The Football Field is only 99 and 8/9 yards in Length!

[Jim S]

No Dylan it isn't.
A baseball, or softball diamond, is a square of the dimension (60, 70, 90ft etc.) you happen to be using. First and third base are placed on the inside corners of that square. (Second base is centered on the insection of the lines from the back of 1st & 3rd base. Therfore 1/2 of second base is within the infield and 1/2 is in the outfield.[the infield is technically only the part of the fied within the measured square, therefore many "infield" hits really aren't])
Most bases are a 15 inch square. Home plate extends up the baseline aproximately 12 inches. Therefore the distance between home plate and 1st base on a 70 foot diamond is about 67 feet 9 inches.

[sir_eldren]

Originally posted by Jim S
No Dylan it isn't.

. . . 1/2 Of second base is within the infield and 1/2 is in the outfield.

Nope, not true. Only 1/4 of it is within the measured square, 3/4 are outside. ;o)

And by my math, the distance from the closest point of home plate to the nearest edge of the bag would be 67' 3", not 9". But I'm taking that from the nearest point, which means that there's 18 inches of plate from one side to the point.

*shrug* Semantics and Mathematics. Who cares. Let's just play ball and argue over whether there's 3 inches or 9 inches of "no goal" to be called when the puck is still touching the goal line. ;o)

-Craig

[Jim S]

Yep, you'r right about 2nd base...never thought of it that way.
on't see the distance though. 70' - 12'(for the plate) = 69' - 15" (for the base) = 67'9"
Or where am I missing six inches?(watch it!) Oh well the purpoe of the excercise was to illustrate to a guy who signs as a baseball/softball ump on a football board that all is not the same elsewhere.

[sir_eldren]

The 6 inches you're missing has to do with how the plate is measured.

The plate, of course, is 17" across the front. The "sides of the house" are 8.5" long, but that's at a 45-degree angle to the baseline. Using the pythagorean theorum (rearranged: a = (sqrt(c^2))/2), you've got a few hairs over 6" in that distance. From the sides of the house to the "tip of the roof," the distance is a few hairs over 12", and that can be determined by knowing that the distance from the front of the plate to the tip of the roof is 17" (thus the dish is 17" square with two corners cut off to give it the "home" appearance), subtract the 8.5" for the sides and we've got a height of 8.5" to the roof. The pythagorean theorum, again, is needed to get 12" (a^2 + b^2 = c^2). Thus, we've got 12" + 6" = 18". ;o)

(In both calculations, a = b, and c = 8.5")

-Sir Eldren
No, I'm not a math major, but I tutor advanced algebra and trigonometry ;o)

[CBrockett]

Sorry guys..... Didn't know we were going to bring the Pyth.... Ther.... WatchmaKally.

[Warrenkicker]

Originally posted by Theisey

### Just how to I help is arguement? I showed his arguement is flawed.
You're right about this being pointless and yes, I see Umpires placing the ball at the rear edge of the 20. Again, pointless but incorrect on their part. [/B]

I agreed that his arguement was flawed and it was a pointless discussion. But the point you brought up made me think about where the ball is placed. He made the point that distances might not be what they seem to be. No, the field isn't 99 8/9 yards long but trys might be 3 yards 2 inches long and drives after touchbacks 80 yards 2 inches long.

[sir_eldren]

Originally posted by Warrenkicker
I agreed that his arguement was flawed and it was a pointless discussion. But the point you brought up made me think about where the ball is placed. He made the point that distances might not be what they seem to be. No, the field isn't 99 8/9 yards long but trys might be 3 yards 2 inches long and drives after touchbacks 80 yards 2 inches long. [/B]

Back to a sport of some sort. . . .

That's why, when I spot the ball for a point after, I like it when there is no line. Then it's three strides, halt, and place the point of the ball at my toe. I then make sure that there's more yardage from the ball to the end zone than from the ball to the 5-yard line. If true, then nothing more needs to be done. If I'm on a youth field where yard lines are a luxury and they only come every 10 yards (if you squint really hard!), then I just put the ball down and shrug. LOL!!

But it is interesting that as officials, we usually cheat the offense out of two inches. But really, what does it matter for most of the game? And will THOSE two inches make a difference when measurements are usually avoided by most crews?

Hmm... now for the philosophical debate on the meaning of two inches in football.

Lemme digress: I once called the ball down 2 inches from the end zone. It was really too bad he couldn't keep his legs straight as he fell, because it mattered. The next week (and the week after) I made two calls where the runners kept their legs straight and let their momentum give them the umph while they relied on their cleats and ankles to hold the line. They were both in the end zone by hairs before they hit the ground--I called touchdown. But I guess that's a moot point--unless you're the defensive coach with the bad angle. Or that darned guy sitting in the bleachers behind him. . . .

-Craig