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Pop Warner

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"Glenn Warner" redirects here. For the soccer coach at the Naval Academy, see Glenn Warner (soccer coach).
Glenn Scobey "Pop" Warner
Warner in the 1921 Pitt yearbook
Biographical details
Born(1871-04-05)April 5, 1871
Springville, New York
DiedSeptember 7, 1954(1954-09-07) (aged 83)
Palo Alto, California
Playing career
Football
1892–1894Cornell
1902Syracuse Athletic Club
Position(s)Guard
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
Football
1895–1896Georgia
1895–1899Iowa State
1897–1898Cornell
1899–1903Carlisle Indian
1904–1906Cornell
1907–1914Carlisle Indian
1915–1923Pittsburgh
1924–1932Stanford
1933–1938Temple
1939San Jose State (associate)
Baseball
1905–1906Cornell
Head coaching record
Overall319–106–32 (football)[n 1]
36–15 (baseball)
Bowls1–1–2
Accomplishments and honors
Championships
4 National (1915, 1916, 1918, 1926)
1 SIAA (1896)
3 PCC (1924, 1926, 1927)
Awards
Amos Alonzo Stagg Award (1948)
College Football Hall of Fame
Inducted in 1951 (profile)

Glenn Scobey "Pop" Warner (April 5, 1871 – September 7, 1954), most commonly known as Pop Warner, was an American football player and coach. He served as the head coach at the University of Georgia (1895–1896), Iowa State University (1895–1899), Cornell University (1897–1898, 1904–1906), the Carlisle Indian Industrial School (1899–1903, 1907–1914), the University of Pittsburgh (1915–1923), Stanford University (1924–1932), and Temple University (1933–1938), compiling a career college football record of 319–106–32.[n 1] Warner coached four teams to national championships: in 1915, 1916, and 1918 with Pittsburgh and in 1926 with Stanford. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame as a coach in 1951. Warner also helped start the popular youth American football organization, Pop Warner Little Scholars.

Before the likes of Bear Bryant and Joe Paterno, Pop Warner had the most wins of any coach in major college football history.[1] Warner was the innovator behind the single wing, a precursor to the modern spread and shotgun formations.[2] "In the late '20s and early '30s...football was flooded with coaches who learned their football from either Pop or Knute Rockne."[3]

Early life and playing at Cornell

Warner in a Cornell uniform, c. 1894

Glenn Scobey Warner was born on April 5, 1871 in Springville, New York. He graduated from Cornell University in 1894. While at Cornell, Warner took part in track and field, boxing and football. As a football player, he played during his last two years and without any previous training.[4] Playing as a guard he captained the team, with a record of 6–4–1. That year is notable for Cornell's loss to Michigan, which marked the first year that team was able to beat an Ivy League team. As the oldest player on the team he was known as "Pop." After graduation, Warner worked briefly as an attorney in Buffalo, New York.[5]

Coaching career

Georgia

In 1895, Warner decided to quit his job as an attorney. He wrote to several universities and was eventually hired by the University of Georgia as its new head football coach for the 1895 season at a salary of $34 per week.[6][n 2] This was Georgia's first year in the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association (SIAA), the first southern athletics conference.[n 3] Warner's first Georgia team had three wins against four losses, including one by an illegal forward pass. Nevertheless, Warner was rehired at a salary of $40 per week for ten weeks,[9] and the following year Georgia went undefeated, winning the SIAA championship.[10] The team's quarterback was Richard Von Albade Gammon who infamously died on the field the next season. Also on the team was Rufus Nalley, Georgia's only five-year lettermen.

Cornell

Due to his outstanding performance of 1896, Warner was offered twice what he was paid in Georgia and was lured back to his alma mater Cornell.[11] At the same time he retained his head coaching job at Iowa State. Warner coached Cornell during the next two years, with a record of five wins three losses and one tie (5–3–1) in 1897 and 10–2 in 1898. That season the Big Red outscored its opponents 296 to 29.[12] While the 1898 season was a triumph there was internal tension within the team. The team's assistant coach was lobbying to replace Warner and was backed by a large section of the players. Acknowledging that there was an issue with his leadership, Warner quit before any decision was made at the university.[13]

Iowa State

During his first year at Georgia, coach Warner was also offered a head coaching job at Iowa State University. Iowa State's season started in the middle of August while Georgia's started a month later. He was offered $25 per week to come to Iowa during the month in between and to provide weekly advice during the rest of the season.[14] Soon after Warner left for Georgia, Iowa State had its first game of the season. In Evanston just north of Chicago, the underdog Iowa State crushed Northwestern 36 to 0. A Chicago sportswriter called the team "cornfed giants from Iowa" while the Chicago Tribune's headline read: "Struck by a Cyclone." Since then the Iowa State teams have been known as the "Cyclones".[15] Overall, the team had three wins and three losses and like Georgia, Iowa State retained Warner for the next season. In 1896 the team had eight wins and two losses.[16] Despite leaving Cornell in 1898, Warner remained as the head coach of Iowa State for another year. During his last three years at Iowa State the team had a winning season, however Warner was unable to match his triumph of 1896.[16]

