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==History== When the first uniform rules for American football were enacted by the newly formed Intercollegiate Football Association following the 1876 Rugby season, a touchdown required touching the ball to the ground past the goal line, and counted for {{frac|1|4}} of a kicked goal (except in the case of a tie) and allowed the offense the chance to kick for goal by placekick or dropkick from a spot along a line [[perpendicular]] to the goal line and passing through the point where the ball was touched down, or through a process known as a "punt-out", where the attacking team would kick the ball from the point where it was touched down to a teammate. If the teammate could [[fair catch]] the ball, he could follow with a try for goal from the spot of the catch, or resume play as normal (in an attempt to touch down the ball in a spot more advantageous for kicking). The governing rule at the time read: "A match shall be decided by a majority of touchdowns. A goal shall be equal to four touchdowns; but in case of a tie a goal kicked from a touchdown shall take precedence over four touchdowns."<ref name="Nelson">{{cite book |last=Nelson |first=David M. |title=The Anatomy of A Game |year=1994 |publisher=University of Delaware Press |location=Newark, NJ |isbn=0-87413-455-2 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/anatomyofgamef00nels }}</ref> * In 1881, the rules were modified so that a goal kicked from a touchdown took precedence over a goal kicked from the field in breaking ties.<ref name="Nelson"/> * In 1882, four touchdowns were determined to take precedence over a goal kicked from the field. Two [[Safety (American football score)|safeties]] were equivalent to a touchdown.<ref name="Nelson"/> * In 1883, points were introduced to football, and a touchdown counted as four points. A goal after a touchdown counted as two points.<ref name="Nelson"/> * In 1889, the provision requiring the ball to actually be touched to the ground was removed. A touchdown was now scored by possessing the ball beyond the goal line.<ref name="Nelson"/><ref>{{cite web |last1=Marsh |first1=Philip |title=Why is a touchdown called a touchdown in the NFL? |url=https://www.dazn.com/en-US/news/american-football/why-is-a-touchdown-called-a-touchdown-in-the-nfl/x8vx8mmqnq1q11q0cojdnd2ie |website=DAZN |access-date=20 December 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241220015049/https://www.dazn.com/en-US/news/american-football/why-is-a-touchdown-called-a-touchdown-in-the-nfl/x8vx8mmqnq1q11q0cojdnd2ie |archive-date=20 December 2024 |date=29 August 2024}}</ref> * In 1897, the touchdown scored five points, and the goal after touchdown added another point - hence the current terminology: "extra point".<ref name="Nelson"/> * In 1900, the definition of touchdown was changed to include situations where the ball becomes dead on or above the goal line.<ref name="Nelson"/> * In 1912, the value of a touchdown was increased to six points. The [[end zone]] was also added. Before the addition of the end zone, forward passes caught beyond the goal line resulted in a loss of possession and a [[touchback]].<ref name="Nelson"/> The increase from five points to six did not come until much later in Canada, and the touchdown remained only five points there until 1956. In addition, the score continued to commonly be called a ''try'' in Canada until the second half of the twentieth century. The ability to score a touchdown on the point-after attempt (two-point conversion) was added to NCAA football in 1958 and also used in the [[American Football League]] during its ten-year run from 1960 to 1969. It was subsequently adopted by high school football in 1969, the [[CFL]] in 1975 and the NFL in 1994.<ref name="Nelson"/><ref name="NFL History">{{cite web|url=http://www.nfl.com/history/chronology/1991-2000#1994|title=History 1991-2000|work=NFL.com |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191203100532/http://www.nfl.com/history/chronology/1991-2000#1994 |archive-date= Dec 3, 2019 }}</ref> The short-lived [[World Football League]], a professional American football league that operated in 1974 and 1975, gave touchdowns a seven-point value.
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