page_title: Early history of American football
section_title: Michigan and Illinois
hierarchical_section_title: Early history of American football / Early history of intercollegiate football (1869–1932) / Period of Rules Committees and Conference (1894–1932) / Move towards modernization and innovation (1906–1932) / Midwest / Michigan and Illinois
caption_attribution_description: English: American football player "Red" Harold Grange (1903-1991)
context_page_description: The early history of American football can be traced to early versions of rugby football and association football. Both games have their origin in varieties of football played in Britain in the mid–19th century, in which a football is kicked at a goal or run over a line, which in turn were based on the varieties of English public school football games.
  American football resulted from several major divergences from association football and rugby football, most notably the rule changes instituted by Walter Camp, a Yale University and Hopkins School graduate considered to be the "father of gridiron football". Among these important changes were the introduction of the line of scrimmage, of down-and-distance rules and of the legalization of interference.
  In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, gameplay developments by college coaches such as Eddie Cochems, Amos Alonzo Stagg, Parke H. Davis, Knute Rockne, John Heisman, and Glenn "Pop" Warner helped take advantage of the newly introduced forward pass. The popularity of college football grew in the United States for the first half of the 20th century.
context_section_description: Bernard Kirk transferred to Michigan in 1920, and died in a car wreck after being selected All-American in 1922. Michigan won a national title in 1923, led by the likes of Harry Kipke and Jack Blott. In 1925, Benny Friedman to Bennie Oosterbaan proved one of the sport's great pass-receiver combinations. Yost proclaimed the 1925 team his greatest.
  Also in 1923, Red Grange burst on the scene at Illinois. Grange then vaulted to national prominence as a result of his performance in the October 18, 1924 game against Michigan. This was the grand opening game for the new Memorial Stadium, built as a memorial to University of Illinois students and alumni who had served in World War I. The Michigan Wolverines were going for the national championship. He returned the opening kickoff for a 95-yard touchdown and scored three more touchdowns on runs of 67, 56, and 44 yards in the first 12 minutes–the last three in less than seven minutes. On his next carry, he ran 56 yards for yet another touchdown. Before the game was over, Grange ran back another kickoff for yet another touchdown. He scored six touchdowns in all. Illinois won the game by a lopsided score of 39 to 14.
  The game inspired Grantland Rice to write this poetic description:
  A streak of fire, a breath of flame
  
  Eluding all who reach and clutch;
  
  A gray ghost thrown into the game
  
  That rival hands may never touch;
  
  A rubber bounding, blasting soul
  
  Whose destination is the goal — Red Grange of Illinois!
caption: Red Grange
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