Carlisle

In 1899, soon after leaving Cornell, Warner became the head coach of the Carlisle Indian Industrial School. At the time it was the flagship Native American boarding school in the United States; founded on the principle that Native American children and young men should learn the skills to advance in American society. Its late 19th and early 20th century football teams are now considered to be one of the most dominant and historically significant teams of the period.[17] To join the team Warner was paid $1,200, an exceptionally high salary for the time.[18]

Warner played against Carlisle during his second year at Cornell, and while the Big Red dominated the game, Warner was very impressed by Carlisle's approach to the game. Because the players were outweighed by every other team in the nation they relied upon quickness and agility rather than size and physical force. He recognized them as an instance of what he saw as the game's future.[19] As the new coach, Warner had to interact with young players different than the white east coast students with whom he previously worked. At the beginning, Warner's approach was not unlike then-usual coaching, regularly involving rough language and cursing as part of a strict routine. This was not something the Native American students were used to and several of the key players stopped showing up to practice. Once he realized what happened Warner adjusted: I "found I could get better results. I don't think I ever swore at a player from that time. Maybe I did a little cussing, now and then, but never at players."[20]

A picture of Jim Thorpe tackling a dummy that is made of weights and pulley on wire, with Coach Warner. 1912.

Warner's coaching brought immediate improvement. In 1897 and 1898 the Carlisle teams went 6–4. In 1899, his first year, Carlisle won 9 and only lost 2. The two losses where against the country's two best teams: Harvard and Princeton. That year is also remembered as the first time Carlisle had a major victory, beating one of the "Big Four" teams – Pennsylvania 16 to 5.[20] Carlisle then met Columbia at the end of the season in New York City's Polo Grounds, one of the premier sports venues at the time.[n 4] The Columbia Lions were defeated 42 to 0:

In the Columbia game, the Indians used the crouching start for the first time in football history.... Until that day the standard position for offensive backs, before the ball was snapped, was with feet well apart, body bent forward and hands on the knees. Warner figured that if sprinters could get a faster start with their hands on the ground, partially supporting their bodies, then the same method would increase speed in football. Warner had the Indians practice the crouching start for a long time in practice and then sprung the stance against Columbia. Soon all teams were using the crouch for both backs and linemen.[22]

At the end of the year Warner was also asked to take on the responsibilities of athletic director, to coach all sports in the department, and his salary was more than doubled.[23] A track and field program was started the same year. Warner knew little of track, so to prepare for his coaching he purchased all available text and consulted with the famous track coaches of that time – Jack Moakley, Mike Murphy and George Connors. The program became successful, as a sport running was a part of Native American tradition and students from the southwest were known for their stamina in long distance events.[23][24]

Warner's next two years were not as fruitful. The 1900 football team went 6–4–1. Three of its losses were to the Big Four. The 1901 season was a losing one, with Carlisle going 5–7–1. The following year the team re-emerged at 8–3.[25] "By 1902 Carlisle was more deceptive than ever. One piece of razzle-dazzle installed by Warner was the double pass: Quarterback Jimmie Johnson would toss the ball to a halfback sweeping laterally – who then tossed it back to him. Under the quick-footed Johnson, a future All-America, the shifting Carlisle lines looked like a deck of cards being shuffled."[18]

Also in 1902, Warner played one pro football game for the Syracuse Athletic Club during the first World Series of Football, held at Madison Square Garden. In the very first professional indoor football game the Syracuse squad upset the heavily favored "New York" team. During the Series, Warner was cut badly on the side of his head. While he laughed it off at the time, he was replaced for the rest of the Series, by Blondy Wallace.[26] For the entire tournament, Warner like other team members, earned only $23. The expected earning was $300 per player, however the tournament turned out to be a financial failure.[27]

The 1903 season was a success; the team lost only two games. The 11 to 12 loss to Harvard is known for the "hunch-back" or the "hidden-ball" play. The play was tried during a Harvard kickoff. Once the ball was caught 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 same player. Next, the Indians broke the huddle and spread out in different directions. Each player feigned carrying the ball, except the returner with the ball up in the back of his jersey. The ruse confused the Harvard players, and they scrambled to find the ball carrier. The returner, with both his hands free was ignored, and he ran untouched into the end zone.[28][29] Warner had learned the trick from John Heisman while facing Auburn in 1895 during his tenure as coach at Georgia.[30] The difference was that prior to the game, Warner had a tailor sew elastic bands into the waists of a few players' jerseys so that the play could be reliably executed.[18]

Brief return to Cornell

In 1904, after five years at Carlisle, Warner returned to Cornell. The previous year's team had a poor season and Warner's 1904 team showed little improvement. The following two years however saw significant improvement. The 1905 team lost to Penn, the undefeated champions, by only one point. Their game next year was a 0–0 tie, with Cornell only losing one game – to Princeton.[31]

