22. Mob Football
In Middle Ages England, Lent season often featured a rough ball game known as mob football. There were regional variations, but the basics were similar. Teams from different villages and towns, with anywhere from a few dozen to hundreds of players, met in a fairly central location. Then a ball was thrown, and the competing teams vied with each other to capture a ball and take it back home – usually to their church’s front porch.
There were few restrictions as to team sizes or ball handling. The massive matches usually lasted for an entire day, with many players dropping out because of injury or fatigue. Bruises, scratches, cuts, and lacerations were common occurrences, with the occasional death thrown into the mix. Despite those risks, medieval mob football remained popular for centuries. Because of its destructive nature, however, it was eventually banned in England by King Edward II in 1314. In what might or might not be a coincidence, Edward II went down in history as one of England’s most unpopular and despised kings.