In the history of college football there have been many great trick plays, but the trick that the Carlisle Indians played on Harvard in 1903 may be the best of all time.

The Harvard Crimson were not very worried about Carlisle. As usual the game was a mismatch on paper. Harvard was bigger, and deeper, with a great tradition. Carlisle had played them tough in the past but had never beaten them. The Indians were known for their speed and deception, and that is what they would rely on . It was predicted beforehand that they would resort to trickery of some kind. The New York World predicted: “ as usual, the Indians will probably spring some startling trick plays upon the Crimson team...”

A near capacity crowd filled Soldier Field. They were there in large part to watch the last game that would be played there. Harvard was set to open their new 35,000 seat, steel reinforce concrete stadium in two weeks. It was the first of its kind, and they would open it against their arch rival Yale. The Crimson fans had no idea what an amazing show they were about to see.

For Carlisle, Harvard was their biggest game. They had developed a sense of rivalry, a respectful envy, as Harvard represented to them, the best of athletic and academic success. They labeled excellence as Harvard Style, even as they made fun of Harvard’s pretentiousness. The Indians had played them tough but had never beaten them. For the Indians outsmarting the Harvard team would represent the pinnacle of success.

As usual Carlisle was giving Harvard a good fight. Carlisle held a 5 - 0 lead at half-time. The Indians saved their trick for the opening kickoff of the second half. Harvard helped them with a perfect kick for it. The Hidden Ball Play was designed to be used on a kick return and was the ultimate in slight of hand. Warner had a tailor sew elastic bands in the waist of three of his players jerseys, and had the players wear them un-tucked, so that the opposing players would be used to the way they looked.

After a few yards he was in the clear except for the one man. Harvard’s captain Carl Marshall, playing safety. As Dillon approached him he spread his arms as if he were preparing to throw a block. Marshall side stepped what he thought was Dillon’s block attempt, and there was nothing but green grass between Dillon and the goal.

The fans in the stands were beside themselves. They could see the ball in the back of Dillon’s jersey. The Harvard players on the field could not. They tackled players without the ball or spun around confusedly looking for the ball carrier. The fans screamed wildly and pointed at Dillon as he ran straight towards the safety, Marshall, and positioned himself to make a block.

With the rest of the team tackling the wrong players, and looking fruitlessly for the ball, Marshall eventually figured it out and gave chase. It was to late. Although Dillon was one of the biggest players on the team, he was also one of the fastest. The crowd, helpless to do anything, changed from yells to laughter by the time Dillon crossed the goal line. He tumbled into the end zone after a 103 yard return (the field was 110 yards in 1903). Jimmy Johnson jerked the ball out of and placed it on the turf in triumph.

Harvard protested, but ‘Pop’ Warner had warned officials so they had watched closely.
Indians on side lines jumped up and down . Warner would later say: “ I don’t think any one thing ever gave them greater joy.” Carlisle led 11 -0, but Harvard brought in fresh players and scored two touchdowns to win 12 - 0. Harvard won the game but Carlisle won praise from media for outsmarting the elite Ivy Leaguers.

In spite of the great surprise, the Hidden Ball Play was not new. ‘Pop’ Warner did not invent the Hidden Ball Play, he learned it the hard way. John Heisman had used it on him when Warner was the head coach at Georgia. While he was at Cornell, Warner used it against Penn State. After the game Harvard would see to it that the play was never used again.

1896
Carlisle vs.
the Big Four