Games involving balls have been a favorite pastime around the world for many centuries. Different historians and rugby clubs offer different versions on the origin of the sport, but it is widely held that rugby, as we know it today, began in England sometime during the mid 18th century. There is also some debate as to whether rugby developed as an offshoot of soccer. In the mid 18th century, English public schools played a variety of football games with no actual rules. Schoolboys simply rushed toward, and mobbed, the person holding the ball (much like how it is with American football nowadays). Oftentimes this involved hundreds of students at a time, which was potentially hazardous. From the many variations of this ballgame found in England at the time, two distinctive patterns developed: the handling type of play and the kicking type of play. This division initially took hold at private colleges, where sports were looked upon as key elements in the holistic development of students. The most famous anecdote concerning the origins of rugby in Denver, as we know it today, tells of how a certain student named William Webb Ellis allegedly got hold of a ball during a game and ran off with it, instead of kicking it as football players normally would. Although largely against the rules of football at the time, the practice soon picked up among football players and became more common during games. Of course, not everyone was pleased. During a meeting at a Freemasons' tavern in London, this move was voted against and caused a rift between teams who were for running with the ball and those who just wanted to kick the ball. From then on, two distinct sports had branched out. It wasn't until 1871 that the rules of rugby in Denver were formalized, with the Rugby School releasing the first set of guidelines. Thus, their name was adopted for the sport as a whole. The first rugby game in the United States took place in 1874. It remained fairly popular with Americans until 1924, when it was removed from the Olympics. While rugby is nowhere near the popularity of other professional sports in the United States, rugby in Denver is slowly but surely gaining fans in the western hemisphere.