American football phased way down in the 1950s due to brain damage issue.

[GeographyDude]

The punch drunk syndrome in boxing (dementia pugilistica) has been known about since the 1920s, so I don’t think it’s all that much of a stretch that doctors might start looking at this in the context of the repetitive hits in football. Plus, you had the traumatic head injuries of WWII and the Korean War to push along the science, and to make it a more current issue in the late ‘40s and all through the 1950s.

Let’s say it happens.

Pro football develops generally just as it did in the 1950s, with the possibility of an overtime game in 1958. And then starts diverging in the ‘60s, as athletes who would have played football start going into other sports.

For example, Roger Staubach who is quick and a great all-round athlete goes into basketball and is an All-American player at Annapolis (U.S. Naval Academy) in the early and mid ‘60s.

Back then, the college game was much more popular than the pro game. So, what takes its place?

Your ideas please.

 

[GeographyDude]

Staining added.

Possible Biomarker for Diagnosing CTE during Life | The Brink | Boston University

Ann McKee and MED colleagues identify another CTE biomarker that may potentially allow the disease to be diagnosed in the living. “It’s a step forward,” says McKee.

www.bu.edu

One hallmark of genius is doing something which is later said to be obvious!

Dr. Bennet Omalu did this in his autopsy of former football great Mike Webster in 2002, and the way he directed thin slices to be stained.

But all the same, this could have been done much, MUCH earlier. In fact, without all the high tech pathways now drawing people’s attention, staining cells in various ways was a bigger deal in the 1950s, with a higher percentage of skilled practitioners and therefore, it would seem, easier communication among colleagues?

 

[GeographyDude]

As info comes to light in the ‘50s:

There’s probably a focus on preventing concussions and “concussion management,” just like OTL. It takes people a while to come round to the view, Oh, you’re talking about the total numbers of hits, including those which cause no symptoms at all.

Then there’ll probably be efforts to reduce the number of hits, almost like a pitch count in baseball. After the beginning of the season, maybe no intentional hits in practice at all. Maybe a rule that reserves need to play at least 30% of the time. Back then, there was already an established rule in college football that freshmen did not play.

And then the next step . . . (well, you tell me! )

 

[GeographyDude]

Defensive lineman Alan Page was known for his quickness at Notre Dame and on the Minnesota Vikings. Late in his career, he played for the Chicago Bears.

While still playing pro football, he earned a law degree, and was later elected to four terms as a Justice on the Minnesota Supreme Court.

And so, in an ATL in which football is less popular . . .

Maybe he goes into baseball, and with his quickness, plays third base. And becomes known as one of the guys with both a goodly number of home runs and stolen bases. And when you’re at first and if you’re a credible risk of stealing second, it changes the defensive alignment in a way advantageous to the batter. And sometimes it helps to unnerve the pitcher, if only a little.

And perhaps his law career takes a different trajectory. For example, I tend to think private practice and public interest law is under-rated in many of our timelines.

 

[GeographyDude]

Jim Brown was a multi-sport athlete at Syracuse University. He began with the NFL’s Cleveland Browns in 1957, which is right at the cusp of the time period I’m talking about.

Let’s say in part because of the new medical info coming out, he cuts his pro career short after 4 or 5 years, almost the length of another college career.

And embarks on his acting career early.

Jim as the character “Jefferson” in The Dirty Dozen (1967).

Jim as “Byron Williams” in the fun movie Mars Attacks! (1996).

—————————————-

In selecting Staubach, Page, and Brown, I have picked three people who have had successful post-football careers outside of the sport.

 

[Derwit]

Forgive a unknowleadgeable Brit but if the brain damage of multiple concussions was realised in the 50's wouldn't it be more likely to see gradual but overal significant changes to the rules and how American Football is played?

Could Football become more like rugby league. Less or no hits and based on speed and endurance. Perhaps with clearly defined "safeish" tackles to reduce serious injuries.

 

[NOLAWildcat]

I like the idea, but I’m not sure how soon you’d see results from an earlier discovery of football-related CTE. By the 1950s, college football is firmly established as the #2 sport in America after baseball (though boxing still was quite popular as well). The NFL certainly isn’t powerful enough to squelch research on CTE and its links to football to the degree it did OTL in the 2000s; however, there are established interests in the college game that will push back at studies that link football to CTE. And just like we’ve seen over the past 20 years OTL, in TTL there are going to be plenty of average fans of Ohio State or USC or Alabama that aren’t going to like fundamentally changing the game to protect against a threat like CTE. Add in an American society that is less litigious and probably bit less preoccupied with the risks of an activity like football—this is a time period where a good chunk of adult Americans smoked despite knowledge of its link to cancer, seat belts were a rarity, and the concept of helicopter parents hadn’t been invented yet—and I find it hard for a groundswell against football due to CTE concerns to gain traction.
There’s also the fact that the sports reporting landscape is far different in the 1950s from today. Back then, sports reporters were more in bed with teams and leagues than they are now—scandals and affairs involving stars that are front page news now were relegated to the back of the sports page if reported at all. Heck, look at the uproar the baseball community raised when Jim Bouton published “Ball Four” in 1970 and lifted the curtain on some of the more unsavory aspects of America’s pastime. There’s no ESPN or social media for people to get up on a soapbox and preach nationally about the link between football and CTE. I’d think there would need to be a major figure demonstrably struck down by CTE (on the order of a Lou Gehrig style event) for public debate on the safety of football to really take off.
That said, by the time you hit the 60’s and 70’s, pro football is more and more in the limelight and previously taboo subjects in the newsroom are more and more likely to be published. The knock on effects of the investigative Reporting on stories like Pentagon Papers and Watergate may ripple over to the sports desk, and CTE concerns may finally have a platform. Even then, you’re probably looking at the 80’s and 90’s before you see big changes in the game should concerns about CTE take off, as college programs and the NFL face the prospect of shrinking talent pools as a generation of players decide under parental pressure to choose other sports. Basically push OTL’s response up 25 years or so.