Return to Carlisle

After three years at Cornell, Warner returned to Carlisle. It is Warner's second period at Carlisle that is considered to be his greatest. Between 1907 and 1914, there were five seasons where the team won ten games or more. Out of his entire time at Carlisle, Warner considered the 1907 team to be "about as perfect a football machine as I ever sent on the field."[18] That team pioneered an elegant, high speed passing game. It is known as one of the first teams to throw the ball regularly and deeply downfield. Under Warner, Carlisle quarterback Frank Mount Pleasant became one of the first regular spiral pass quarterbacks in football.[32]

To take advantage of the Indians' versatility Warner drew up a new offense... "the Carlisle formation," but later it would be known as the single wing. It was predicated on one small move: Warner shifted a halfback out wide, to outflank the opposing tackle, forming something that looked like a wing. It opened up a world of possibilities. The Indians could line up as if to punt -- and then throw. No one would know whether they were going to run, pass or kick. For added measure Warner taught his quarterbacks to sprint out a few yards to their left or their right, buying more time to throw. The rest of the players flooded downfield and knocked down any opponent who might be able to intercept or bat away the pass.[18]

The 1911 Carlisle Indians football team pose with a game ball from the upset over Harvard.

The 1907 team posted a 10–1 record and outscored opponents 267 to 62. For first time in 11 years, Carlisle defeated Harvard on the road in Massachusetts 23 to 15.[33] The year is also remembered for the 26 to 6 win over Penn, a team that would go on to claim a national championship. During that game Carlisle fullback Pete Hauser threw a 40-yard spiral pass, hitting his receiver in stride. At the time such a pass was stunning and unexpected and is considered by many to be an evolutionary step in the game.[18] Aside from Mt. Pleasant and Hauser, part of that team was also Jim Thorpe, who is considered to be one of the greatest athletes that ever lived.[34]

In 1907 Thorpe weighed 155 pounds, light for a football player, and Warner played him as a substitute, trying to have him put his time into track and field.[18][33] By 1909 Warner had Thorpe competing and winning in 14 different track and field events. In 1911 Thorpe began training for the upcoming Olympics, and in 1912 he won gold medals in the pentathlon and decathlon at the 1912 Olympic Games in Stockholm, Sweden. Lewis Tewanima, another Carlisle track and field athlete who competed in Stockholm, where he won the silver medal in the 10,000 meter run, was considered a ward of the state with Thorpe. Warner was delegated to accompany them to the Olympics.[33] Warner's 1907 quarterback Mt. Pleasant was also an Olympic athlete who competed in the 1908 Summer Olympics in London, England.[35]

Another stand out year was 1911. By that year Thorpe grew big enough to be a starter, weighing 180 pounds. The team upset Harvard 18 to 15, with Thorpe scoring all of Carlisle's points. Carlisle's only loss was to Syracuse 11 to 12. Warner considered the 1912 team to be brilliant and adaptive and he constantly experimented with new plays and formations.

In 1912, against Army, the Indians showed an extension of the wing-back system. In that game, Warner had both halfbacks close to the line and flanking the defensive tackles. That was the start of the double wingback offense, which enjoyed tremendous popularity until the T formation was modernized with the man in motion. The double wing became the most effective of all systems for effective forward passing since it permitted the quick release of four receivers down the field.[36]

Carlisle dominated the next two years - both the 1912 and 1913 teams had only one loss. Unfortunately in 1914 there was a big change in administration in Washington, federal money was considered to be better spent in the West rather than schools like Carlisle. Many students left, and this had an impact on the team which went 5-10-1. After that season Warner left Carlisle to become the new head coach at Pitt.[37]

"Pop" (right) Pitt captain Bob Peck during the 1916 season.

During his years at Carlisle, coach Warner made several significant contributions to the offense of the game: the crouching start or charge, the current body block technique, the spiral forward pass and the single and double wingback formations.[36] His salary was a then-staggering sum of $4,500 per season.[38] Warner was once asked by a reporter of the Carlisle Herald to name an all-time Carlisle football team.[39] It includes on the line: Albert Exendine, Martin Wheelock, Bemus Pierce, William Garlowe, Charles Dillon, Emil Hauser, Edward Rogers; and in the backfield: Jimmy Johnson, Jim Thorpe, Joe Guyon, and Pete Hauser.

Pittsburgh

At the time when Warner arrived at Pitt, the university was 128 years old, but now located on a new campus with 3,900 students.[38] Prior to Warner, the team was already in great shape, in 1914 it was coached by Joseph Duff and had won eight out of nine games.[38] Along with the new players, the inherited team that was full of later All-Americans.

