In the early 1900’s, football was very dangerous. There was very little safety gear and rules to protect against violent hitting. In fact, it was sometimes referred to as “Deathball” (in 1904, 18 deaths were recorded from playing collegiate football). Because of these things, football was not as popular then as it is today, but Roosevelt changed all that. Teddy loved the sport and wanted it to appeal to the majority of people. So he visited some of the top collegiate offices to initiate changes and add rules so that the game could be played in a safer manner, but also to make sure the game was still played “on a not too ladylike a basis.” (Actual Roosevelt quote). The changes that were made resulted in the creation of the forward pass, 10 yard first downs, neutral zone around the line of scrimmage, and no more mass scrums (huddles around the ball for possession, as in Rugby) which was responsible for most injuries at the time.