 

[GeographyDude]

Forgive a unknowleadgeable Brit but if the brain damage of multiple concussions was realised in the 50's wouldn't it be more likely to see gradual but overal significant changes to the rules and how American Football is played?

Could Football become more like rugby league. Less or no hits and based on speed and endurance. Perhaps with clearly defined "safeish" tackles to reduce serious injuries.

It can be multiple concussions, but it can also be a large number of subconcussive hits. The number of years count, as does how young a person is when he starts.

I think there is some potential in requiring tackles to be made from the rear (à la rugby style)

 

[GeographyDude]

There’s also the fact that the sports reporting landscape is far different in the 1950s from today. Back then, sports reporters were more in bed with teams and leagues than they are now—scandals and affairs involving stars that are front page news now were relegated to the back of the sports page if reported at all.

Sometimes someone can have something locked up too much, and as things start to change, they over-anticipate a sea change, and make an abrupt move far sooner than they really need to. Let’s say something like this happens with pro football.

And I’ll put on my thinking cap regarding high school and youth football.

* with the pros, I guess I’m answering zen, that sometimes your greatest strength can become your greatest weakness

 

[GeographyDude]

“ . . . A class-action suit shapes up with real legs, the NFL keeps changing its rules, but it turns out that less than concussion levels of constant head contact still produce CTE. Technological solutions (new helmets, pads) are tried and they fail to solve the problem. Soon high schools decide it isn’t worth it. . . ”

from 2012:

» What Would the End of Football Look Like?

grantland.com

This is almost AH or maybe “Future History.” It was a pretty mainstream media source dancing a possibility.

And so, for high schools in the late 1950s, let’s say liability and insurance cost are the real reasons. But the equipment upgrade is a much more face-saving reason. After all, the country was not as rich back then.

 

[galileo-034]

Interesting topic.

I have only a superficial knowledge, but I'd say that if brain damage issue is publicized early and with much more important impact, that would probably lead to a an earlier and wider resurgence of rugby in the United States.
IOTL, that's not unlike what happened after the crisis of 1905 when a number of colleges and universities switched from gridiron codes to rugby union. In California at least, that lasted for about a decade before they eventually reverted to football; a shame the two gold olympic medals of 1920 and 1924 didn't translate into more popularity (rugby fan's speaking ^^).
Eventually, rugby union did experience a rebirth by the 1960s and USA Rugby has been founded in 1975. If at the same time ITTL football is loosing steam due to brain damage issue, it will boost rugby. The small problem though is that rugby union was still an amateur sport and wouldn't be professionalized until 1995; that's no problem for college teams, but for wider professional championships, you might consider rugby league for domestic championships.

 

[Derek Pullem]

Rugby has a similar problem but not as serious. The rules are being changed to minimise risks but can't eliminate them.

American football does have the potential to be more of a movement sport and less physical. It would be a different game, think rugby sevens compared to rugby but I think it could still be popular.

 

[Dathi THorfinnsson]

Hah, hah. No.
This is 50s. Everyone would say 'don't be a sissy', and 'man up'.
We KNOW all this stuff now, and you don't see a big change, even in our modern society that actually cares about things like this.
In the 50s? Nope. No way. No how.

 

[Whanztastic]

Rugby has a similar problem but not as serious. The rules are being changed to minimise risks but can't eliminate them.

American football does have the potential to be more of a movement sport and less physical. It would be a different game, think rugby sevens compared to rugby but I think it could still be popular.

I thought American Football was also a higher risk for CTE because of the helmets, so older variations of it would have less because of the lack of helmets. The helmets mostly stopped skull damage but doesn’t stop the brain from jiggling. So, rugby and earlier football would have less CTE because players would avoid head-on impacts while more modern football they bash heads “safely”. I’m not sure what the timeline of helmet development is.

 

[GeographyDude]

. . . Eventually, rugby union did experience a rebirth by the 1960s and USA Rugby has been founded in 1975. . .

