HIM Highlights an Important Team From Real Life Football History

by

I’m passionate about lots of things – like *Doctor Who*, plants, and horror films. But I especially love it when TV shows or movies weave real historical events into their stories. Whether it’s the Match Girls’ strike in *Enola Holmes 2* or the travel guide for Black Americans in *Lovecraft Country*, it’s a great way to educate viewers. The horror movie *HIM*, starring Marlon Wayans and Tyriq Withers, does this too, teaching us about the impact of the Carlisle Indian Industrial School on the sport of football.

In the movie, Isaiah explains to Cam how football’s early days were shaped by the Carlisle Indian Industrial School team. They were incredibly successful, dominating college football long before the sport became popular worldwide. Their innovative plays, like the forward pass, were initially deemed illegal by opponents, but eventually became standard parts of the game. Unfortunately, this important part of football history is often left out of the traditional story. Isaiah emphasizes that this forgotten history is the real story of the game’s beginnings.

The Carlisle Boys From HIM Are an Important Piece of Real Life Football History 

In the late 1870s, the US government founded a boarding school in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, for Native American students. Just under twenty years later, in 1893, the school created a football team that played against well-known universities such as Princeton, Yale, and Penn State. The team’s innovative playbook introduced now-common football strategies, including the hand-off fake and the overhand spiral pass. Though its time was brief, the Carlisle football program, featuring legends like Pop Warner and Jim Thorpe, left a significant mark on the sport.

It’s easy to imagine that fans of opposing teams weren’t pleased when Carlisle’s Native American players consistently defeated predominantly white teams. These victories were a powerful statement of resistance, and perhaps a way to reclaim some dignity after having their land taken, all while challenging the harmful and inaccurate “savage” stereotypes within a physically demanding sport. The school closed in 1918 after World War I and was largely forgotten in historical accounts, likely due to the complex and sensitive nature of its story.

Why Justin Tipping Included the Carlisle Football Story in HIM

Director Justin Tipping’s new film, *HIM*, tells the story of the Carlisle football team. Tipping explained to *TopMob* that he did extensive research for the movie, discovering the sport’s origins were linked to military traditions and a desire to toughen up young men after the Civil War. His research also revealed that the Carlisle Indian boys were physically smaller than their opponents, like the Yale team, and had to develop innovative strategies to compete. The biggest challenge, he said, was condensing all of this important historical context into a short amount of screen time.

He explained that Pop Warner, a coach at Carlisle, helped develop the spiral forward pass while working with Native American players. He felt it was important to include this history in the film, as it highlighted how institutions can exploit people for profit, treating them as commodities. He saw it as a cautionary tale, and in one scene, Isaiah is essentially warning Cam not to become a symbol used for someone else’s gain, while acknowledging they’re both trapped within a system that’s hard to escape.

This brief scene offers a glimpse into how the film examines the exploitation of athletes for profit and the reasons people accept it. It’s hoped that featuring the Carlisle football team will appropriately acknowledge their history.

Read More

2025-09-19 05:14