Walter Camp, the Father of American football, named 2nd most influential person in high school football

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Walter Camp, the Father of American football, was named among top 25 most influential people in high school football by Max Preps.  Camp was picked second, just behind former U.S. President Teddy Roosevelt.

MaxPreps, a PlayOn company, is the nation’s leading platform for high school sports coverage, providing comprehensive information on teams, athletes, and competitions across the United States. Since 2002, MaxPreps has been the trusted destination for scores, schedules, rankings, statistics, and content that connects communities with their local high school sports programs.

2. Walter Camp

Father of American Football
Known as the “Father of American Football”, Camp played football at Yale in the 1870s and was responsible for many of the innovations in the game that helped transform it from the sport of rugby to the game of football. Among those innovations included the creation of the “line of scrimmage” and the “system of downs”. He also came up with the names of the positions of the players and determined that each side should play with 11 players.

MaxPreps has endeavored to determine the people who have had the most influence on high school football. The top 100 list includes coaches, players, innovators, creators, administrators, politicians, journalists and some everyday people. They are the individuals who shaped the sport from its beginning in 1875 to the present day.
High school football has been shaped by a diverse cast of influential figures — visionary coaches who build programs and character, sportswriters who craft the narratives that define local legends, state administrators who provide support and resources, parents who nurture young athletes and the players themselves, whose passion and dedication give the sport its heart. Together, they form the interconnected ecosystem that keeps Friday nights under the lights thriving across America.