In 1915 Pitt had its first undefeated season. Out of eight games six where played at home at Forbes Field, Pittsburgh, all of which were shutouts. This included a 45-0 win over Carlisle. While the season was certainly a success, it is the next year's 1916 Panthers that is known as one of the greatest teams of Warner's career. The city of Pittsburgh is in western part of Pennsylvania and 32 out of the 35 players where from the same region. Panthers were again undefeated, and like the year before six of the eight games where shutouts, overall the team scored 255 points while conceding only 25. Warner considered this team as an improvement, because its defense was even more dominant than during the previous year.[40] The Panthers were considered to be the consensus national champions, and Warner gained the status as one of the greatest coaches in football.[41]

Warner during the 1917 season at Pittsburgh

In 1917 United States entered World War I, and some players like Andy Hastings and James DeHart went into service.[41] Like other schools Pittsburgh still played a full season, and was again undefeated. The 1917 team was known as "The Fighting Dentists" because on occasion every position was filled by dental students. The team lacked the smoothness, power and aggressiveness of the previous year, however it still dominated its opposition. One of the key aspects of this domination was that the other coaches inability to address Warner's evolving strategies - "His reverse plays were a mystery, although Pop always was willing to explain them in detail to any other coach."[41] While the team was undefeated it was not awarded the national championship. Warner was challenged to a post-season game by John Heisman the head coach of Georgia Tech, who were also undefeated. Warner declined and the game was moved to the next season. The game was played on November 23, 1918 in Pittsburgh:

At Forbes Field, the dressing rooms of the two teams were separated only a a thin wall. As the Panthers were sitting around, awaiting Warner's pre-game talk, Heisman began to orate in the adjoining room. In his charge to the Tech squad, Heisman became flowery and fiery. He brought the heroes of ancient Greece and the soldier dead in his armor among the ruins of Pompeii. It was terrific and the Panthers sat, spellbound. When Heisman had finished, Warner chortled and quietly said to his players: 'Okay, boys. There's the speech. Now go out and knock them off.'[42]

Georgia Tech was defeated 32 to 0.''[42]

Pitt vs. Georgia Tech, 1918

The 1918 season was cut short at the end of November, due to the continuing of World War I as well as the 1918 Flu Pandemic.[43] Only five games were played. The final game of the season was in Cleveland against the Naval Reserve and resulted in Warner's first loss at Pitt, and is one of the most controversial matches in Pitt's history. Warner, along with some reporters covering the game, insisted Pitt was robbed by the officials. It was claimed that the referees stated that the official timekeeper's watch was broken, and arbitrarily ended the first half before Pitt was able to score, and then allowed the Reserves extra time in the fourth quarter to pull ahead 10–9 before calling an end to the game.[44][45] According to Warner's time keeper, the fourth quarter ran for 49 minutes and according to official statistics there were 52 plays in the first half and 52 plays in the fourth quarter.[46] Even though he refused to acknowledge it, Warner's 29th game winning streak came to an end. Despite the loss, the 4–1 Panthers of 1918 were named as the national champions of that season by multiple selectors.[47]

The 1919 season began with high expectations, World War I was over with several players key players returning from service.[48] However things did not go Warner's way, at the beginning of the season it became apparent that there were problems with the offensive line and on the flanks. The first defeat was away from home at Syracuse, where the Orange won 20 to 3. Overall the 1919 season went six wins two losses and one tie.[49]

Beginning in the late 1910s west coast football was on the rise. At the 1917 Rose Bowl, the University of Oregon defeated University of Pennsylvania 14 to 0. While at the 1920 Rose Bowl, University of Oregon lost to one of the recognized national champions Harvard by one point - 6 to 7. And next year, Andy Smith's University of California team beat the then undefeated Ohio State 28 to 0, making California the widely agreed national champions of the 1920 season.[50] Early in 1922 Warner signed a signed a contract with Stanford University, where he would start coaching in 1924 after the end of his contract with Pitt.[51] It was not only the significant raise in Warner's pay and the rising status of west coast football that made Warner make the big change. Years later he wrote:

I felt my health would be better on the Pacific coast. Weather conditions at Pittsburgh during the football season are rather disagreeable, and much of the late season work had to be done upon a field which was ankle deep in mud. At the close of every season I would be in poor physical condition, twice being rendered incapable of coaching while I recuperated in a hospital. Doctors advised me that the climate of the Pacific coast would be much better for a man of my age and in the work in which I was engaged.[52]

At Pitt, Warner coached his teams to 29 (33 if Naval Reserves loss is not counted) straight wins and has been credited with three national championships (1915, 1916 and 1918.)[53] Coaching Pittsburgh from 1915 to 1923, he compiled a record of 60–12–4.[54]

Stanford

In 1924 Warner began his 9-year career at Stanford University.[55][n 5] When Warner started coaching it was one of nine teams in the Pacific Coast Conference (PCC). He inherited a notable squad from Stanford's previous year. This team included Ernie Nevers who like Jim Thorpe is considered to be one of the greatest players under Warner.[55] The team also included two All-American ends Ted Shipkey and Jim Lawson. 

