Snavely, Carl G.)
Football
b. July 31, 1894, Omaha, NE
d. July 12, 1975
The soft-spoken, methodical Snavely played baseball, basketball, and football at Lebanon Valley College in Pennsylvania, then began coaching high school football in 1915. At Bellefonte Academy from 1924 through 1926, his teams won 34 games and tied 1. They were beaten four times by college freshman teams.
Snavely went to Bucknell in 1927 and spent seven seasons there, compiling a 42-16-8 record. His 1931 team was undefeated, winning 6 games and tying 3. He moved into major college football with North Carolina in 1935. After winning 16 games and losing only 3, Snavely left for Cornell.
Cornell had won just 2 games in the previous two seasons, and they won only 3 in Snavely's first year. Then they began to win consistently. His 1939 won all 8 of its games, including a major upset over Ohio State, 23-14, after trailing 14-0 in the second quarter.
His 1940 team was involved in a famous "fifth-down" incident. Trailing Dartmouth 3-0 with less than a minute to play, Cornell was accidentally given an extra down, on which the winning touchdown was scored.
Snavely himself discovered the error while reviewing film of the game. He persuaded his players to accept a forfeit, giving Dartmouth the victory. That snapped an 18-game winning streak for Cornell.
In 1945, Snavely returned to North Carolina. He produced an 8-1-1 team in 1946, losing to Georgia in the Sugar Bowl, 20-10. His 1948 team was undefeated in the regular season, winning 9 and losing 1, but also lost the Sugar Bowl, 14-6, to Oklahoma.
A strong believer in the single wing, Snavely never adopted the T formation. He had three losing seasons in a row, 1950 through 1952, and then left North Carolina for Washington University in St. Louis. He retired after in 1958 season. In 32 years of coaching, he had a 180-96-16 record.
Nicknamed "the Gray Fox," Snavely pioneered the use of film for scouting and instruction.