Today's Tidbit... Taking A Stance On Handedness

Football is a funny game with significant attention paid to detailed techniques that often change as the broader game changes. The recent acquisition of a 1915-era RPPC reminded me of that since it shows what appears to be a college team lined up in the Carlisle or Single Wing offense. It is a nice image by itself, but the players' stances are what struck me since none of the eleven players are in stances used by players in the same positions today.

(Personal collection)

Ignoring the coach, substitute, and the manager or ball boy in the background, we have a quarterback aligned behind the left guard who stands in a two-point stance with his hands on his knees. The tailback, fullback, and wing are in four-point stances, which I haven’t seen since a Wishbone fullback or two found it handy. How the team lines up and the consistency of their stances suggest it is a well-coached group, so their four-point stances may be a Pop Warner carryover. Warner was the first to emphasize four-point stances, figuring that if a crouching stance made sense for sprinters, the same would work for backs.

Now, let's look at the line. Few high-level teams line up in close or double-tight formations anymore other than for short yardage and kick attempts, but both ends are aligned tight in the image. Back then, teams often split their ends in punt formation, but the ends still took three-point stances.