The game of American football has been played since the mid-1800's. The first College game occurred between Princeton and Rutgers on November 6th, 1869. Meanwhile, the professional game has been played in some form since 1895.

The games of Touch and Flag Football have been around nearly as long as tackle football. The first remembrance of these types of games is "Touch and Tail" Football, which was played was in the 1930's. Flag football as we know it today was developed on military bases in the early 1940's as a recreational sport for military personal. After World War II, recreational leagues soon developed. These leagues were patterned around the format used by softball leagues, and with their creation, the game we know and love was born. Arguably the most famous of these leagues was the National Flag & Touch Football League (NTFL), which was the dominant national league for over 15 years.

Around the same time, recreational football began it's spread across college campuses nationwide. However, the college intramural football game of the 1960's and 1970's was a seven man contact game that in only slightly resembles the non-contact game played today. For today's game, the National Collegiate Flag Football Championships is held each December at the University of New Orleans. There has been a National College Champion crowned on the UNO campus every year since 1979.

The first major competition to the NTFL was formed in 1988, when the NTFL's own regional director Mike Cihon broke free to create the United States Flag Touch Football League (USFTL). The USFTL holds the National Flag Football Tournament in Orlando annually, and this event continues to be the largest non-college flag football tournament in the nation. It drew 175 teams in January 2002, and crowned 11 flag football National Champions.

Another prominent flag football league today is the American Flag & Touch Football League (AFTFL). The AFTFL was formed in 1991 by George Higgins after a dispute between Higgins and USFTL director Cihon. The league has grown significantly from it's Long Island roots, and today even hosts it's own national championship tournament. This annual event is held in Atlanta each February.

Many other "national organizations" have formed since the mid 1990's to take advantage of the more than 20 million players participating in flag football programs. In 1999, the Professional Flag Football League, Inc. (PFFL) played the first ever professional flag football travel schedule, with teams in Buffalo, Cleveland, Columbus, Dayton, Toledo, and Indianapolis. The league was not successful financially, folding after only one season. It is the hope of many that another attempt at a national professional flag football league will occur in the near future.

Source:

Langdon, T. (n.d.) Brief History of Flag Football retrieved from: http://www.flagfootball.org/sitefootballhistory.htm