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a single wing formation illustrated.

during time @ carlisle, warner made several significant contributions football offense, including body block technique , single- , double-wingback formations. under warner, carlisle quarterback frank mount pleasant , fullback pete hauser became 2 of first regular spiral passers in football (the forward pass legalized in 1906). in 1908 introduced technique of body blocking, instead of blocking shoulders.

warner considered 1907 carlisle team perfect football machine ever sent on field . team posted 10–1 record, outscored opponents 267–62 , pioneered elegant, high-speed passing game; 1 of first teams regularly throw ball deep downfield. first time in 11 years, carlisle defeated harvard on road 23–15. carlisle won 26–6 on penn. in second play of penn game, hauser threw 40-yard spiral pass, hitting receiver in stride. @ time such pass stunning , unexpected, , considered 1 journalist evolutionary step in game. 1907 season known warner s first use of single-wing formation, characterized laterals, trap , counter runs, , passing.

according sally jenkins, in sports illustrated article on carlisle:

to take advantage of indians versatility warner drew new offense ... carlisle formation, later known single wing. predicated on 1 small move: warner shifted halfback out wide, outflank opposing tackle, forming looked wing. opened world of possibilities. indians line if punt – , throw. no 1 know whether going run, pass or kick. added measure warner taught quarterbacks sprint out few yards left or right, buying more time throw. rest of players flooded downfield , knocked down opponent might able intercept or bat away pass.

the 1911 carlisle indians pose game ball upset of harvard.

the 1907 team included young jim thorpe, considered 1 of greatest athletes ever lived. thorpe weighed 155 lb (70 kg), light football player. warner played him substitute, encouraging him put time track , field. 1909, warner had thorpe competing in track , field , won 14 events. in 1911, thorpe began training upcoming olympics, , won gold medals in pentathlon , decathlon @ 1912 olympic games in stockholm.

jim thorpe tackling weighted dummy on pulley warner supervising, 1912.

carlisle football had standout year in 1911, posting 11–1 record. thorpe had grown 180 lb (82 kg), big enough starter. team defeated harvard 18–15, thorpe scoring of carlisle s field goals. walter camp selected thorpe first-team all-american. according 1 source, thorpe recognized greatest player of year , man kicking revolutionize game .

warner considered 1912 team brilliant , adaptive, , experimented new plays , formations. in game against army, warner s team introduced wrinkle wing-back system. according francis j. powers, author of book concentrated on warner s approach football:

the double wing formation.

warner had both halfbacks close line , flanking defensive tackles. start of double wingback offense, enjoyed tremendous popularity until t formation modernized man in motion. double wing became effective of systems effective forward passing since permitted quick release of 4 receivers down field.

carlisle dominated next 2 years, 1912 , 1913 teams losing 1 game each. warner s salary increased $4,500 (approximately $107,000 in 2016) per season. in 1914 there administrative change in washington, federal money considered better spent in midwest on schools carlisle. many students left, , affected team (which had 5–10–1 record). after season, warner left carlisle become head coach @ pittsburgh.

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