WARNER, POP

born April 5, 1871, Springville, N.Y., U.S. died Sept. 7, 1954, Palo Alto, Calif. byname of Glenn Scobey Warner American college football coach who, in the decade after World War I, perfected the single- and double-wing systems of offense. As coach at the Carlisle (Pa.) Indian Industrial School, he trained Jim Thorpe, one of the game's greatest players. At Cornell University, Ithaca, N.Y., Warner excelled in several sports while obtaining his law degree (1894). He coached football (1895-1940) at a number of schools, notably the University of Pittsburgh (1915-23) and Stanford (Calif.) University (1924-32). In 46 seasons his teams won 312 games, lost 104, and tied 32. At Pittsburgh and Stanford, Warner polished the single-wing formation, in which the forward halfback is stationed just behind and outside one of the ends and the four backfield men form an acute angle with the unbalanced line (i.e., the centre is not actually at the fourth, or central, position in the seven-man line). His double-wing formation became popular after Stanford had successfully used it in 1928, but it is now seldom employed. In it a halfback stands directly behind each end.