Football is the most popular sport in America, with millions of fans across the country at both the collegiate and professional levels. But despite its incredible popularity, few people know its true origin. It may surprise the reader to learn that the first ever football game was played in 1892 by a group of jovial factory workers. But its maker, the great comic genius, is never given enough credit. This is the story of Nate Furmond Lee and the creation of a national obsession.
Nate Lee burst onto the scene as America’s foremost entertainer in 1874. A comedian, many credit Lee with the invention of modern slapstick comedy. Although he enjoyed unprecedented success for nearly a decade, a series of bad investments and a gambling habit drove him to bankruptcy. The rise of stand-up comedy forced Lee into obscurity and eventually retiremed in 1891. But by summer he had defaulted on his mortgage payments and needed a source of income. With few marketable skills, Lee decided to open a sports equipment store in New York City with the little money remaining from his comedy career.
Six months into his new business, Lee received a shipment of deformed soccer balls from a manufacturer in France. The overseas shipment had been incredibly expensive and the manufacturer denied a recall request. Dangerously close to going into debt, Lee needed to find a purpose for the damaged equipment. Upon inspection, he discovered that they were squished into an elliptical shape and could be thrown with surprising accuracy.
On his walk home that night he passed a group of factory workers from a nearby pipe company. Remembering that they often played baseball outside during their lunch break, Lee asked the group if they would like to try a new sport he invented himself. Several men agreed and that night Lee drew up his game’s outline and wrote the ten most basic rules in a small notebook.
The next day the factory workers met outside in an abandoned field and played the first-ever game of football. Although Lee had not given the various positions names, the workers found it amusing and quickly designated the thrower, Billy Joe, as “quarterback” because he was constantly flipping a coin and complaining of lower back pain. The catcher, Tommy Chuck, was called “wide receiver” due to his enormous size. This continued until all players were thoroughly humiliated and every role had a title.
That first game was a huge success and every day from then on, the workers would congregate and play football, making up their own rules as they went. The NFL was founded in 1906 by the manager of the pipe factory, who became the very first commissioner. Common lore tells that the NFL stands for “National Football League” but in reality it was named after its inventor, the great Nate Furmond Lee. Unfortunately, the recognition extended only to nomenclature and he never received a dime from his invention, dying in 1929 as a millionaire, the founder of Dick’s Sporting Goods.
An old footballer, courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
