1903 Carlisle Indians football team

1903 Carlisle Indians football
Conference	Independent
Record	11–2–1
Head coach	Pop Warner (5th season)
Captain	Jimmy Johnson

1903 Eastern college football independents records

	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		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

The 1903 Carlisle Indians football team represented the Carlisle Indians football team of the Carlisle Indian Industrial School during the 1903 college football season. The Indians were coached by Pop Warner in his fifth year as head coach. The team 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. Warner had learned the trick from John Heisman while facing Auburn in 1895 during his tenure as coach of the Georgia Bulldogs.

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."

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Site	Result
September 19	Lebanon Valley	Indian Field Carlisle, PA	W 28–0
September 26	Gettysburg	Indian Field Carlisle, PA	W 46–0
October 3	vs. Bucknell	Williamsport, PA	W 12–0
October 10	at Franklin & Marshall	Lancaster, PA	W 30–0
October 17	at Princeton	Osborne Field Princeton, NJ	L 11–0
October 24	Swarthmore	Indian Field Carlisle, PA	W 12–5
October 31	at Harvard	Harvard Stadium Allston, MA	L 12–11
November 7	at Georgetown	Georgetown Field Washington, DC	W 28–6
November 14	at Penn	Franklin Field Philadelphia, PA	W 16–6
November 21	at Virginia	Norfolk, VA	T 6–6
November 26	at Northwestern	Chicago, IL	W 28–0
December 19	at Utah	Cummings Field Salt Lake City, UT	W 22–0
December 25	at Reliance Athletic Club	San Francisco, CA	W 23–0
January 1	at Sherman		W 12–6

See also

• 1903 College Football All-America Team