Ernie Nevers (pictured)

One of the highlights of that year was Stanford's game against its arch-rival California, at California Memorial Stadium in the last game of the regular season. Prior to the game both teams were undefeated.[n 6] Stanford had not beaten California in football since 1905.[55] Towards the end of the game California was leading 20 to 3 and California's coach Andy Smith was sure that the game was over and began taking out regular players.[46] Warner was able to seize the opportunity. He combined passing with the trick plays that he was known for - a fake reverse and a full spinner, and Stanford was able to stage a comeback. The game ended as a tie, 20-20.[46]

Because the result was California's second tie, it was Stanford that was chosen to play in the January 1st, 1925 Rose Bowl. Stanford's Rose Bowl opponent was the University of Notre Dame's Fighting Irish coached by Knute Rockne, who like Warner is still considered to be one of the greatest coaches in football history. The game was a test between two different and significantly influential systems in football: "The Warner system with the wing backs, unbalanced line and gigantic power" and the "Knute Rockne system with its rhythmic, dancing shift, lightning speed, balanced line and finely timed blocking."[57] Notre Dame's backfield was composed of the legendary Four Horsemen. Nevers played all 60 minutes in the game and rushed for 114 yards, more yardage than all of the Four Horsemen combined. While Warner's offense dominated, it was repeatedly unable to score and Notre Dame emerged as the winner - 27 to 10.[58]

During the 1925 season, Stanford again had a great team. It lost only one PCC game, to Washington, and California was finally beaten 27 to 7. That was also the first year of a new rivalry. Nineteen twenty five was the first year that the University of Southern California was coached by Howard Jones, who like Warner and California's Andy Smith was an east coast transplant. In their first meeting, at the Los Angeles Memorial Colosseum, Stanford scored twice in the first half, but had to dig in and hold off the Trojans from a come back. Stanford won 13 to 9. Because of the loss to Washington, Warner's team was not invited to the Rose Bowl.[59]

Stanford won all of its 1926 season games, crushing California 41 to 7, while barely getting past USC 13 to 12. Warner's team was invited to the Rose Bowl to play against Alabama. Like in the match against the Fighting Irish, Stanford dominated the game but was unable to win. The game ended up as a tie 7 to 7.[60] Following this game, both teams were recognized as national champions by various publications.

The 1927 season was a period of both underachievement and ultimate success. Stanford lost its third game 16 to 0, against non-conference St. Mary's College. Stanford had dominated offensively but St. Mary's was able to block kicks and scored off Stanford's fumbles. Warner attributed the team's problems to its players feelings of superiority and underestimating of its opponents. Stanford's next loss was against Santa Clara, also a non conference team. Warner was out recruiting and was not present at the next to last game of the season. Stanford lost that game 6 to 13.[61] The new rivalry game against USC was also a disappointment, a 13 to 13 tie.

The same year Stanford beat California 13 to 6. That game saw an instance of the bootleg, the invention of which some credit to Warner.

Stanford put the game on ice in the fourth period when Pop introduced the bootlegger play, which was to be widely copied and still is in use. On the original bootlegger, Warner made use of Biff Hoffman's tremendous hands. Hoffman would take the pass from center and then fake to another back. Keeping the ball, he would hide it behind him and run as though he had given it to a teammate. Sometimes defensive players would step out of Hoffman's path, thinking he was going to block. Hoffman "bootlegged" for the touchdown against California...[62]

Despite the two losses, the team was able to finish as a co-champion of the PCC. It was invited to the 1928 Rose Bowl to play against Pitt, Warner's former team that was now coached by his protege Jock Sutherland. Warner was able to break his Rose Bowl streak, beating Sutherland 7 to 6.

The win was Warner's last appearance at the Rose Bowl. The 1928 team was not invited because it again lost two games to non-conference opponents, and it also lost to USC, that year's conference champions. The 0 to 10 loss was Warner's first loss of to USC's coach Howard Jones. A positive highlight of the year was the last game against Army at Yankee Stadium where Stanford won 26 to 0.[63]

The 1929 season is known for Warner's regular use of the hook and lateral, a play that involves a receiver who runs a curl pattern, catches a short pass, then immediately laterals the ball to another receiver running a crossing route. From The Stanford Daily, 25 October 1929: "The trickiness that Pop Warner made famous in his spin plays and passing is very evident... The frosh have been drilling all week on fast, deceptive forward and lateral pass plays, and together with the reverses will have a widely varied attack."[64]

That season also brought Warner his second straight loss to Jones. The team was beaten by the Trojans 0 to 7.[65] Because of the loss it was USC rather than Stanford that won the conference and headed to the Rose Bowl. Jones would continue to win, beating Warner each year until 1932, Warner's last season at Stanford. It was during Warner's latter years at Stanford that USC became the undisputed leader of the west, winning multiple national championships. Warner and Jones played 8 games total with Jones winning 5, Warner winning 2 and one game being a tie. Because of the 5 defeats in a row, Warner received severe alumni criticism. However, against California, Stanford's number one rival, Warner won 5, tied 3, and only lost one game.[66]

Temple

Warner at Temple.

