Today's Tidbit... Pop Warner Looks Forward and Back

Grantland Rice spent an afternoon at Pop Warner's Palo Alto home in 1950, ten years after Warner ended his 45-year coaching career. Rice had first seen a Warner-coached team play as a 16-year-old in 1896 when Warner's Georgia Bulldogs visited Vanderbilt. The two had much to talk about as Warner recalled the origins of the Single and Double Wing, his skepticism about the Modern T as a passing offense, and his comparison of Jim Thorpe and Ernie Nevers.

1939 Grantland Rice's Cities Service Football Guide and 1929 Stanford yearbook.

According to Warner, he implemented the Single Wing in 1906 when the new rules made it illegal to assist the runner by pushing or pulling him. Compared to the Traditional T, Warner's Single Wing overloaded the backs to one side, allowing them to block for one another while also facilitating misdirection. In addition, the Wing could release into a route to catch one of the new forward passes.