1903 Carlisle Indians football team

American college football season February 2026 August 2023 1903 Carlisle Indians football 1903carlisle.jpg 285 Independent 11–2–1 Pop Warner 5th Jimmy Johnson Indian Field The 1903 Carlisle Indians football team represented the Carlisle Indian Industrial School as an independent during the 1903 college football season. Led by fifth-year head coach Pop Warner, the Indians compiled a record of 11–2–1 and outscored opponents 274 to 62. In 1903, an Indian team coached by Warner first employed its infamous "hidden-ball play" against heavily favored Harvard. Warner, as coach at Cornell, had already used it against Penn State in 1897, but it had not achieved much notice. Carlisle led Harvard at halftime, and hoping to keep the game's momentum, Warner elected to try the play on the ensuing kickoff. Harvard executed the kick, and the Indians formed a circle around the returner. With the aid of a specially altered jersey, the ball was placed up the back of the returner. The Indians broke the huddle and spread out in different directions. Each player feigned carrying the ball, except Dillon, the man with the ball up the back of his jersey. The ruse confused the Crimson players, and they scrambled to find the ball carrier. Dillon, with both his hands free, was ignored by the searching Harvard players, and he ran untouched into the end zone. With the score, Carlisle extended its lead to 11–0, but Harvard came back and eventually won 12–11. Nevertheless, the close match, and trick play, resulted in national attention.Gridiron Guts: The Story of Football's Carlisle Indians, NPR, May 19, 2007.Football, the Indian Way, Newsweek, April 27, 2007. Warner had learned the trick from John Heisman while facing Auburn in 1895 during his tenure as coach of the Georgia Bulldogs. Jim Thorpe: A Biography Cook William 29 July 2011 27 9780786485772 https://books.google.com/books?id=ORF6AAAAQBAJ&pg=PA27 Quarterback and captain Jimmy Johnson was selected All-American by Walter Camp. "Camp based his selection on a remarkable game he witnessed when Carlisle played Harvard. Johnson was small but fiery, and was a leader."1219 Jimmy Johnson September 25, 2010 Schedule September 19 w 1903 Lebanon Valley Flying Dutchmen Lebanon Valley Indian Field Carlisle, PA 28–0 https://www.nytimes.com/1903/09/20/archives/indians-begin-at-football-carlisle-eleven-won-the-first-game-of-the.html Indians Begin At Football.; Carlisle Eleven Won the First Game of the Season from Lebanon Valley Team -- Dickinson Also Wins. September 26 w 1903 Gettysburg Gettysburg Indian Field Carlisle, PA 46–0 https://archives-collegepubs.gettysburg.edu/?a=d&d=GTY19030930-01.2.8 The Gettysburgian, 30 September 1903 October 3 w y Bucknell Williamsport, PA 12–0 https://spectatorarchive.library.columbia.edu/?a=d&d=cs19031003-01.2.13 Columbia Daily Spectator, Volume XLVII, Number 10, 3 October 1903 October 5, 2024 October 7, 2024 https://web.archive.org/web/20241007092620/https://spectatorarchive.library.columbia.edu/?a=d&d=cs19031003-01.2.13 dead October 10 w y 1903 Franklin & Marshall Franklin & Marshall Lancaster, PA 30–0 October 17 l y Princeton University Field Princeton, NJ 11–0 Princeton, 11; Carlisle, 0 The New York Times October 18, 1903 14 https://www.newspapers.com/clip/98336838/princeton-11-carlisle-0/ Newspapers.com October 24 w Swarthmore Indian Field Carlisle, PA 12–5 https://www.nytimes.com/1903/10/25/archives/carlisle-12-swarthmore-5.html Carlisle, 12; Swarthmore, 5. October 31 3:00 p.m. l y Harvard Soldiers' Field Boston, MA 12–11 12,000 Webb Melville E. Jr. Harvard Plays Indians Today https://www.newspapers.com/clip/98707569/the-boston-globe/ The Boston Daily Globe Boston, Massachusetts October 31, 1903 1 March 30, 2022 Newspapers.com Webb Melville E. Jr. Harvard Plays Indians Today (continued) https://www.newspapers.com/clip/98707862/the-boston-globe/ The Boston Daily Globe Boston, Massachusetts October 31, 1903 5 March 30, 2022 Newspapers.com Indians Spring The Trick Play https://www.newspapers.com/clip/98707970/the-boston-globe/ The Boston Sunday Globe Boston, Massachusetts November 1, 1903 1 March 30, 2022 Newspapers.com Indians Spring The Trick Play (continued) https://www.newspapers.com/clip/98708137/the-boston-globe/ The Boston Sunday Globe Boston, Massachusetts November 1, 1903 9 March 30, 2022 Newspapers.com November 7 w y Georgetown Georgetown Field Washington, DC 28–6 https://www.hoyafootball.com/records/opponents-c.htm Georgetown Football History Project November 14 w y Penn Franklin Field Philadelphia, PA 16–6 November 21 t y Virginia Lafayette Field Norfolk, VA 6–6 5,000 Carlisle 6, Virginia 6 https://www.newspapers.com/clip/76770814/democrat-and-chronicle/ Democrat and Chronicle Rochester, New York November 22, 1903 22 April 30, 2021 Newspapers.com November 26 w y Northwestern South Side Park Chicago, IL 28–0 3,000 Purple Outplayed By Wily Redmen https://www.newspapers.com/clip/76730851/detroit-free-press/ Detroit Free Press Detroit, Michigan November 27, 1903 8 April 29, 2021 Newspapers.com Carlisle Defeats Northwestern https://www.newspapers.com/clip/76731096/the-muscatine-journal/ Muscatine Journal Muscatine, Iowa November 27, 1903 2 April 29, 2021 Newspapers.com December 19 3:00 p.m. w y Utah Cummings Field Salt Lake City, UT 22–0 1,000 Redskins Are Ready https://www.newspapers.com/clip/109465220/the-salt-lake-tribune/ The Salt Lake Tribune Salt Lake City, Utah December 19, 1903 8 September 13, 2022 Newspapers.com Scalped By Indians https://www.newspapers.com/clip/109465206/the-salt-lake-tribune/ The Salt Lake Tribune Salt Lake City, Utah December 20, 1903 8 September 13, 2022 Newspapers.com December 25 w y Reliance Athletic Club San Francisco, CA 23–0 January 1 w y Sherman Prager Park Los Angeles, CA 12–6 Indians Battle Tie Of East and West https://www.newspapers.com/clip/76731343/the-los-angeles-times/ Los Angeles Times Los Angeles, California January 2, 1904 10 April 29, 2021 Newspapers.com https://www.footballarchaeology.com/p/origins-of-the-college-football-bowl-system Origins of the College Football Bowl System https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/schools/carlisle/1903-schedule.html 1903 Carlisle Indian Schedule and Results References Carlisle Category:Carlisle Indians football seasons Carlisle Indians football Category:Long stubs with short prose