Warner left for Temple University in Philadelphia after the 1932 season, his final head coaching job.[n 7] He was paid $75,000 for five years which was one of the largest salaries ever offered to a coach.[67] The 1934 team went undefeated in the regular season, losing to Tulane in the first Sugar Bowl. One of the stars of the game was the fullback Dave Smukler whom Warner considered one of his great fullbacks.[67]

In later years Warner admitted that he regretted this decision. He stated that he left because he became concerned regarding the changing funding priorities of Stanford. The university's leadership was planning to make the university primarily a graduate school, this was due to more and more junior colleges forming in California. Thus administration saw less need for undergraduate instruction at Stanford. Because there were less students admitted, it became harder to enroll, requiring higher grade requirements for incoming students. Student athletes began enrolling at USC and California rather than Stanford. Warner soon realized he made the wrong decision - due to the economic effects of the then occurring great depression the number of applicants significantly decreased and it again became easier to admit the athletes.[68]

San Jose State

While coaching at Temple, Warner's permanent home remained in Palo Alto, the location of Stanford University. Following his retirement in 1938, he was immediately recruited as an advisor to Dudley DeGroot.[67] A linebacker at Stanford, he was the head coach at San Jose State, which was very close to Palo Alto.[67] While an advisor in name, Warner was immediately put in charge of the offense: "DeGroot had been using a single back offense but Pop immediately changed to the double wing, much to the doubts of an Jose players. However, the formation began to click and San Jose not only enjoyed an undefeated season but was the highest scoring team in the nation."[69] The same year the San Jose State Spartans played against College of the Pacific, coached by Amos Alonzo Stagg. It was the firs time that the two history of football greats met since 1907. Back then, Warner was coaching Carlisle and beat Stagg's University of Chicago 18 to 4.[69] This time Warner's and DeGroot's San Jose State defeated Stagg's Pacific Tigers 39 to 0.[69] Warner retired from San Jose State and coaching in 1940.

Pop Warner is known for the Pop Warner Little Scholars program. In 1929, the Junior Football Conference was started in Philadelphia. It was intended as a program that would keep kids busy and out of trouble. In 1934, soon after Warner joined Temple, he was asked if the program could be renamed as the Pop Warner Conference, and he agreed.[70] Today, the approximately 325,000 5 to 16 year old kids are mentored through the program.[71]

Warner died on September 7, 1954 of throat cancer in Palo Alto, California, at age 83. His widow died in 1961.[72]

Legacy

Invention

Warner brought many innovative playing mechanics to college football:

Coaching tree

Warner's disciples include:

  1. Charles Bowser
  2. Doc Carlson, who was also a star in basketball that later became Pitt's basketball coach and led the team to the national championship
  3. Tom Davies
  4. James DeHart, a quarterback that went on to be the head coach at Washington and Lee, and Duke universities.
  5. Dudley DeGroot, a linebacker at Stanford, who was the coach at San Jose State when Warner when Warner became the advisory coach. Later in his career DeGroot became the head coach of NFL's the Washington Redskins.
  6. William Henry Dietz
  7. Katy Easterday
  8. Albert Exendine
  9. Skip Gougler
  10. Andy Gustafson
  11. Harvey Harman
  12. Pat Herron, a Pitt end that would go on to coach at Indiana and Duke universities.
  13. Jimmy Johnson
  14. Jim Lawson
  15. Herb McCracken
  16. George 'Tank' McLaren - a two time All-American who was a football head coach for the next ten years after graduation.
  17. Charley Moran
  18. Rufus B. Nalley
  19. Ernie Nevers
  20. Bob Peck
  21. Bemus Pierce
  22. Don Robesky
  23. Eddie Rogers
  24. Pug Seidel
  25. Harry Shipkey
  26. Ted Shipkey
  27. Dale Sies
  28. Chuck Smalling
  29. Jake Stahl
  30. Herb Stein
  31. Jock Sutherland, a Pitt end that became a head coach and that replaced Warner in 1924, coaching Pitt for the next 14 years, and later became the head of Pittsburgh Steelers.
  32. Fred H. Swan
  33. Edwin Sweetland
  34. Tiny Thornhill, a Pitt tackle who later became a coach at Stanford.
  35. Jim Thorpe
  36. Ed Walker
  37. Frank Wilton

