History
Games related to rugby football were played in the United States in the early 19th century. During this time the sports had no fixed rules, and were particularly popular in universities and college preparatory schools in the Northeastern United States. The sport of American football evolved from these intercollegiate games.
Meanwhile in England a schism developed in rugby football between those who favored strict amateurism and those who felt that players should be compensated for time taken off work to play rugby. In 1895 this resulted in the formation of a break-away sport, rugby league, the rules of the two codes of rugby (union and league) would themselves diverge. Whilst the new form of rugby was taken to countries such as France and Australia, American rugby continued to be played solely under rugby union rules. The sport was eclipsed by American football and was confined to California by the time of the 1920 Olympics.
In 1939, the Californian Rugby Football Union wrote to the governing body of rugby league, the Rugby Football League, to tell them they wanted to switch from rugby union and affiliate to the RFL. In June 1939, the RFL made plans to send a delegation out to California but were unable to do so due to the outbreak of World War II.
Read more about this topic: Rugby League In The United States
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