There are fewer things more indicative of American culture than American football. Every Sunday afternoon, millions of fans gather around their satellite and cable-powered television sets to cheer, boo, and coach on their favorite team in the National Football League. It is a timeless pastime. Regardless of controversial rule changes, frustrating losing records, endless poor coaching, and certainly bad refereeing, Americans have and always will love football. There have been changes along the way and perhaps a look at the decade of the 1950s will illustrate not only the evolution of the sport, but also the love of the fame.
Perhaps thd biggest change to the game in 1951 was the return of the Pro Bowl Game. Dormant since 1942, the Pro Bowl Game was revived under a new format matching the all-stars of each conference at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum and on January 14, 1951, the American Conference defeated the National Conference 28-27. Following that game, on January 18, a rules change was enacted that said no tackle, guard, or center would be eligible to catch a forward pass (NFL).
Another significant rules change occurred in 1955 when sudden-death overtime was implemented into the game. The sudden-death overtime rule was used for the first time in a pre- season game on August 28, 1955 between the Rams and Giants at Portland, Oregon. Incidentally, the Rams won 23-17 three minutes into the overtime period. Also in 1955, the dead-ball rule was put into play. This rule declared the ball dead immediately if the ball carrier touched the ground with any part of his body except his hands or feet while in the grasp of an opponent (NFL).
1956 was a significant year for the players of the NFL. Prior to this time, there had been no organization to represent players, but in 1956, the NFL Players Association was founded, which would lead the way for historic contract disputes, holdouts, and player strikes in the years to come....