshaping the rules of American football so that it would be distinct from rugby football. As an undergraduate and then a medical student at Yale (1876-1881), Camp played football and served as team captain (at that time, equivalent to head coach). Among his innovations were reducing the number of players on a side from 15 to 11, introducing the scrimmage, giving one team definite possession of the ball, and proposing the downs system.