T formation

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In

Numerous variations of the T formation have been developed, including the Power-T, where two

Wing T

, where one of the running backs (or wingback) lines up one step behind and to the side of the tight end. Any of these can be run using the original spacing, which produced a front of about seven yards, or the Split-T spacing, where the linemen were farther apart and the total length of the line was from 10 to 16 yards.^[1][2]

History

Fielding Yost

's 1905 book Football for Player and Spectator

The T formation is often said to be the oldest offensive formation in American football and is claimed to have been invented by

in the 1930s, led to the T's revival.

Revival

The original T formation is seldom used today, but it was successful in the first half of the 20th century. The formation led to a faster-paced, higher-scoring game. The formation was aided by a rule change before the 1945 season, when the quarterback was no longer required to stand at least 5 yards behind the line of scrimmage.

. Shaughnessy helped the Bears prepare for the game against the Redskins. He has been called "The father of the T formation".

Shaughnessy and Halas

The T-formation was viewed as a complicated "gadget" offense by early football coaches. But NFL owner-coach

The T became much more viable in 1933 when passing was legalized anywhere behind the line of scrimmage (previously, the passer had to be five yards behind the line). Halas recruited Solly Sherman, the quarterback for the University of Chicago because of his experience with the T-Formation under Clark Shaughnessy. Solly then taught Sid Luckman the system. Sherman, a former halfback, had torn his meniscus in college, and converted to quarterback his senior year when Shaughnessy installed the T-formation at the University of Chicago. Eventually he played backup to Sid Luckman with the Bears in 1939 and 1940 and retired so that he could join the war effort. Sid Luckman went on to win four NFL championships in the 1940s. Sid Luckman, in his book Luckman at Quarterback written in 1949, stated that several hundred plays in the Chicago Bears play book gave him over 1,000 options for man-in-motion deceptions, complicated blocking schemes and multiple passing options not previously available. The last team to run the single-wing in the NFL, the Pittsburgh Steelers, converted to the T in 1953. Since that time, the T, and all its variants, have dominated offensive football and created the American football now employed throughout the NCAA and NFL.

The T is referenced in the Chicago Bears fight song, "Bear Down, Chicago Bears", written after the 1940 championship over Washington. "We'll never forget the way you thrilled the nation, with your T formation..."

Additionally, two books detail the development of the T with the Bears. The Chicago Bears by Howard Roberts written in 1947, credits several coaches including Ralph Jones and Clark Shaughnessy for upgrading the T and teaching it to a succession of Bears QBs. The Wow Boys by James W. Johnson written in 2006 tells the story of the Stanford University football season of 1940. The arrival of Shaughnessy and his T offense led to a 10–0 season and a victory in the Rose Bowl over heavily favored University of Nebraska. The Bears' thumping of the Washington Redskins, 73–0, a few weeks earlier caused a sensation. The T swept college and pro football. The brain trust that created the T was always anchored by Coach Halas, who had the savvy for what worked and an eye for the players that fit. Stanford

Modern uses

While rarely used today, the key innovations of the T still dominate offensive football. The T was the first offense in which the quarterback took the snap from under center and then either handed off or dropped back to pass.

.

The T formation is still used in a few instances at the high school level. In Utah, the Duchesne High School team set the state record of 48 consecutive wins using the Wing T. Some smaller colleges and high schools, particularly in the Midwest, especially in Michigan, still use the T. It is also still used on some levels as a goal line formation (often called a "full house" backfield today). Its simplicity, and emphasis on running, makes it particularly popular as a youth football formation.

In 2023, the Jacksonville Jaguars used the T formation during a playoff game against the Los Angeles Chargers, successfully converting a fourth-and-one for 25 yards to set up the game-winning field goal.^[8]

Evolution

The Chicago Bears T made great use of "man-in-motion" effectively making one of the three running backs into a receiver as he left the backfield. Thus, the T, originally designed as a more dynamic running offense, became a far more powerful passing offense than the single-wing, greatly enhancing its appeal. The two-back backfield naturally evolved into the "pro set" with only two running backs in the backfield and a "flanker" permanently posted out in a wide receiver position. Teams initially used a flanker primarily in the "slot" (on the strong side) because the hashmarks were still quite wide, as in college ball. In 1972, the hash marks were moved to their present position, 70 feet, 9 inches from each sideline. This made the strong side / weak side far less of a factor and allowed the opening up of the passing attack. The pro set further evolved into today's complex offenses.

Prevalence

Virtually all modern offensive formations are variations on the T theme. A notable exception is the Shotgun formation, first used by the San Francisco 49ers in 1959/1960, popularized by the Kansas City Chiefs in the 1960s and the Dallas Cowboys in the 1970s, and now widely used in pro and college football.

The

's teams of the 1970s. This formation required a talented, running quarterback. It fell out of favor because well-coached, physical defenses can stop the option and the wishbone is a poor passing formation.

See also

• Notre Dame Box
• Split-T

References

Bibliography

• Bible, Dana X., Championship Football, Prentice-Hall, 1947.
• Daly, Dan, National Forgotten League, University of Nebraska Press, 2012.
• Faurot, Dan, Secrets of the "Split T" Formation, Prentice-Hall, 1950.
• Smith, Chester L. (August 20, 1941). "T Formation Was Used By Stagg in '90s".
  Pittsburgh Press
  . p. 21. Retrieved May 21, 2011.
• Yost, Fielding Harris, Football for Player and Spectator, University Publishing Company, 1905.

Further reading

• Leahy, Frank (1949). Notre Dame Football: The "T" Formation. New York: Prentice-Hall, Inc.
• Luckman, Sid (1949). Luckman at Quarterback; Football as a Sport and a Career. Chicago: Ziff-Davis Pub. Co.