When was the tight end position added to the NFL?

Answer 1

The tight end position has always been a part of football, it was simply called 'end' instead of 'tight end'. In the early days of football, offenses used mainly running plays. Rules stated, and still state today, that there had to be seven players positioned on the line of scrimmage at the time of the snap. Since most plays were runs, both ends would line up next to the tackles to help with blocking. As the passing game became popular teams would keep one of the ends in close, usually to block, and move one of the ends away from the offensive line to become a pass receiver. Folks gave the end who stayed close to the tackle the name 'tight end' because he played close, or tight, to the offensive line and called the other end 'split end' because he played away, or split himself, from the offensive line.