1903 Carlisle Indians football team

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.

1903 Carlisle Indians football
ConferenceIndependent
Record11–2–1
Head coach
CaptainJimmy Johnson
Home stadiumIndian Field
1903 Eastern college football independents records
ConfOverall
TeamW L TW L T
Princeton   –  11 –0 –0
Yale   –  11 –1 –0
Columbia   –  9 –1 –0
Dartmouth   –  9 –1 –0
Geneva   –  9 –1 –0
Holy Cross   –  8 –2 –0
Temple   –  4 –1 –0
Washington & Jefferson   –  8 –2 –0
Lehigh   –  9 –2 –1
Harvard   –  9 –3 –0
Penn   –  9 –3 –0
Army   –  6 –2 –1
Carlisle   –  6 –2 –1
Amherst   –  7 –3 –0
Lafayette   –  7 –3 –0
Cornell   –  6 –3 –1
Colgate   –  4 –2 –1
Penn State   –  5 –3 –0
Swarthmore   –  6 –4 –0
Brown   –  5 –4 –1
Syracuse   –  5 –4 –0
Fordham   –  1 –1 –0
Frankin & Marshall   –  5 –5 –1
Buffalo   –  4 –4 –0
Rutgers   –  4 –4 –1
Delaware   –  4 –4 –0
Villanova   –  2 –2 –0
Bucknell   –  4 –5 –0
Vermont   –  4 –5 –0
Tufts   –  5 –8 –0
Wesleyan   –  3 –6 –1
Springfield Training School   –  1 –3 –1
NYU   –  2 –5 –0
New Hampshire   –  2 –6 –1
Pittsburgh College   –  1 –5 –1
Western U. Penn.   –  1 –8 –1

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.[1][2] Warner had learned the trick from John Heisman while facing Auburn in 1895 during his tenure as coach of the Georgia Bulldogs.[3]

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."[4]

Schedule
DateTimeOpponentSiteResultAttendanceSource
September 19Lebanon Valley
W 28–0
September 26Gettysburg
  • Indian Field
  • Carlisle, PA
W 46–0
October 3vs. BucknellWilliamsport, PAW 12–0
October 10at Franklin & MarshallLancaster, PAW 30–0
October 17at Princeton
L 11–0[5]
October 24Swarthmore
  • Indian Field
  • Carlisle, PA
W 12–5
October 313:00 p.m.at Harvard
L 12–1112,000[6][7][8][9]
November 7at Georgetown
W 28–6
November 14at Penn
W 16–6
November 21vs. Virginia
T 6–65,000[10]
November 26at Northwestern
W 28–03,000[11][12]
December 195:00 p.m.at Utah
W 22–01,000[13][14]
December 25at Reliance Athletic ClubSan Francisco, CAW 23–0
January 1at Sherman
W 12–6[15]

[16]

See also

References
  1. Gridiron Guts: The Story of Football's Carlisle Indians, NPR, May 19, 2007.
  2. Football, the Indian Way, Newsweek, April 27, 2007.
  3. Cook, William (July 29, 2011). Jim Thorpe: A Biography. p. 27. ISBN 9780786485772.
  4. "Jimmy Johnson". College Football Hall of Fame. Football Foundation. Retrieved September 25, 2010.
  5. "Princeton, 11; Carlisle, 0". The New York Times. October 18, 1903. p. 14 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. Webb, Melville E., Jr. (October 31, 1903). "Harvard Plays Indians Today". The Boston Daily Globe. Boston, Massachusetts. p. 1. Retrieved March 30, 2022 – via Newspapers.com open access.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  7. Webb, Melville E., Jr. (October 31, 1903). "Harvard Plays Indians Today (continued)". The Boston Daily Globe. Boston, Massachusetts. p. 5. Retrieved March 30, 2022 – via Newspapers.com open access.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  8. "Indians Spring The Trick Play". The Boston Sunday Globe. Boston, Massachusetts. November 1, 1903. p. 1. Retrieved March 30, 2022 – via Newspapers.com open access.
  9. "Indians Spring The Trick Play (continued)". The Boston Sunday Globe. Boston, Massachusetts. November 1, 1903. p. 9. Retrieved March 30, 2022 – via Newspapers.com open access.
  10. "Carlisle 6, Virginia 6". Democrat and Chronicle. Rochester, New York. November 22, 1903. p. 22. Retrieved April 30, 2021 – via Newspapers.com open access.
  11. "Purple Outplayed By Wily Redmen". Detroit Free Press. Detroit, Michigan. November 27, 1903. p. 8. Retrieved April 29, 2021 – via Newspapers.com open access.
  12. "Carlisle Defeats Northwestern". Muscatine Journal. Muscatine, Iowa. November 27, 1903. p. 2. Retrieved April 29, 2021 – via Newspapers.com open access.
  13. "Redskins Are Ready". The Salt Lake Tribune. Salt Lake City, Utah. December 19, 1903. p. 8. Retrieved September 13, 2022 – via Newspapers.com open access.
  14. "Scalped By Indians". The Salt Lake Tribune. Salt Lake City, Utah. December 20, 1903. p. 8. Retrieved September 13, 2022 – via Newspapers.com open access.
  15. "Indians Battle Tie Of East and West". Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles, California. January 2, 1904. p. 10. Retrieved April 29, 2021 – via Newspapers.com open access.
  16. "1903 Carlisle Indian Schedule and Results".


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