Ebenezer Cobb Morley's Birthday Google Doodle

Ebenezer Cobb Morley (16 August 1831 – 20 November 1924) was an English sportsman and is regarded as the father of the Foodball Association and modern football.

Before Ebenezer Cobb Morley set down the rules of football in 1863, the game was much more chaotic than the version we know today. His 13th rule gives some indication of how unruly football used to be:  'No player shall wear projecting nails, iron plates, or gutta percha on the soles or heels of his boots.'

Morley’s laws helped reduce violence on the field — although he did think players should be able to “hack the front leg” — and formalized the crucial rule we now call offsides, which prevents players from permanently stationing themselves behind  an opponent’s defensive line, waiting for a pass.