Which started first, Rugby or American football?

Question

And in year what?

Answer 1

Think it was American

Answer 2

neither why?

Answer 3

Rugby was around long before American Football.  In fact American Football is a spin-off from Canadian Football which is a spin off from Rugby League which is a spin off from Rugby Union which is the game that we normally call Rugby.  

The famous story is that at Rugby School in England, one fine day while they were playing football (soccer), a cheeky young gent decided to pick up the ball and run with it for a lark.  The other guys ran after him and tackled him.  They soon figured out that this was kinda fun and decided to make a new game of it.  Rugby.

Some scholars doubt the veracity of the story but it is a good one.

Anyway the Rugby game became popular in England and Northern France before the game was ever played in North America.  Of course as Brits came to North America, they brought their games with them too.

Rugby was played in both Canada and the US from very early on.  It was actually Canada that developed the North American game first.  Rugby had already subdivided into Rugby League and Rugby Union.  Rugby Union is the game that most associate with the game 'Rugby' but there is another game called Rugby League which is the missing link between Rugby and American Football.

In Rugby Union, the game continues after a tackle.  In Rugby League, the game stops after a tackle and the game is restarted by the player who was tackled heeling the ball back to a team-mate.  This is the precursor to a snap in football.

This restart feature developed into an offensive line with a snap to a quarterback.  Canadians pioneered this new game and soon Americans were playing it too but they further refined the rules.  Canadian Football also predates American Football.  (yup, its true!)

There are still a few remnants of rugby in the game of American football but they are tricky to spot.  The word 'touchdown' refers to the fact that in Rugby you not only have to cross the end zone line, you also have to physically touch the ball to the ground for the score to count.  Its ironic that in American Football, you use the word 'touchdown' but you don't actually have to touch the ball down.

Also in Rugby you are allowed to pass the ball as many times as you like but it always has to be backwards.  Thus in American football you can 'lateral' the ball as much as you like.  This is from rugby.  

Actually in the early days of American football forward passes were not allowed.  This was a feature added later.

The conversion after a touchdown is also from Rugby.  

Its really an interesting story if you look into it...

Answer 4

American football is a hybrid of Rugby.