To all the Ref’s and sport history-knowing folks among the teeming, what is the real purpose of the hash marks on a football field? Why not simply start every play from the center of the field? Of all I’ve asked, they simply quoted the rule(s) but couldn’t truly explain their necessity. Why were hash marks ever deemed necessary?
Inquiring football mind wants to know…
It adds to strategy, with an emphasis on ball position - and the marks were wider apart before. Think of the big time running game that football was based on. With a ‘strong side’ and a ‘weak side’ it affected adjustment and plays to run. Also inpacts the kicking game. Ball position left and right, as well as up and down played a huge role in strategy, although it’s been de-emphasized as their has been a push to sell the game via high scoring, which means creating an easier environment to call offensive plays.
To expand on Philster’s post. American football (just specifying to keep the Euro’s in line :)) and rugby developed out of similar ancestors. In the early days, there was no forward passing in football – it was almost entirely a running and kicking game. Also, the hash marks were farther apart than today. The placement of the ball on one or the other hash mark created a definite “strong side” and “weak side” to the field. The offense had more room to run on one side versus the other. This therefore affected formations, types of plays, strategy, and tactics.
With rule changes (institution of the forward pass, narrowed hash marks, etc) and development of the game, the position of the hash marks has less of an effect on game play. It is still important when attempting a long field goal, and occaisionally a team will run a play specifically to move the ball laterally for the kicker. Other than that, in today’s game, the formation used by the offense, rather than the hash mark, does more to determine the strong and weak sides of the formation.
As time has gone on in football, the hash marks have been pushed further to the center of the field.
If you watched a football game in the early 20th century, the PAT would have been attempted from a mark along where the touchdown was scored. So if a guy scored running along the sideline, the team would have had to have kicked a PAT from a nearly impossible angle.
When I was in high school (1936-1940) there were no such things as hash marks. If the play ended 1 yard from the sideline, that’s where the next play started. All the linemen lined up on the same side of the center and special plays were devised for such cases.
I vaguely remember that possibly in my senior year the rule was changed and the ball was spotted ten yards from the sideline if the play ended at a distance less than that.
In most cases, the point after was run for, or passed for but that was uncommon. Kicking came later.
The NFL started the idea of hashmarks back in 1932. They played an indoor game at Chicago Stadium on an 80-yard field and they made hashmarks 10-yards inside from the stadium so there would be room to play.
They were adopted for all games in 1933, the same year that they moved the goal posts to the goal line in an attempt to increase scoring.
College football didn’t use hashmarks for many more years, but I can’t figure out which year.
Thanks for the enlightenment, folks…!!!
What happened when the play went out of bounds?
Damned if I remember! However, a simple rule, such as “start the next play the center of the field” or “x yards from the sideline” would serve.
I think prior to hash marks that if the play went out of bounds, the ball was placed back in the center.
Hash marks were designed to keep people from having to snap the ball from just a yard or two inside the sideline. You couldn’t even have a regular formation in that instance.
Sorry Bob T, still getting the hang of this site… 
Your reply, which makes much sense still begs the question: Why didn’t the forefathers of football realize the shortcomings and simply feel starting the football in the center every time would make perfect sense? I understand how the hash marks could make the game more strategic, but I would honestly enjoy seeing one game where, just for fun, they start every play from the center of the field (the kickers would certainly agree). I honestly believe it would make for better football (the human chess game)but I’m absolutely certain there will be rebuttals to this notion. That’s what’s fun about this place…
Thanks for your replies, one & all…
They didn’t look upon starting the next play from where the last one ended as a “shortcoming” at all. It was just part of the game.
All game rules are arbitrary and at some point the rules makers decided that, in their opinion, the game would be improved by moving the ball a distance in from the sidelines.
A lot of it had to with the evolution of the rules of football from being closer to rugby, where kicking is more important to football that we know today where passing is more important.
If you had a difficult angle for a kick in the old days, you could have the kicker run to the center of the field and try a dropkick, which was easier back in the days when the ball was rounder.