Volume Two: Codification
In the second of two volumes on the origins of football, Mike Roberts draws on the latest research and revisits original sources to tell the story of how the old folk tradition of football was transformed into the modern game. Or better put – games…
Despite the noble attempts of the Football Association, a unified football code was never to be. The sport was ultimately divided into soccer and rugby, the latter dividing again into rugby union and rugby league. Meanwhile, Australia, Ireland and North America took football in directions of their own.
As it takes us on a fascinating journey through the origins of each of these forms of football, The Same Old Game explores the reasons for their often strained relationships, and shows how these still shape rivalries between football communities today.
Have a look at what each of the chapters will tell you about:
1. LAYING DOWN THE LAWS: The Football Association is born
2. HISTORIC ASSOCIATIONS: How the FA’s game became the world’s game
3. SCRUM ON DOWN: The early days of Rugby Union
4. LEAGUES AND GENTLEMEN: Professionalism and the schism between rugby union and rugby league
5. THE CELTIC TIMES: Irish football before the GAA
6. PADDY POWER: The GAA and the foundation of Gaelic Football
7. GAMES WITH FRONTIERS: The politics of the GAA
8. GAA DAY SPORT: International rules and the possible Gaelic Australian connection
9. ESCAPE TO VICTORIA: Early football in and around Melbourne
10. A KICK UP THE BEHIND: The early years of Australian rules football
11. COMING TO AMERICA: Colonial football in the United States
12. THE NOT SO ALL-AMERICAN GAME: Early soccer and rugby in the United States
13. DOWN ON SCRUM: Walter Camp and American football in the making
14. THE KILLING FIELDS: American football and the issue of violence
15. SLEEPING WITH AN ELEPHANT: The early years of football in Canada
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