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Bladderball

Bladderball was a traditional game that was played between 1954 and 1982 within the campus of Yale University by university students. The game resembled other forms of mob football in which any number of people can be a part in each team, and the only objective of the sport was to gain possession of the large inflated leather ball by any means necessary.



The game was conceived by Philip Zeidman, a Yale Student who had a 6-foot exercise ball. Games were originally played between students that were part of the two campus new magazines and the two radio stations. There was no scoring system and the objective was to just gain possession of the ball. There were no rules around what constitutes a win and it was very common for both teams that took part in the game to declare themselves as winners.

a bladderball scrimmagea bladderball scrimmage at Columbia University

Bladderball was banned by the university administration in 1982 due to the increase in violence surrounding the game. The students of the university have made three attempts to revive the game in 2009, 2011 and 2014, but all three attempts were ended within minutes of the start of the game. In 2014, the ball was popped in less than a minute.



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