scrimmage

sports

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Last updated

July 13, 2026

Quick Summary

A scrimmage is a practice play in sports like football or basketball, where two teams engage in simulated game action. Historically, it originated from a scrummage, a method of starting play in early rugby where teams would gather around the ball and try to kick it forward. American football evolved this, with Walter Camp introducing rules that favored a scrimmage over a scrum, establishing the "line of scrimmage" where play begins after a snap. The term "scrimmage" itself is an alteration of the word "skirmish," and can also refer to a minor battle or a confused fight.12

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American football
Walter Camp and the creation of American football
…altogether in favor of a scrimmage, which awarded possession of the ball to one of the two teams. It was then put in play by heeling it out. (Snapping the ball with the hand became legal in 1890, though snapping with the foot continued as an option until 1913.)
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…altogether in favor of a scrimmage, which awarded possession of the ball to one of the two teams. It was then put in play by heeling it out. (Snapping the ball with the hand became legal in 1890, though snapping with the foot continued as an option until 1913.)
Read More