Tackling dummy

Jim Thorpe tackling a dummy while Pop Warner looks on (1912)

A tackling dummy is a type of training equipment used in gridiron football in order to help players improve their tackling ability. ^[1] Tackling dummies are also used in rushing drills.

Anecdotes

The following is a list of selected anecdotes covering the history of the tackling dummy:

• In 1899, Amos Alonzo Stagg is believed to have invented the first tackling dummy. ^{[2] [3]}

• In 1901, The Philadelphia Times reported that the Penn Quakers would begin to use the "modern appliance" of the tackling dummy despite head coach George Washington Woodruff's longstanding opposition to the device. ^[4]

• In 1913, Washington State head coach John R. Bender banned the tackling dummy at the school, stating "I have had pretty good tackling teams, on the average, and have not used the dummy for several years. Several of my best men have been rather seriously hurt on the dummy." ^[5]

• In 1949, Hamilton, Ohio, police officer and part-time Hamilton High School football coach Grant King invented a tackling dummy that moved on a 60-foot track powered by an electric motor with adjustable speeds. ^[6]

• In 2015, Dartmouth began using a remote-controlled tackling dummy. ^{[7] [8]}

References

1. Brown, Don (September 30, 1988). "Tackling dummies should take a bow". Kennebec Journal . p. 17. Retrieved November 26, 2025.
2. Wulf, Steve (2009). The Mighty Book of Sports Knowledge. Random House, Inc. p. 24. ISBN   9780345513083.
3. Stagg, Amos Alonzo (1927). Touchdown!: As told by Coach Amos Alonzo Stagg to Wesley Winans Stout. Longmans, Green and Co. p. 109.
4. "Quakers Will Use Tackling Dummy". The Philadelphia Times . October 12, 1901. p. 10. Retrieved November 26, 2025.
5. "Ban Nose Guard: Tackling Dummy Also Under Ban in Pullman Football". The News Tribune . September 11, 1913. p. 11. Retrieved November 26, 2025.
6. Aston, Joe (August 3, 1949). "New Type Tackling Dummy Moves Fast as Ballcarrier; Hamilton Policeman Is Inventor". The Cincinnati Post . Retrieved November 26, 2025.
7. Ramer, Holly (August 29, 2015). "Dartmouth tackling dummy remote-controlled". The Windsor Star . p. C7. Retrieved November 26, 2025.
8. Grossman, Hallie (August 14, 2019). "Virtual reality and robotic tackling dummies -- how Dartmouth is shaping the future of football". ESPN.com . Retrieved November 26, 2025.

External links

Media related to Tackling dummy at Wikimedia Commons