When I first began playing full-pad tackle football, I was placed at the position of center. Why on earth they placed a 5'2" 100lb kid at center, I'll never know. Maybe they anticipated that I'd be bigger. Maybe I seemed athletic enough to play center but maybe not athletic enough to be any other offensive position.
Whatever the reason, I was there. Being the center, one of my jobs was to call the huddle. There are many different ways to huddle in football. All of the players can get in a circle. All of the players can circle around the quarterback who is kneeling down in the midst of them all. Then there was our method. We lined up in two rows of five facing the line of scrimmage. As the center I was in the middle of the front line and the huddle set on me. I would hold my hands in the air and yell, "HUDDLE!!!!" at the top of my 12-year old lungs.
Often times, since I was 12, this came out sounding like one long, embarrasing screech. "HU-uh-Uh-uh-UH-d-ul-UHL!!" It would vary between the deep voice of a young man and the squeaky voice of a pre-teen.
My teammates would laugh. I would turn red. It was a pretty regular occurence. If you know me, you're aware that I still haven't completely ridded this squeak from my voice box.
I tell you this story because the most interesting thing I learned this week is the origin of the huddle.
The earliest known use of a huddle in football was initiated by a young quarterback named Paul Hubbard around 1892. Paul Hubbard was the leader of Galludet University's first ever football team. Why did he need a huddle, though? Well, Galludet University is a school for the deaf, and Hubbard was nervous that their opponents may be able to understand sign language and would be able to steal their plays. So, his solution was to get everyone to circle around him while he signed the play.
As I was researching this for verification I learned something else about this unique school. In the 1970s they were having a lot of trouble scoring on offense. Part of the issue was that the defense knew to just watch the football and wait for it to be snapped because that is what the Galludet players were doing. Without the advantage of getting off the ball quicker than the defense, it was difficult to put up points. Coaches thought of several methods to develop a new way to send a snap count to their players including a buzzer in the hip of the football pants that would be activated by the quarterback just before the snap. Instead, one of the coaches remembered the vibration he felt at a University of Texas football game when a huge bass drum was played.
So, they started using a big drum. And to this day, the Galludet coaches wheel a drum up the sideline and bang it for the snap. When players feel the vibration, they know to go. Most of the time they go on one bang, but sometimes to fool the defense they'll go on two.
Galludet sounds like a nice place to play. At least their no one could have heard my awful squeaking.
Let's go Rangers! Claws, Antlers, World Series Trophies.
