Lorin Deland developed the flying wedge, which Harvard showed for the first time in the 1892 Harvard-Yale game. As football was played at the time, kickoffs occurred at the start of each half and following each score. Unlike today, the team that had been scored on did the kicking, but they retained possession by kicking the ball a few inches or feet (like soccer) before picking it up and running with it (unlike soccer). Deland's innovation was to have nine of the kicker's teammates align in groups of four and five, ten yards behind the kicker, and rush forward on a signal. The team's fullback also aligned a few yards behind the kicker. The fullback delayed a moment after the signal and then started forward to receive the ball from the kicker just as his teammates slipped past him in a wedge heading downfield.
Today's Tidbit... Shooting Down The Flying Wedge
An ironic note: Percy Haughton died a month before the publication of the article depicted herein.
Yep. The full article mention him as the "late" coach.