Head coaching record

Football

Year Team Overall Conference Standing Bowl/playoffs
Georgia Bulldogs (Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association) (1895–1896)
1895 Georgia 3–4 2–4 4th
1896 Georgia 4–0 3–0 T–1st
Georgia: 7–4 5–4
Cornell Big Red (Independent) (1897–1898)
1897 Cornell 5–3–1
1898 Cornell 10–2
Carlisle Indians (Independent) (1899–1903)
1899 Carlisle 9–2
1900 Carlisle 6–4–1
1901 Carlisle 5–7–1
1902 Carlisle 8–3
1903 Carlisle 11–2–1
Cornell Big Red (Independent) (1904–1906)
1904 Cornell 7–3
1905 Cornell 6–4
1906 Cornell 8–1–2
Cornell: 36–13–3
Carlisle Indians (Independent) (1907–1914)
1907 Carlisle 10–1
1908 Carlisle 11–2–1[n 1]
1909 Carlisle 8–3–1
1910 Carlisle 8–6
1911 Carlisle 11–1
1912 Carlisle 12–1–1
1913 Carlisle 10–1–1
1914 Carlisle 5–9–1
Carlisle: 114–42–8[n 1]
Pittsburgh Panthers (Independent) (1915–1923)
1915 Pittsburgh 8–0
1916 Pittsburgh 8–0
1917 Pittsburgh 10–0
1918 Pittsburgh 4–1
1919 Pittsburgh 6–2–1
1920 Pittsburgh 6–0–2
1921 Pittsburgh 5–3–1
1922 Pittsburgh 8–2
1923 Pittsburgh 5–4
Pittsburgh: 60–12–4
Stanford Indians (Pacific Coast Conference) (1924–1932)
1924 Stanford 7–1–1 3–0–1 1st L Rose
1925 Stanford 7–2 4–1 2nd
1926 Stanford 10–0–1 4–0 1st T Rose
1927 Stanford 8–2–1 4–0–1 T–1st W Rose
1928 Stanford 8–3–1 4–1–1 3rd
1929 Stanford 9–2 5–1 2nd
1930 Stanford 9–1–1 4–1 3rd
1931 Stanford 7–2–2 2–2–1 T–5th
1932 Stanford 6–4–1 1–3–1 7th
Stanford: 71–17–8
Temple Owls (Independent) (1933–1938)
1933 Temple 5–3
1934 Temple 7–1–2 L Sugar
1935 Temple 7–3
1936 Temple 6–3–2
1937 Temple 3–2–4
1938 Temple 3–6–1
Temple: 31–18–9
Total: 319–106–32[n 1]
      National championship         Conference title         Conference division title or championship game berth

See also

Notes

  1. ^ a b c d e The NCAA credits Warner with a career football coaching record of 319–106–32. The College Football Data Warehouse gives him one fewer win with the Carlisle Indians in 1908 for a career record of 318–106–32. Neither includes the five seasons at Iowa State (1895–1899) during which time Warner co-coached the Cyclones to a record of 18–8 while he simultaneously coached at three other schools.
  2. ^ Which would be $340 for a ten-week season and approximately $10,000 in today's dollars.[7] For the 1895–96 academic year, Georgia's entire student body consisted of 126 students.[8]
  3. ^ Georgia was a founding member along with Alabama, Auburn, Georgia Tech, North Carolina and Vanderbilt.
  4. ^ Columbia had also upset one of the Big Four – beating Yale 5–0.[21]
  5. ^ Stanford was founded in in 1887 and had fielded a football team every year since 1892, with the exception of 1906 to 1917, when football was dropped due concerns over the sport's increasing numbers of injuries and deaths. Along with other west coast schools the sport of rugby was played instead.
  6. ^ Nevers had a broken ankle and did not play.[56]
  7. ^ For the 1933 Stanford season Warner was replaced by Claude "Tiny" Thornhill, his assistant coach who was also one of his star player's at Pittsburgh. That year's the team beat USC 13 to 7 ending the Trojans' 23 game unbeaten streak. Stanford won the PCC and played in the Rose Bowl, where it lost to Columbia 0 to 7.

