Although his nearsightedness kept him off the Harvard varsity squad, Theodore Roosevelt was a vocal exponent of football’s contribution to the “strenuous life,” both on and off the field.
He helped revive the annual Harvard–Yale football series after it had been canceled for two years following the violent 1894 clash that was deemed “the bloodbath at Hampden Park.”
His belief that the football field was a proving ground for the battlefield was validated by the performance of his fellow Rough Riders who were former football standouts. “
In life, as in a football game,” he wrote, “the principle to follow is: Hit the line hard; don’t foul and don’t shirk, but hit the line hard!”
In 1903, the president told an audience, “I believe in rough games and in rough, manly sports.
I do not feel any particular sympathy for the person who gets battered about a good deal so long as it is not fatal.”
He summoned the head coaches and representatives of the premier collegiate powers—Harvard, Yale and Princeton—to the White House on October 9, 1905.
Roosevelt urged them to curb excessive violence and make an example of fair play for the rest of the country.
The schools released a statement condemning brutality and pledging to keep the game clean.

Following the 1905 season, Stanford and California switched to rugby while Columbia, Northwestern and Duke dropped football.
Harvard president Charles William Eliot, who considered football “more brutalizing than prizefighting, cockfighting or bullfighting,” warned that Harvard could be next, a move that could have been a crushing blow to the college game.
Roosevelt wrote in a letter to a friend that he would not let Eliot “emasculate football,” and that he hoped to “minimize the danger” without football having to be played “on too ladylike a basis.”
Roosevelt again used his bully pulpit.
He urged for radical rule changes, and he invited other school leaders to the White House in the off-season.

An intercollegiate conference, which would become the forerunner of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), approved radical rule changes for the 1906 season.
They legalized the forward pass, abolished the dangerous flying wedge, created a neutral zone between offense and defense, and doubled the first-down distance to 10 yards, to be gained in three downs.
Georgia Tech coach John Heisman had seen the forward pass attempted in 1895 in a Georgia vs. North Carolina game, and lobbied for its legalization starting in 1903.
 After unsuccessfully attempting for three years to convince Rules Committee chairman Walter Camp to legalize the play, Heisman enlisted the valuable support of committee members John C. Bell and Paul Dashiell instead.
Finally, in 1906, the Rules Committee, college football’s governing body at the time, legalized the forward pass.


The American Intercollegiate Football Rules Committee met at the Murray Hill Hotel in New York City beginning January 12, 1906, to create measures “for squelching brutality and all forms of unnecessary roughness.”
Numerous changes were made, the primary one being the legalization of the forward pass.
Various persons are given credit for the suggestion.
Heisman.
Bell, and Dr. J. William White were later credited with designing rules that would permit a pass, yet still be acceptable to a majority on the rules committee.
Among the other rule changes made for the 1906 season included:
Length of game reduced from 70 minutes to two halves of 30 minutes each.

The two teams would be separated by a neutral zone (the length of the ball) at the line of scrimmage.

Team had to gain 10 yards in 3 plays rather than 5 yards for a first down (see 1905 Fairmount vs. Washburn football game).

Hurdling was penalized.

Offensive linemen had to drop back five yards behind scrimmage if not moving forward.

Field marked with lines every five yards.

A fourth official added to enforce the rules.

Even with the approval of a forward pass, the rules for American football in 1906 were still significantly different than the ones of a century later, as many of the present rules (100-yar
Although his nearsightedness kept him off the Harvard varsity squad, Theodore Roosevelt was a vocal exponent of football’s contribution to the “strenuous life,” both on and off the field. He helped revive the annual Harvard–Yale football series after it had been canceled for two years following the violent 1894 clash that was deemed “the bloodbath at Hampden Park.” His belief that the football field was a proving ground for the battlefield was validated by the performance of his fellow Rough Riders who were former football standouts. “In life, as in a football game,” he wrote, “the principle to follow is: Hit the line hard; don’t foul and don’t shirk, but hit the line hard!” In 1903, the president told an audience, “I believe in rough games and in rough, manly sports. I do not feel any particular sympathy for the person who gets battered about a good deal so long as it is not fatal.” He summoned the head coaches and representatives of the premier collegiate powers—Harvard, Yale and Princeton—to the White House on October 9, 1905. Roosevelt urged them to curb excessive violence and make an example of fair play for the rest of the country. The schools released a statement condemning brutality and pledging to keep the game clean.
Following the 1905 season, Stanford and California switched to rugby while Columbia, Northwestern and Duke dropped football. Harvard president Charles William Eliot, who considered football “more brutalizing than prizefighting, cockfighting or bullfighting,” warned that Harvard could be next, a move that could have been a crushing blow to the college game. Roosevelt wrote in a letter to a friend that he would not let Eliot “emasculate football,” and that he hoped to “minimize the danger” without football having to be played “on too ladylike a basis.” Roosevelt again used his bully pulpit. He urged for radical rule changes, and he invited other school leaders to the White House in the off-season.
An intercollegiate conference, which would become the forerunner of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), approved radical rule changes for the 1906 season. They legalized the forward pass, abolished the dangerous flying wedge, created a neutral zone between offense and defense, and doubled the first-down distance to 10 yards, to be gained in three downs. Georgia Tech coach John Heisman had seen the forward pass attempted in 1895 in a Georgia vs. North Carolina game, and lobbied for its legalization starting in 1903.  After unsuccessfully attempting for three years to convince Rules Committee chairman Walter Camp to legalize the play, Heisman enlisted the valuable support of committee members John C. Bell and Paul Dashiell instead. Finally, in 1906, the Rules Committee, college football’s governing body at the time, legalized the forward pass.

The American Intercollegiate Football Rules Committee met at the Murray Hill Hotel in New York City beginning January 12, 1906, to create measures “for squelching brutality and all forms of unnecessary roughness.” Numerous changes were made, the primary one being the legalization of the forward pass. Various persons are given credit for the suggestion. Heisman. Bell, and Dr. J. William White were later credited with designing rules that would permit a pass, yet still be acceptable to a majority on the rules committee. Among the other rule changes made for the 1906 season included:
Length of game reduced from 70 minutes to two halves of 30 minutes each.
The two teams would be separated by a neutral zone (the length of the ball) at the line of scrimmage.
Team had to gain 10 yards in 3 plays rather than 5 yards for a first down (see 1905 Fairmount vs. Washburn football game).
Hurdling was penalized.
Offensive linemen had to drop back five yards behind scrimmage if not moving forward.
Field marked with lines every five yards.
A fourth official added to enforce the rules.
Even with the approval of a forward pass, the rules for American football in 1906 were still significantly different than the ones of a century later, as many of the present rules (100-yar
1906 college football season