Coyle 1

Brian Coyle

Ms. Bocchino

Writing 2

1 May, 2024

The Interdisciplinary Exploration of American Football

Looking at a broad topic, there are several methods of research that could be used to

conform sources for that topic. Topics mostly are interdisciplinary, meaning that they could be

defined and researched by several fields of knowledge. American football as a sport, requires a

lot of research daily to help innovate its future. However, it is also important to note what has

been recorded in the past. The two disciplines that are present here under the broad theme of

American football are science and history. Science, specifically health science, will dive into the

technology of the equipment used, what causes injuries, and statistical data to back up these

ideas. History will dive into the past and previous methods used in the sport’s early years and

accounts from previous international sports to show how it came to be the sport it is today.

Ultimately, these two disciplines share and differ in their evidence, researchers, target audience,

and writing styles in order to make up sources that support the broader theme of American

football.

The main research question in the discipline of health science in relation to American

football is: what is the main cause of concussions in the sport and how can they be mitigated? In

the article “The First Concussion Crisis: Head Injury and Evidence in Early American Football”,

the author Emily A. Harrison dives into the sports medicine aspect of one of America’s greatest

pastimes, American football. The author argues that the concussion crisis has been ongoing since
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the late 19th century with evidence of players and coaches mentioning concerns of health risks

within the sport. With its increase in popularity, more American football players began to suffer

from head injuries and concussions due to the rough physical contact that is contained in the

sport. The concussion crisis was sparked with the violent American culture through football and

institutions to prevent health risks were required. The discipline of sports medicine and health

science were implemented to improve American football as a sport by improving helmet

technology and concussion research. Through the article, the author provides scientific research

and data evidence to show the seriousness of the concussion crisis. The seriousness of the crisis

was stressed in the article by an account of Former Penn football player in 1894, William

Harvey, when he referred to the concussion crisis as the “silent epidemic” (Harrison)1. Some

other evidence that is provided in this discipline are statistical numbers from the CDC related to

concussions in which they estimated in 2006 “that 1.6 to 3.8 million concussions occur annually

in sports and recreational activities, among which football is the greatest contributor”(Harrison).

This stat deriving from 2006, gives the high amount of concussions from the sport even with the

improved safety equipment compared to years prior. This stat gives insight to the seriousness of

the crisis through scientific research, and invokes thoughts of how badly players in the late 19th

and 20th centuries suffered from head injuries. There is also historical documentation such as

accounts from players and physicians during the period of the late 19th century where Harvey

had written an account on his love for playing the sport but has edited it to remove any signs of

his head injuries (Harrison). This gives more insight to the improper safety technology during the

time as concussions and head injuries must have been extremely common in the sport. The

author adds insight to the topic through this discipline by providing early accounts of head

1
Harrison, Emily A. “The First Concussion Crisis: Head Injury and Evidence in Early American
Football.” American journal of public health (1971) 104, no. 5 (2014): 822–833.
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injuries and gives context of medical efficiency of the time. The author provides a glimpse of the

evolution of sports medicine and how concussions were perceived, dealt with, and caused during

the early stages of the sport. This author is also credible because she is a “MD”, or a “Medical

Doctor”, therefore she is familiarized with the discipline at hand. The writing in the article is

organized by chapters with subheadings to divide each chapter, further analyzing specific topics

that the discipline is analyzing. Some writing conventions in the source include a scholarly and

objective tone, along with jargon words such as chronic trauma encephalopathy. The target

audience is most likely those who are or studying in the sports medicine field, or any other health

enthusiast or scholar. The author uses a third person perspective to remove any biases and keep

the article objective. Ultimately, Emily A. Harrison uses organized writing with select jargon,

scientific data and evidence, and past accounts to enhance the overall knowledge of the topic as

well as highlighting its evolution as a sport.

