Walter Camp

  • Contest: The US Athletic Hall of Fame - Coaches 2024
  • Embed from Getty Images
  • Sport(s): Football
  • Statistics: 3 NCAA National Championships (1888, 1891 & 1892)
    79-5-3 NCAA Record
    Member of the College Football Hall of Fame
  • Sports historians have called Walter Camp the "Father of American Football,"; four words that make him worthy of a sports-based hall of fame.

    Camp played college football at Yale and would later coach the Bulldogs to what is now recognized as three National Championships (1888, 1891 & 1892). He would also run the Stanford program, and over the 87 games he coached, Camp only lost five times.

    As a member of multiple rules committees, the line of scrimmage, the system of downs, and how points were derived came from Camp's mind. The pioneer also developed the idea of a seven-man line and a four-man backfield, which was the original formation that would later evolve into what we see today.

    Camp was also an accomplished sportswriter, and he was one of the first who selected “All-American” teams at the end of each season.

    We are proud to nominate Walter Camp for the United States Athletic Hall of Fame.

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