Why is it called 'Rugby'?

Question

Why is it called 'Rugby'?

Answer 1

Its called rugby because the game originated in Rugby,England and a boys school when it is said that a man named william "webb" ellis picked up the ball during a game of football or soccer and started to run with it towards the opposition goal...an opponent didn't see any other way of stopping him so he tackled him and rugby was born. For more info and dates and whatnot watch this video i have here provided.

Answer 2

HUGE reply alert. (and it busts a few myths as well) I wrote this piece for my rugby forum after reasearching it thouroughly :~

The origins of rugby go way back, to a time when football was played, and in the early 1800’s the first rules were brought in to the 7 main schools of England. Most of these schools including Eton, Harrow & Winchester were playing the same rules, but Rugby school in Warwickshire was playing a seriously different game of football.

The other 6 schools moved the game forward together and the game became known as ‘schools association football' with the schools being dropped shortly after and the game adopted as the rules for football everywhere under the name 'Association Football (soccer to you Americans).

This is where it gets grey and we end up with folklore, as it is not really documented how the game of rugby developed, and it is accepted that we will never know. What is known though is that the common myth of the 1823 incident where William Webb Ellis picked up the ball and ran, thereby creating rugby football. Unfortunately it is generally accepted that while this is a gross distortion of history.

There is no question that Webb Ellis was a student at Rugby School, but there is no mention in the historical records of him or anyone doing the deed as is accepted, in fact Webb Ellis is only mentioned once in a Rugby School Magazine, and that was in 1875 four years after he died in an article by a bloke called Bloxham about rugby being an ancient sport.

This is where the claim of Webb Ellis running with the ball started, but no living person could confirm it happened, and Bloxham himself was not there. There is also no historical data that says an individual or individuals revolutionised the game of football by picking up and carrying the ball.

Handling the ball was allowed anyhow in the early game as you were allowed to take a mark then kick, and this was 20 years before Webb Ellis arrived at rugby school, and in fact most of the public schools allowed handling of the football, and it was that way until in 1860 the Football Association was formed and outlawed it.

What we do know was that by 1830, running with the ball was common at Rugby Schools version of football and the goal posts had been extended to 18 feet with a cross bas at 10 foot, and there were early versions of line outs and scrums. Another change was that goals above the net were counted, as the tactic was often to fill the goalmouth with defenders and make it almost impossible to score.

Anyone touching down the ball was awarded a ‘try at goal’, and the player would make a mark on the grass, walk backwards in a line and could then attempt to kick a goal (now the conversion of the try at goal into a goal), these are now known as try, and conversion.

Formal rules were agreed in 1862 at Rugby school, and they involved offside. The original game was rugby football, but most of the teams that agreed this became league teams when the split happened later in history.

The Rugby Football Union was formed in 1871 by 21 clubs all of them from the south of England, mostly inside London, but spread quickly across all of England and into Wales, but eventually it splintered into league and union over payment of players who had lost a shift!

Answer 3

It was named after a guy who went to school called 'rugby'. they got ruby cause there was this boy, who picked up a ball (in soccer)  and ran all the way to the other side with it, and scored it into the goal! It took ages for them to develp rugby, causemany people hated the idea!