Thank Roosevelt for Football Weekends
December 20, 2013
By Rob Kaminski
MHSAA benchmarks editor
The next time you find yourself immersed in a tense crosstown football rivalry on a Friday night followed by a Saturday pilgrimage to the nearest college campus and a Sunday afternoon with a remote and your favorite snacks and beverages, take a moment to consider what the weekend would be like if it weren’t for Teddy Roosevelt.
The man who became our 26th President shortly after the turn of the 20th Century following the assassination of William McKinley in 1901 was a football fan like you. Maybe more so.
Today’s game of football has reached a critical crossroads. Player size and speed have increased across the board. Savage use of equipment as weapons rather than protective gear has been glorified on television networks and social media. Leaders of the game at all levels have recognized the need for change, employing new rules and widespread educational efforts to aid in preserving the sport.
History, as they say, is repeating itself.
In an ironic twist, it was Roosevelt who saved the then-brutally violent game of football from itself more than 100 years ago. Yes, the same “Rough and Ready Teddy” who led the charge up San Juan Hill during the Spanish-American War and often sparred in the boxing ring while in office from 1901-09 opined that football was becoming so gruesome that he delivered an ultimatum: clean up the game or it would be outlawed.
The Chicago Tribune reported that in 1904 alone, there were 18 football deaths and 159 serious injuries, mostly among prep school players. Football deaths suffered by younger players were reported on a nearly weekly basis, as outraged citizens called on colleges and high schools to banish football outright.
In stepped Roosevelt, who called head coaches and representatives from Harvard, Yale and Princeton – college powers at the time – to the White House in 1905 urging them to eliminate excessive violence and set an example of fair play for the rest of the country. When the casualties actually rose by one during the ensuing season, Roosevelt reacted with greater resolve and convened leading football authorities for the purpose of authoring drastic rules changes. What emerged was an intercollegiate conference which was the predecessor of the NCAA.
Among the most effective changes for the 1906 season were the legalization of the forward pass, the elimination of mass formations, and the creation of a neutral zone. Football fatalities fell to 11 in each of the next two seasons, and severe injuries fell drastically.
Thanks to the introduction of protective equipment and ever-evolving rules changes, football during the 100-plus years to follow has become an exponentially safer game. Yet, the game’s leaders always will need to adjust and react to scrutiny that comes with the territory.
So, as the game once again undergoes rules modifications in the name of safety, give a tip of the cap to President Roosevelt while you enjoy college bowl season and the NFL playoffs and begin to think ahead to the first high school practice of 2014.
Century of School Sports: Athletic Directors Indispensable to Mission of School Sports
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
March 25, 2025
The Michigan High School Athletic Association began its first Bulletin of the 1943-44 school year by reviewing the previous year’s accomplishments as World War II raged on multiple fronts. Eugene B. Elliott, the state’s superintendent of public instruction, addressed “Those in Charge of Athletics in Michigan High Schools” with a challenge and a promise that “… your efforts to provide opportunities for physical development will enable thousands of high school students to take their places in a needy world.”
Students of history know athletics were seen at that time primarily as a way to provide increased physical education and prepare students for a next step into the military. But read again today, with a little different context, Elliott’s words seemingly still apply.
At the high school level alone, the MHSAA counts more than 700 athletic administrators guiding more than 170,000 student-athletes as they learn lessons from their athletic experiences that will help them contribute to the world in any variety of ways once their time in school sports is done.
A century ago, athletic administration still was handled primarily by district superintendents or high school principals. By the 1940s, “athletic director” was a role mentioned much more frequently – superintendents and principals found themselves taking on several other responsibilities, and school sports grew so quickly in participation and popularity that another administrator to lead those extracurriculars became increasingly necessary.
In 1958, the Michigan Association of Physical Education and Athletics was formed, and in 1982 renamed the Michigan Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association. A close working relationship between the MHSAA and the state’s athletic directors has long been integral to the success of school sports in Michigan, and the MIAAA and MHSAA continue to strive hand-in-hand. The MHSAA has celebrated its 100th anniversary throughout the 2024-25 school year, and a century after its start, the major focus of the organization is providing support – and appreciation – for the work done by administrators at the local level.
Expectations for school sports programs have never been higher, and athletic directors have never been valued more. Current MHSAA Executive Director Mark Uyl writes in this winter’s benchmarks, “I am again reminded of how fortunate we are in Michigan to have so many athletic leaders across our diverse state who truly care about preserving and enhancing school sports for our young men and women.”
And an expectation from the 1977 edition of the textbook “Administration of High School Athletics” – co-written by first fulltime MHSAA executive director Charles E. Forsythe – continues to ring true as well: “Many challenges will confront (the athletic administrator) because of uncertainties that exist today. Meeting these challenges will make (the administrator’s) position in the school an even more important one.”
Previous "Century of School Sports" Spotlights
March 18: 2025 Finals Begin Next Half-Century of Girls Hoops Championships - Read
March 11: Boys Basketball's Best 1st to Earn MHSAA Finals Titles - Read
March 5: Everything We Do Begins with Participation - Read
Feb. 25: Slogans & Logos Remain Unforgettable Parts of MHSAA History - Read
Feb. 19: MHSAA Tickets Continue to Provide Fan-Friendly Value - Read
Feb. 11: We Recognize Those Who Make Our Games Go - Read
Feb. 4: WISL Conference Continues to Inspire Aspiring Leaders - Read
Jan. 28: Michigan's National Impact Begins at NFHS' Start - Read
Jan. 21: Awards Celebrate Well-Rounded Educational Experience - Read
Jan. 14: Predecessors Laid Foundation for MHSAA's Formation - Read
Jan. 9: MHSAA Blazes Trail Into Cyberspace - Read
Dec. 31: State's Storytellers Share Winter Memories - Read
Dec. 17: MHSAA Over Time - Read
Dec. 10: On This Day, December 13, We Will Celebrate - Read
Dec. 3: MHSAA Work Guided by Representative Council - Read
Nov. 26: Finals Provide Future Pros Early Ford Field Glory - Read
Nov. 19: Connection at Heart of Coaches Advancement Program - Read
Nov. 12: Good Sports are Winners Then, Now & Always - Read
Nov. 5: MHSAA's Home Sweet Home - Read
Oct. 29: MHSAA Summits Draw Thousands to Promote Sportsmanship - Read
Oct. 23: Cross Country Finals Among MHSAA's Longest Running - Read
Oct. 15: State's Storytellers Share Fall Memories - Read
Oct. 8: Guided by 4 S's of Educational Athletics - Read
Oct. 1: Michigan Sends 10 to National Hall of Fame - Read
Sept. 25: MHSAA Record Books Filled with 1000s of Achievements - Read
Sept. 18: Why Does the MHSAA Have These Rules? - Read
Sept. 10: Special Medals, Patches to Commemorate Special Year - Read
Sept. 4: Fall to Finish with 50th Football Championships - Read
Aug. 28: Let the Celebration Begin - Read
PHOTO Athletic administrators and coaches attend a session during the MIAAA's annual conference earlier this month.