| Rugby started at the Rugby School, which is located in the town of Rugby, in the Midlands of England. The story is that a student at Rugby by the name of William Webb Ellis was playing whatever version of football was being played at that time (1823), picked up the ball and ran. There is a plaque at Rugby School that commemorates this. It says: "THIS STONE COMMEMORATES THE EXPLOIT OF WILLIAM WEBB ELLIS WHO WITH A FINE DISREGARD FOR THE RULES OF FOOTBALL, AS PLAYED IN HIS TIME, FIRST TOOK THE BALL IN HIS ARMS AND RAN WITH IT, THUS ORIGINATING THE DISTINCTIVE FEATURES OF THE RUGBY GAME A.D. 1823" |
