full backn.
/ˈfʊl bak/, U.S. /ˈfʊl ˌbæk/ Sport.
1.
a. Originally Rugby. A player who plays in the defensive position closest to the goal being defended; the position of such a player.The term arose in Rugby Football with reference to the player's position behind the other backs. It was subsequently transferred to a number of other sports, e.g. Association Football (but cf. sense 1b), hockey, hurling, Australian Rules, and Gaelic football, and in most cases used in contrast to the more advanced half-back (see halfback n.). Similar terminology is used in American and Canadian football to refer to offensive positions (see sense 2).
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society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > ball game > football > rugby football > [noun] > types of player > player or position
full back1875
goal kick1875
No. eight1876
goalkicker1879
three-quarter back1880
handler1888
three-quarter1889
heeler1892
scrum half1894
lock forward1898
standoff1902
five-eighth1905
hooker1905
threes1905
flying half1906
loose head1907
standoff1908
fly-half1918
fly1921
inside half1921
outside half1921
scrum1921
inside centre1936
flank forward1937
out-half1949
prop1950
prop forward1951
number eight1952
flanker1953
tight head1959
back-rower1969
second rower1969
striker1973
packman1992
1875 Bell's Life in London 30 Jan. 5/2 W. E. Collins and Hon H. A. Lawrence..captained the respective sides, both of them playing full back.
1877 Boy's Herald 6 Jan. 12/3 There should be three other backs; two to be stationed as ‘half-backs’ just outside the ‘bully’..and the other, a ‘full back’, to act as the best line of defence in front of the goal-keeper.
1893 A. H. Harrison in Assoc. Football Handbk. 18 Let the full-backs keep close to their halves.
1898 S. Christopherson in W. A. Morgan ‘House’ on Sport 186 The old square gutta-percha ball, the club with the great big head, and the heavy ‘slogging’ full backs have become items of the past [in hockey].
1922 Irish Times 31 July 6 Faughs..had to play their well-known quarter-man, J. Walsh, at full back.
1949 Dominion (Wellington, N.Z.) 27 June 7/8 The full-back mulled the ball and Savage was handy to score an unconverted try.
1951 Sport 16 Mar. 13/1 George Jackson, the former Everton full-back.
1982 B. Beaumont Thanks to Rugby xiii. 165 Rodney O'Donnell, our fullback in the first Test, broke his neck.
2013 Daily Tel. 15 Nov. 37/6 Steve turned professional for St Helens, where he was an accomplished full-back and goalkicker.
b. Association Football. Since the late 1950s: a defensive player in a position on the right- or left-hand side of the pitch, typically also having the responsibility to move forward and contribute to attacking play; the position of such a player.The full backs usually play either side of two centre backs in a ‘back four’ (see back four n. at back- comb. form Additions). This system of play was introduced over the course of the 1950s by Hungarian and Brazilian coaches and became widespread in the 1960s. Prior to this time full back had referred to the players positioned closest to the goal being defended, a use directly comparable to those in rugby, hockey, and other sports; see sense 1a for this use, e.g. quot. 1893.
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society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > ball game > football > association football > [noun] > player > types of
marksman1927
marker1928
stopper1934
full back1958
sweeper1964
back four1966
libero1967
clogger1970
anchorman1974
target man1975
shadow1976
anchor1984
1958 Times 22 Apr. 4/7 Four of their [sc. Brazil's] stars are still in the heavens—Didi,..Castilho,..and the full-backs, Nilton Santos and Djalma Santos.
1972 G. Green Great Moments in Sport: Soccer iv. 58 Cohen and Ray Wilson, the full backs, overlapping down the flanks..as the whole side bamboozled Spain with mobile positional play.
2000 Times 7 Aug. (Sport Monday section) 8/2 Your team must be in a 4–4–2 formation, with one goalkeeper; two full-backs; two centre-backs; four midfielders; two forwards.
2012 FourFourTwo Oct. 106/1 Knocking the ball past the French full-back and lashing it into the top corner to give Roma a 2–0 lead.
2. American Football and Canadian Football. Usually in form fullback. An offensive player in the backfield who runs the ball or blocks for the quarterback or other running back; the position in the field of this player.
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society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > ball game > football > American football > [noun] > types of player
side tackle1809
nose guard1852
rusher1877
goalkicker1879
quarterback1879
runner1880
quarter1883
full back1884
left guard1884
snap-back1887
snapper-back1887
running back1891
tackle1891
defensive end1897
guard1897
interferer1897
receiver1897
defensive back1898
defensive tackle1900
safety man1901
ball carrier1902
defensive lineman1902
homebrew1903
offensive lineman1905
lineman1907
returner1911
signal caller1915
rover1916
interference1920
punt returner1926
pass rusher1928
tailback1930
safety1931
blocker1935
faker1938
scatback1946
linesman1947
flanker1953
platoon player1953
corner-back1955
pulling guard1955
split end1955
return man1957
slot-back1959
strong safety1959
wide receiver1960
line-backer1961
pocket passer1963
tight end1963
run blocker1967
wideout1967
blitzer1968
1884 Stevens Indicator 15 Jan. 7/2 Teams... Baldwin, Quarter Back. Campbell, Full Back.
1909 Manitoba Free Press 18 June 7/4 Bawlf has been for the past two years the best fullback in the Intercollegiate union, being regarded as one of the finest punters in Canada.
1937 Life 1 Nov. 53/1 (caption) Back William Callihan (6 ft. 3 in., 182 lb.) is 21, a junior, hails from Grand Island. He plays fullback.
1964 Sports Illustr. 5 Oct. 73/1 His best play is a sprintout run-pass option when he fakes to the fullback and follows both pulling guards.
2004 W. St. John Rammer Jammer Yellow Hammer 245 Auburn drives, first by sending their speeding truck of a fullback up the middle, then by throwing long downfield.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2016; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.1875