By Darin 
In 1907, the forward pass was still a football gimmick, a dangerous new rule (legalized just a year earlier) that most powerhouse teams ignored in favor of brute force. But on November 9, 1907, one team used it—and a myriad of other deceptions—to rewrite the script of college football. The Carlisle Indian School, the nation’s flagship university for Native Americans, traveled to Harvard as massive underdogs, carrying the weight of a 10-game losing streak against the Crimson. But this time, they had a new plan, a legendary coach, and a star who would become the greatest athlete in the world.
The game that unfolded was a brilliant display of strategy and speed over Harvard’s traditional power. The Carlisle Indians, led by the innovative coach Pop Warner, refused to play by the established rules of engagement. Warner, a master of deception, unleashed a “myriad of trick plays” that left the Crimson defense baffled. The Indians embraced the newly-legalized forward pass, using it to stretch the field in an era defined by ground-and-pound football. This aerial attack was just one part of the revolutionary game plan.
The game’s momentum was dictated by Carlisle’s dazzling execution. One of the most electrifying moments came from an 85-yard, “stop-and-go” punt return that showcased the team’s superior speed and agility. While the Harvard players were bigger and stronger, they couldn’t catch the elusive Carlisle runners. In another instance, Warner called for a quarterback run off a fake handoff, a play that exploited the defense’s aggressive attempts to stop the star of the team, Jim Thorpe.
Harvard, the established giant of college football, had no answer for this new, faster, and smarter style of play. The 10-game losing streak was emphatically snapped. Carlisle won 23-15, a victory that shocked the sporting world and cemented the small Native American school as a national powerhouse. That season, led by Warner and Thorpe, the Indians would go on to finish with a 10-1 record, proving their revolutionary tactics were not a fluke but the future of the sport.
Verified Football Accolades & Accomplishments: Jim Thorpe
- Pro Football Hall of Fame (Charter Member, Class of 1963)
- College Football Hall of Fame (Class of 1951)
- First-team All-American (1911, 1912)
- First President of the American Professional Football Association (APFA), the forerunner to the NFL (1920)
- NFL 1920s All-Decade Team
- Associated Press “Greatest Football Player of the Half-Century” (1950)
- Associated Press “Greatest Male Athlete of the Half-Century” (1950)
- Winner of 1912 Olympic Gold Medals in the Pentathlon and Decathlon