“Head coaches of the Yale football team of 1888”

“The head-coaches of the Yale team,” says Corbin, “were really Mr. and Mrs. Walter Camp.  They had been married in the summer of 1888 and were staying with relatives in New Haven.  Mr. Camp had just begun his connection with a New Haven concern which occupied most of his time.  Mrs. Camp was present at Yale Field every day at the football practice and made careful note of the plays, the players and anything that should be observed in connection with the style of play and the individual weakness or strength.  She gave her observations in detail to her husband at supper every night and when I arrived Mr. Camp would be thoroughly familiar with that day’s practice and would be ready for suggestions as to plays and players to be put in operation the next day.

“This method was pursued during the entire season and was practically the only systematic coaching that the team received.  Of course there were several old players like Tompkins ’84, Terry ’85 and Knapp ’82, who came to the field frequently.

“At that time it was customary for me to snap the ball back to the quarter with my foot.  By standing the ball on end and exercising a certain pressure on the same it was possible to have it bound into the quarterback’s hands.  It was necessary, therefore, for me to attend to this detail as well as to block my opponent and make holes through the line for the backs.

“While the rules of the game at that time provided for an Umpire as well as a Referee, the fact that there was no neutral zone and players were in close contact with each other on the line of scrimmage gave opportunity for more roughness than is customary at the present time.  Neither were the officials so strict about their rulings.

“Prior to this time it had been customary to give word signals for the different plays, these being certain words which were used in various sentences relating to football and the progress of the game.  As center, I was so tall that a system of sign signals was devised which I used entirely in the Princeton game, and the opponents, from the talk, which continued as usual, supposed that word signals were being used and were entirely ignorant of the sign signals during the progress of the game.  The pulling of the visor of my cap was a kick signal.  Everything that I did with my left hand in touching different parts of my uniform on the left side from collar to shoe lace meant a signal for a play at different points on the left side of the line.  Similar signals with my right hand meant similar plays on the right side of the line.  The system worked perfectly and there was no case of missed signal.  The next year the use of numbers for signals began, and has continued until the present date.

“The work of the Yale team during the season was very much retarded by injuries to their best players.  The papers were so filled with these accounts that the general opinion of the public was that the team would be in poor physical condition to meet Princeton.  As luck would have it, however, the invalids reached a convalescing stage in time to enter the Wesleyan game on the Saturday before the one to be played with Princeton in fairly good condition.