Walter Chauncey Camp

Object Details

Exhibition Label: Born New Britain, Connecticut; The undisputed “Father of American Football,” Walter Camp introduced the innovative rule changes that transformed English rugby into a uniquely American game. Camp was a stellar player on the Yale football squad (1876–82), but his off-the-field contributions to the emerging sport were of even greater importance. A member of the Intercollegiate Football Association’s rules committee for forty-eight years beginning in 1877, Camp spearheaded the initiatives that reduced teams from fifteen to eleven players and created the key position of quarterback. He instituted the line of scrimmage, suggested a system of downs to govern possession of the ball, devised the present-day point system, and is credited with developing the distinctive gridiron pattern of the playing field. In short, no one proved more influential than Walter Camp in shaping the structure of the modern game.
Provenance: The artist; his son Ted Hampson, Lake Forest, Ill.; gift 1991 to NPG

Credit Line: National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution; gift of Theodore M. Hampson

c. 1960

Medium: Oil on canvas
Dimensions: Stretcher: 71.1 x 91.4 x 2.5cm (28 x 36 x 1"); Frame: 95.6 x 115.9 x 6cm (37 5/8 x 45 5/8 x 2 3/8")

National Portrait Gallery

Topic: Costume\Headgear\Hat\Cap; Exterior\Sports arena; Walter Chauncey Camp: Male; Walter Chauncey Camp: Arts & Culture\Literature\Writer; Walter Chauncey Camp: Arts & Culture\Literature\Writer\Magazine article writer; Walter Chauncey Camp: Sports\Athletic director; Walter Chauncey Camp: Sports\Coach\Football; Portrait

GUID (Link to Original Record): http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/sm4919d863d-fd58-4646-9d55-329dd37806b0