Old NCAA rules.

[Steven Tyler]

I watched footage from the 1956 Notre Dame/Oklahoma game a few days ago. A lot of things were definitely different than today.

From what I could tell, it looked like they played one platoon football. I only one time saw what looked to be a wholesale substitution from Oklahoma. I did notice that many of the same numbers where playing on offense and defense for both teams. I don't actually know how many players a team traveled with back then, but the Sooners had 40, and they all played. I suppose with such small numbers many players went both ways.

I saw Paul Hornung playing safety, quarterback, and punter. No placekicks since the final score was 40-0, Sooners. It appeared no player from Oklahoma even donned a face mask. The Notre Dame helmets looked dated, and had a huge X symbol on them.

Notre Dame finished 2-8 that season, and Hornung had seven turnovers in the game, but it didn't stop him from winning the Heisman though. He looked kind of gun shy on defense also. The Irish had some other turnovers as well.

I did however notice on extra point kicks, the white hat stood behind the placekicker, and signaled if the try for point was good or missed.

I was wondering if anybody knew anything about the old rules of one platoon football, and how substitutions where handled back then. It seems I do recall reading once back in some earlier days if a player got substituted for he couldn't come back in until the quarter he left in was over.

I was also wondering if anybody could give some information on the rules of the era, and referee mechanics, and the differences from the game today. Just a fan that loves history.

Thanks in advance.

[JugglingReferee]

[Robert Goodman]

John Waldorf wrote a pamphlet the NCAA sold, "NCAA Football Rules Committee Chronology of 100 Years 1876 to 1976" which has less info than you might think, but in a concluding "Addendum" (Chapter VI) wrote:

"Certain rule problems seem to have developed the habit of recurring from time to time so that they must be dealt with by the different committees down through the years....

"...Two of these problems seem to be particularly durable; and, like corks, they can be submerged momentarily, only to rise to the surface again with renewed energy.

"These two troublesome areas are:

"(1) The Substitution Rule, which has been dealt with over 30 times in the first 100 years of the existence of the Football Rules Committee.

"(2) The Fair Catch Rule, the oldest problem child of all Rules Committees. This section of the rules has been changed in all, or in part, in 60 years of the 100 years of Rules Committee history."

He then went on to list, "in part, the changes made in these two rules sections and they years in which such changes were made." So if you're really interested, you might want to get this pamphlet, if NCAA still has it in print. But here are the highlights germane to your question:

"1953 Two-platoon football was abolished. Players were allowed to enter the game only once in each quarter.

"1955 A player who participates in the opening down of a period may return to the game in that period."

No changes for 1956.

What the heck, I might as well add the changes to the fair catch over that same period:

"1953 On a fair-catch signal the hand must be obviously waved above the head.

"1955 Waving the hand above the head was no longer a part of the fair-catch signal."

The requirement to wave the hand was put into and taken out of the rules a few times. It's just an example of how arbitrary the considerations must be.

Waldorf wrote mockingly, "And so, after a study of these two troublesome rule problems, it gives this writer a warm feeling, as well as a sense of security, to realize that, in the years to come, his grandsons will be out there on the gridiron enjoying the many virtues of a great game and to further realize that they will be playing by a set of rules under which the substitution rule and the fair-catch rule have been recently altered." But he was wrong! After 1975 both of those rules settled down so the changes, even technical ones, have been very few ever since. Possibly the publication of this pamphlet served as a caution to the rules committee about those provisions.

Oddly enough, about the same time, in Rugby Union the substitution and fair catch rules, which had been settled for a long period previously, went thru a period of frequent revision. So maybe those problems were shucked off by the NCAA onto the IRFB.

[Steven Tyler]

Originally Posted by JugglingReferee

The film I watched had been digitally colorized game film. Series: Notre Dame 9 Oklahoma 1. Hard to imagine the best Big 12 game of the day was Texas@Kansas for the most part.