Today's Tidbit... John Heisman and the Seamless Valve

John Heisman was an intelligent guy who coached most of his games before commercial radio, so most of what he had to say was captured in print. He was a prolific writer, publishing syndicated commentaries on many football topics. Writing for newspaper audiences enhanced his stature and put money in his pockets.

Heisman was responsible for multiple football innovations, though he appears to have taken credit for specific innovations that did not originate with him. He also had his share of ideas that never gained acceptance. For example, while coaching Penn in 1921, Heisman advocated for keeping light men, those weighing 125 pounds, from playing against heavy men, those who weighed 200 pounds. How he planned to institute his idea is unclear since every newspaper report on the topic amounted to little more than a blurb.

That particular idea never went anywhere, but others did. Heisman was the first coach to have his center lift the ball from the ground and pass it back to the quarterback. Until then, centers snapped the ball by rolling it on the ground on the ball's side, just as they had rolled it on the side when centers still snapped with their feet.

(Camp, Walter The Book of Foot-Ball. Century, New York. 1910.)

William H. Lewis, Harvard All-American in 1893

Also, Heisman, not Pop Warner, originated the hidden ball trick when he coached Auburn in 1895. Heisman was also an early advocate of the forward pass, so he got that one right.