Endnotes

  1. ^ http://newsok.com/article/2724333
  2. ^ Scout.com: Chalk Talk: the Single-Wing
  3. ^ Powers, p. 54
  4. ^ "Cornell University - The Cornell Athletics Hall of Fame". www.cornellbigred.com. Retrieved 2015-12-23. {{cite web}}: |archive-url= is malformed: timestamp (help)
  5. ^ "Glenn "Pop" Warner (1871-1954)". New Georgia Encyclopedia. Retrieved 2015-12-23. {{cite web}}: Check |archiveurl= value (help)
  6. ^ Reed, p. 3441
  7. ^ Miller, p. 30
  8. ^ Reed, p. 1696
  9. ^ Reed, pp. 3441–3445
  10. ^ Miller, pp. 24, 26
  11. ^ Miller, p. 27
  12. ^ Miller, p. 33
  13. ^ Miller, p. 33, 34
  14. ^ Miller, p. 19
  15. ^ "Cyclones: the nickname". Iowa State University. 2006. Retrieved 2009-04-20.
  16. ^ a b 2006 Iowas State Cyclone Football, page 138.
  17. ^ Official 2007 NCAA Division I Records Book, National Collegiate Athletic Association, p. 399, 2007.
  18. ^ a b c d e f g "The Team that Invented Football". www.nativevillage.org. Retrieved 2016-01-21.
  19. ^ Miller, p. 31
  20. ^ a b Powers, p. 18
  21. ^ "1899 Columbia Lions Schedule and Results | College Football at Sports-Reference.com". 2016-01-18. Retrieved 2016-01-18.
  22. ^ Powers, p. 19
  23. ^ a b Powers, p. 21
  24. ^ "Lesson Plan Four: Hopi Running". library.nau.edu. Retrieved 2016-01-19. {{cite web}}: |archive-url= is malformed: timestamp (help)
  25. ^ "1902 Carlisle Indians Roster | College Football at Sports-Reference.com". 2016-01-19. Retrieved 2016-01-19.
  26. ^ Carroll, Bob (1980). "The First Football World Series" (PDF). Coffin Corner. 2 (Annual). Professional Football Researchers Association: 1–8.
  27. ^ Powers, p. 23
  28. ^ Gridiron Guts: The Story of Football's Carlisle Indians, NPR, May 19, 2007.
  29. ^ Football, the Indian Way, Newsweek, April 27, 2007.
  30. ^ Cook, William. Jim Thorpe: A Biography. p. 27.
  31. ^ Powers, p. 26
  32. ^ "Photos: Carlisle Football". radiolab. Retrieved 2016-01-21. {{cite web}}: |archive-url= is malformed: timestamp (help)
  33. ^ a b c Powers, p. 30
  34. ^ "Jim Thorpe Biography - life, children, name, death, history, school, mother, young, son". www.notablebiographies.com. Retrieved 2016-01-21. {{cite web}}: |archive-url= is malformed: timestamp (help)
  35. ^ "Frank Mount Pleasant Bio, Stats, and Results". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved 2016-01-21. {{cite web}}: |archive-url= is malformed: timestamp (help)
  36. ^ a b Powers, p. 34
  37. ^ Powers, pp. 30, 34
  38. ^ a b c Powers, p. 35
  39. ^ William Peet (November 10, 1913). "G. U. Chances To Win Slim". The Washington Herald. p. 8. Retrieved April 4, 2015 – via Chronicling America. Open access icon
  40. ^ Powers, p. 39
  41. ^ a b c Powers, p. 41
  42. ^ a b Powers, p. 42
  43. ^ "War Conditions Coupled With Epidemic Have Big Effect On 1918 Sports". 2016-02-03. Retrieved 2016-02-03.
  44. ^ Keck, Harry (November 30, 1918). "Navy Reserves Steal Game From Pitt". Pittsburgh Sunday Post, republished in The Greatest Moments in Pitt Football History (1994). Nashville, TN: Athlon Sports Communications: 33. ISBN 1-878839-04-7. {{cite journal}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |journal= (help)
  45. ^ Sciullo Jr., Sam (2008). University of Pittsburgh Football Vault: The History of the Panthers. Atlanta, GA: Whitman Publishing, LLC. p. 36. ISBN 0-7948-2653-9.
  46. ^ a b c Powers, p. 50
  47. ^ "College Football Data Warehouse: Yearly National Championship Selections: 1918 National Champions". Retrieved 2009-04-08.
  48. ^ Powers, p. 43
  49. ^ "Internet Archive Wayback Machine". Sports-Reference 1919 Pittsburgh Panthers Stats. Retrieved 2016-02-08. {{cite web}}: Cite uses generic title (help)
  50. ^ "Internet Archive Wayback Machine". 1920 National Championships. Retrieved 2016-02-09. {{cite web}}: Cite uses generic title (help)
  51. ^ Powers, p. 48
  52. ^ Miller, p. 135
  53. ^ Official 2009 NCAA Division I Football Records Book (PDF). Indianapolis, Indiana: National Collegiate Athletic Association. August 2009. pp. 76–81. Retrieved October 16, 2009.
  54. ^ "Pitt Pittsburgh - PittsburghPanthers.com - Official Athletic Site of the University of Pittsburgh".
  55. ^ a b c Powers, p. 55
  56. ^ Powers, p. 57
  57. ^ Powers, pp. 58, 59
  58. ^ Powers, p. 61
  59. ^ Powers, p. 62
  60. ^ Powers, p. 63
  61. ^ Powers, p. 65
  62. ^ a b Powers, p. 66
  63. ^ Powers, p. 67
  64. ^ "The Stanford Daily 25 October 1929 — The Stanford Daily". stanforddailyarchive.com. Retrieved 2016-02-11.
  65. ^ Powers, p. 68
  66. ^ Powers, p. 70
  67. ^ a b c d Powers, p. 72
  68. ^ Powers, pp. 70, 71
  69. ^ a b c Powers, p. 73
  70. ^ "History of Pop Warner". 2016-02-05. Retrieved 2016-02-23.
  71. ^ "About Us". www.popwarner.com. Retrieved 2016-02-23. {{cite web}}: |archive-url= is malformed: timestamp (help)
  72. ^ "Mrs. Glenn Warner Dies". New York Times. Associated Press. November 5, 1961. Retrieved 2015-02-06. Mrs. Tibb Loraie Warner, widow of Glenn (Pop) Warner, died yesterday at her home. Her age was 90. ... {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  73. ^ http://www.footballfoundation.org/Programs/CollegeFootballHallofFame/SearchDetail.aspx?id=10054
  74. ^ "Where Football Is King".
  75. ^ "A course in football for players and coaches".
  76. ^ a b "Football".
  77. ^ "Pop Warner Little Scholars".
  78. ^ "Rites of Autumn".
  79. ^ "Springville".
  80. ^ Powers, p. 80

References

Further reading

  • Danzig, Allison (1956). The History of American Football: Its Great Teams, Players, and Coaches. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
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