Indians Invent Football

A fascinating story (though somewhat patronizing in tone) from Sports Illustrated about the Carlisle Indian School's football team and how they (including the famous Jim Thorpe) invented and popularized in the early 1900's many of the tactics common to modern football, essentially transforming the sport into the game we know today. Given how brutal and repressive Indian schools were (Carlisle's white founder coined the motto, "Kill the Indian, save the man"), it's amazing that such a story of hope and perserverance could emerge.

Hat tip to Rob at Newspaper Rock.