Today's Tidbit... The Automated T-Formation Snapper

Some of my favorite football history stories involve inventions and innovations people dream up to solve problems. Some inventions solve problems and gain popularity, while others fail to move the needle. Today's Tidbit falls more along the lines of the latter.

This story centers on Felton "Pooch" Wright, who was born and raised in central Texas before attending Howard Payne College in 1919. Although he had not played previously played football, he started in the line during his freshmen year. As a senior, he was the team captain, during which Howard Payne upset the Dana Bible-led Texas A&M squad 13-7 in the season opener.

Pooch Wright captained the 1922 Howard Payne football team. (1923 Howard Payne yearbook)

Wright assisted at Howard Payne in 1923 before starting a high school teaching and coaching career at a few small schools, regularly winning championships.

While at Ballinger High School in 1940, Wright gained publicity for inventing the Ballinger Board. As a former lineman, he wanted to recognize all eleven players on the field for their successes and failures, so he devised a scoreboard displaying the silhouettes of eleven players. He then had eleven operators watch individual players on each play and grade their success. (The qualifications of the operators are unknown.) Those who successfully executed their assignments had a green bulb light over their silhouette, while those failing the grade earned a red light. Although several college coaches came to see the invention, a lack of interest and WWII meant the Ballinger Board was never adopted elsewhere.