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Flag football has grown significantly in recent years and its origins are one involving the United States military.
During World War II, flag football was born at Fort Meade, the army base at Fort Meade Marylandas service members decided it was best not to play tackle football to remain safer prior to a possible deployment overseas.
Decades later, Baltimore Ravens star safety Kyle Hamilton teamed up with Toyota to host an NFL FLAG clinic for military children and their families at the team’s facility in Owings Mills, Maryland – just a short drive from where the football draft originated.
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“I’m super excited,” he said. “It’s a small bright spot in a season that isn’t going so great the Ravens now. But I can come to the facility and have something else to do. I’m sure it will be a great time to be with these kids today, and from the whole NFL FLAG football perspective, I recently learned that flag football was created at Fort Meade, near here, during World War II.
Hamilton has history with Our Military Kids, having used them as his charity of choice for the NFL’s annual “My Cause My Cleats” last season.
“My grandfather, my mother’s father, served in the military, and that’s how he met my grandmother. My mother was born at the time, but my grandfather was stationed there, and he married my grandmother, and they went back to the United States together. So thanks to the military, I’m here today, I guess, by default,” he said.
Hamilton also noted how his view of these military children changed when he went to Camp Humphreys in South Korea last year to participate in a separate camp.
“Meeting the kids there and knowing they don’t have the chance to choose the life they get, but they’re super happy,” he said of the experience.
For this camp, Hamilton helped the kids with warm-ups, drills and skills challenges before ending the evening with a fun scrimmage.
Hamilton discussed his excitement about working with Toyota, the official automotive partner of his Ravens, and the NFL, as they became the presenting partner of NFL FLAG, the largest flag football organization in the world.
Kyle Hamilton of the Baltimore Ravens reacts after a game against the Detroit Lions during the first half at M&T Bank Stadium on September 22 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Cooper Neill/Getty Images)
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To date, Toyota supports more than 300,000 youth NFL FLAG players nationwide.
“It’s a lot of fun and I’m truly grateful that Toyota let me be a part of it,” said Hamilton. “I know Toyota is a big supporter of NFL FLAG and has helped 300,000 people. I know there’s a slogan they like: ‘All in, all season,’ and I think it’s very true with what they’ve done with this program and the NFL in general.”
