Burnside Rules
Encyclopedia
The Burnside rules were a set of rules that transformed Canadian football
from a rugby
-style game to the gridiron
-style game it has remained ever since. Named after Thrift Burnside, captain of the University of Toronto
football team (although he did not originate them-- see below), and first adopted by the Ontario Rugby Football Union
in 1903, the rules introduced sweeping changes to the way football was played. The rules included:
All of these rules were derived from American football rules already in place at the time, which had been developed by Walter Camp
for use in American football in the 1880s. Although these rules are standard today, at the time they were considered radical. Other teams outside the Ontario Rugby Football Union refused to adopt them until 1905.
Canadian football
Canadian football is a form of gridiron football played exclusively in Canada in which two teams of 12 players each compete for territorial control of a field of play long and wide attempting to advance a pointed prolate spheroid ball into the opposing team's scoring area...
from a rugby
Rugby football
Rugby football is a style of football named after Rugby School in the United Kingdom. It is seen most prominently in two current sports, rugby league and rugby union.-History:...
-style game to the gridiron
Gridiron football
Gridiron football , sometimes known as North American football, is an umbrella term for related codes of football primarily played in the United States and Canada. The predominant forms of gridiron football are American football and Canadian football...
-style game it has remained ever since. Named after Thrift Burnside, captain of the University of Toronto
University of Toronto
The University of Toronto is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, situated on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution of higher learning in Upper Canada...
football team (although he did not originate them-- see below), and first adopted by the Ontario Rugby Football Union
Ontario Rugby Football Union
The Ontario Rugby Football Union or ORFU was an early amateur Canadian football league with teams in the Canadian province of Ontario. The ORFU was founded in 1883 and in 1903 became the first major competition to adopt the Burnside Rules, from which the modern Canadian football code would...
in 1903, the rules introduced sweeping changes to the way football was played. The rules included:
- the reduction to 12 players per side from the standard 15
- the "snapSnap (football)A snap starts each American football and Canadian football play from scrimmage.-Action:...
-back" system in which the ball was heeled backward from the line of scrimmageLine of scrimmageIn American and Canadian football a line of scrimmage is an imaginary transverse line beyond which a team cannot cross until the next play has begun...
by the centerCenter (American football)Center is a position in American football and Canadian football . The center is the innermost lineman of the offensive line on a football team's offense... - the requirement for a team to make ten yardYardA yard is a unit of length in several different systems including English units, Imperial units and United States customary units. It is equal to 3 feet or 36 inches...
s in three successive downDown (football)A down is a period in which a play transpires in American and Canadian football.-Description:A down begins with a snap or free kick , and ends when the ball or the player in possession of it is declared down by an official, a team scores, or the ball or player in possession of it leaves the field...
s or lose possession of the ball - the reduction to six men from the previous eight allowed on the line of scrimmage when the ball was put into play.
All of these rules were derived from American football rules already in place at the time, which had been developed by Walter Camp
Walter Camp
Walter Chauncey Camp was an American football player, coach, and sports writer known as the "Father of American Football". With John Heisman, Amos Alonzo Stagg, Pop Warner, Fielding H. Yost, and George Halas, Camp was one of the most accomplished persons in the early history of American football...
for use in American football in the 1880s. Although these rules are standard today, at the time they were considered radical. Other teams outside the Ontario Rugby Football Union refused to adopt them until 1905.