The main research question in the discipline of history in relation to American football is:

how did American Football develop into the sport it is today and how was it influenced by the

social and cultural aspects of the United States at the time? In the article “Unexceptional

exceptionalism: the origins of American football in a transnational context” written by Tony

Collins, the discipline of focus is the early history of American football and how it developed

from rugby into the American sport it is today. The author further dives into the themes of

indifference with the international cultures and exceptionalism through the sport of American

football. The article highlights the origins of American football deriving from early European

ball games and how the new American sport does not support American exceptionalism by

showcasing multicultural aspects converged into one unique sport. The author argues against the

idea that American football originated from native American sports and is highly influenced by
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multiple transnational factors, making it not uniquely American. To support his theory, the author

draws upon historical evidence such as documents, sports literature, and anthropology. In doing

so, he provides examples of similar aspects of the sport that first originated from European sports

such as rugby. In the article he writes, “after initially adopting the English Rugby Football

Union's (RFU) rules, Americans were confronted with numerous ‘ambiguities’ in the rules and

the playing of the game which led them to reform it to suit American sensibilities and attitudes”

(Collins)2. This shows that with the emergence of American football in the states there had to be

established rules of the game, which were established by the English game of rugby. When

pitched to the citizens of America they wanted drastic change in support of culture and beliefs.

This led to the formation of a new sport called American Football. By showing the denial of

American exceptionalism, the article highlights the theme of cultural fusion and the exchange of

ideas further influencing an interconnectedness between sports all around the world. In this case,

the article offers the reader a new perspective of the origins of American football, being

influenced by other cultures and not strictly limited as an invention of early American society.

This idea could also be applied to many other American inventions as the Americas contain the

fusion of old cultures due to their relatively recent discovery. Tony Collins is a credible author as

he is a British social historian that focuses on the history of sport. The types of evidence that he

used in this source are primary sources such as newspapers like the New York Times, along with

accounts of previous cultures being compared, and further historical analysis. Similar to the

previous source, the article is organized into subheadings but features an exclusive article

contents side page for reference. The tone is sharp, intelligent, and objective. The target audience

are football enthusiasts, historians, or sociocultural scholars. Some jargon words could be

2
Collins, Tony. “Unexceptional Exceptionalism: The Origins of American Football in a
Transnational Context.” Journal of global history 8, no. 2 (2013): 209–230.
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American or British exceptionalism and cultural diffusion. Similar to the previous source the

author uses a third person perspective to remove any biases and keep the article objective.

Ultimately, the author shares a similar writing style and organization to the author of the previous

discipline, uses historical documents with analysis as evidence, and targets the audience of

football enthusiasts or historians, in order to add true insight to the origins of American football

as a sport.

The interdisciplinary exploration of American football reveals the vast variety of research

within this field. By integrating insights from health science and history, scholars can provide

comprehensive perspectives on the sport's evolution and impact. The study of health science

dives into critical issues such as concussions and player safety, offering scientific research such

as statistical numbers and evidence to inform readers about the concussion crisis in the sport. The

discipline of history dives into cultural and social contexts that have shaped American football,

provides past accounts from players and coaches, as well as highlighting the sport's international

origins. Both fields contain great research and analysis with scholars in both disciplines

contributing valuable insights that enhance our understanding of American football as a whole.

Although both disciplines have great collaboration of historical accounts, having two different

methods of research is necessary to conform to a true understanding of a topic. In contrast to

each other, health science provides more concrete statistics as evidence, while history provides

past similarities between previous sports in Europe to highlight the formation of American

football. Ultimately, the integration of diverse fields of research and perspectives benefits the

entirety of knowledge on this topic, providing a true understanding of its aspects in the past,

present, and future. The collaboration between health science and history shows the

interdisciplinary nature of research in a broad topic such as American football.

Works Cited

Harrison, Emily A. “The First Concussion Crisis: Head Injury and Evidence in Early American
Football.” American journal of public health (1971) 104, no. 5 (2014): 822–833.

Collins, Tony. “Unexceptional Exceptionalism: The Origins of American Football in a

Transnational Context.” Journal of global history 8, no. 2 (2013): 209–230.