And so, rugby is safer because you don’t get as many abrupt stops of the head in which the brain itself continues going forward and collides with the inside of the skull. Instead, the player is usually tackled from the rear. Might you generally concur with this?

And secondly, what is rugby union and in your judgement, is it “wide open” enough to build a fan base?

 

[Derek Pullem]

And so, rugby is safer because you don’t get as many abrupt stops of the head in which the brain itself continues going forward and collides with the inside of the skull. Instead, the player is usually tackled from the rear. Might you generally concur with this?

And secondly, what is rugby union and in your judgement, is it “wide open” enough to build a fan base?

The problem with Rugby Union is that it is continuous (bad for TV adverts) and sometimes gets bogged down in repeated scrums (boring even for the aficionados). Rugby league has few scrums but tends to be more linear.

Rugby sevens gets around this by reducing the number of players on the same size pitch and reducing the playing time (two halves of 7-9 minute rather than 40 minutes). Sevens is often played over a weekend with multiple games on each day.

I think something akin to sevens for NFL - smaller offensive / defensive line, more prominent role for safeties and tight ends, shorter game might work. The Arena Football League had some of the ideas but not all of them.

 

[galileo-034]

And so, rugby is safer because you don’t get as many abrupt stops of the head in which the brain itself continues going forward and collides with the inside of the skull. Instead, the player is usually tackled from the rear. Might you generally concur with this?

I couldn't say being an expert, but what I often hear repeated is that without protection gear, players are less desinhibited, consciously or not, about going full force into collisions, the result being less paradoxically less serious injuries. Also, there seems to much more injuries in the legs, knees and ankles -wise, than to the head in proportion.

Players can be tackled from any direction. Danger usually comes with the height of the tackle, when in high tackles, shoulder collide with head or neck; these often end in red cards, at least today. There is also a bunch of tackling techniques, like the spear tackle, but they are highly illegal.

And secondly, what is rugby union and in your judgement, is it “wide open” enough to build a fan base?

The problem with Rugby Union is that it is continuous (bad for TV adverts) and sometimes gets bogged down in repeated scrums (boring even for the aficionados). Rugby league has few scrums but tends to be more linear.

Rugby sevens gets around this by reducing the number of players on the same size pitch and reducing the playing time (two halves of 7-9 minute rather than 40 minutes). Sevens is often played over a weekend with multiple games on each day.

I think something akin to sevens for NFL - smaller offensive / defensive line, more prominent role for safeties and tight ends, shorter game might work. The Arena Football League had some of the ideas but not all of them.

My point is not so much about rugby union being the best alternative as being the historical precedent of an alternative. When the crisis of 1905 happened, rugby union, not rugby league, gained popularity across the country (even though rugby league had been around for a decade).
And in international competitions, rugby league never gained as much traction as rugby union did, so any game played abroad, against either Pacific nations or Europeans is going to be rugby union.
I get that rugby league has the most commercial potential for professional competitions in the US, but as it is rooted in more precedents and a stronger legacy (two olympic gold medals against France is not nothing even if that's half a century ago), rugby union is the most likely substitute for college, amateur and semi pro football competitions.

As for rugby sevens, it remained quite a confidential sport for most of the 20th century, being mostly local/regional in scope, and gained traction and international competitions only in the late 20th century, way too late to displace either rugby union, league or gridiron in the US.

 

[AnonymousSauce]

The problem with Rugby Union is that it is continuous (bad for TV adverts) and sometimes gets bogged down in repeated scrums (boring even for the aficionados). Rugby league has few scrums but tends to be more linear.

Rugby sevens gets around this by reducing the number of players on the same size pitch and reducing the playing time (two halves of 7-9 minute rather than 40 minutes). Sevens is often played over a weekend with multiple games on each day.

I think something akin to sevens for NFL - smaller offensive / defensive line, more prominent role for safeties and tight ends, shorter game might work. The Arena Football League had some of the ideas but not all of them.

I think the best way of going about something like that would be to implement A-11 rules and ban blocking altogether, while regulating tackling as rigidly as rugby. You would probably also want to make down distance 30 yards instead of 10 like it was on NFL Blitz then, since the game would be so much more passing oriented.

 

[GeographyDude]

Hah, hah. No.
This is 50s. Everyone would say 'don't be a sissy', and 'man up'.
We KNOW all this stuff now, and you don't see a big change, even in our modern society that actually cares about things like this.
In the 50s? Nope. No way. No how.

To me, it depends on how in-your-face the risk and the damage is.

 

[GeographyDude]

I thought American Football was also a higher risk for CTE because of the helmets, so older variations of it would have less because of the lack of helmets. The helmets mostly stopped skull damage but doesn’t stop the brain from jiggling. . .

Very good point. And yes, we probably would have been better off with the old leather helmets, or else some modern type of soft helmet.

As far as enough publicity for major change, we’re probably going to need the family of a big-name athlete to insist on an autopsy upon his early passing to the great beyond. And that brain damage is found by staining techniques.