Carl Snavely

Bio

Today's college football coach would be at a loss without his game films, those invaluable tools of the trade. Today's coach might be interested to know that Carl Snavely was the first coach to employ the use of films as a coaching device. Snavely was at the helm of the Cornell football program when he first decided to set up the projector in his den in Ithaca, New York. He devoted hours to scanning the action, for Snavely knew the camera would reveal flaws in a team's play that the human eye would never detect. The Snavely coaching tour included stays at Bucknell (1927-1933), North Carolina (1934-1935, 1945-1952), Cornell (1936-1944) and Washington University in St. Louis (1953-1958). Snavely's record for 32 years was 180-96-16. His 1939 Cornell team was unbeaten and won a classic 23-14 victory at Ohio State. Snavely coached three remarkable players - Clark Hinkle at Bucknell, Brud Holland at Cornell, and Charlie "Choo Choo" Justice at North Carolina. He always taught the single-wing formation. With Justice at North Carolina, he utilized the quick kick, using the punt on second or third down. Then he added a shift, when he needed short yardage, and drew opponents offside. He attended Lebanon Valley College, where he was captain in football and basketball and was on the debating team. For the period 1915-26 he coached at prep schools. Snavely was president of the American Football Coaches Association in 1952.