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CARLISLE FOOTBALL TEAM, 1907

1907 was Jim Thorpe's first year of football. Here he is standing in the back at the far left, next to Coach Glenn (Pop) Warner. The 1907 team had a larger-than-usual squad and considerable depth, so Thorpe was not a starter but a sub for Albert Payne, the left halfback. At this point, Thorpe was skinny, not the blocky powerhouse he would be four years later. Warner held him back, still worried that his star track athlete might be injured. Thorpe got his first break when Payne was injured in the fourth game of the year against Pennsylvania. On his first varsity play, Thorpe took the ball and was thrown for a loss. The second time he carried the ball it was for a 75-yard touchdown run. From then on, Thorpe was the starting left halfback on a superb Carlisle team that finished the season 10-1. Its only loss was to Princeton on a muddy field that did not lend itself to the Carlisle style of long passes and elusive running.

1907 football
 
CUMBERLAND COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY

A Moira Productions Film in association with Datline Productions, © 2008, Lillian Lincoln Foundation