Dick Harlow Richard Cresson " Dick " Harlow ( October 19 , 1889 – February 19 , 1962 ) was an American football player and coach . He served as the head football coach at Pennsylvania State University ( 1915 – 1917 ) , Colgate University ( 1922 – 1925 ) , Western Maryland College , now McDaniel College ( 1926 – 1934 ) , and Harvard University ( 1935 – 1942 , 1945 – 1947 ) , compiling a career college football record of 149 – 69 – 17 . Harlow pioneered modern defensive schemes . Often fielding undersized teams , he pioneered coordinated stunts to get around or between blockers rather than trying to overpower them . His offenses were based on deception and timing rather than power , utilizing shifts , reverses , and lateral passes . Harlow was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame as a coach in 1954 . Playing career . A native of Philadelphia , Pennsylvania , Harlow attended Pennsylvania State University . As a tackle at Penn State , Harlow distinguished himself during the 1910 and 1911 seasons . A two - year letterman , he also was a member of the baseball and track and field teams . Coaching career . Penn State . Upon graduation from Penn State , Harlow remained with the Nittany Lions football team as an assistant coach for three seasons and was named head coach in 1915 . After compiling a 20 – 8 record in three seasons , Harlow entered the military in 1918 . During the fall of 1918 , he was stationed at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University , where he coached the football team . After an honorable discharge from the United States Army , Harlow returned to Penn State in 1919 to assistant Hugo Bezdek with the football team . Harlow also took charge of boxing at Penn State . Colgate . Harlow went on to become the 20th head coach at Colgate University from 1922 to 1925 . His overall coaching record at Colgate was 24 – 9 – 3 . This ranks him seventh at Colgate in terms of total wins and sixth at Colgate in terms of winning percentage . Western Maryland . Harlow was the head football coach at Western Maryland College , now McDaniel College , from 1926 to 1934 . While at Western Maryland , Harlow coached Rip Engle . He had a great influence on Engle ' s career , and they remained good friends for many years . AT the tiny Western Maryland College , then of only 500 students , Dick Harlow coached the Green Terror to a 60 - 13 - 7 recorded , with 3 undefeated seasons . The Green Terror during this time were national rank , beating schools such as Boston College & Bucknell University 40 to Nothing . Other impressive victories include beating University of Maryland College Park 39 - 7 , Georgetown University 20 to 0 , and Temple University 23 to 0 . In 1934 Western Maryland was invited to play in the Orange Bowl , seeing it as not much of a challenge ; Harlow declined to have his players play in then more prestigious East – West Shrine Game . In the 1934 Orange Bowl Bucknell who lost to The Green Terror early that season beat Miami . He had many great players such as Eugene " Stoney " Willis who through the first shovel pass against Boston college in 1932 and Bill Shepherd who was considered to be one of the best running backs in the country in the early 30s , starting the East West shrine game in 1934 behind Michigan center Gerald R . Ford . Dick Harlow said that his “ biggest thrille ” came from those games were he beat Bosten College and Bucknell by such a lopsided margine . Harvard . In 1935 , Harlow became the first non - alumnus ever to coach at Harvard . It was there Harlow was voted Coach - of - the - Year in 1936 and a year later was chosen as the Ivy League Coach - of - the - Year . He retired in 1947 with a lifetime record of 149 – 69 – 17 , and was named to the National Football Foundation College Football Hall of Fame in 1954 . Oology . Harlow was an expert in oology , the study of birds ' eggs . In 1939 , he was named curator of oology at the Harvard ' s Museum of Comparative Zoology , and he remained in that position until 1954 .