Paul Tyson Paul Leighton Tyson ( October 25 , 1886 – September 9 , 1950 ) was an American football coach . He is one of the most successful high school football coaches of all time , winning four Texas state championships and one mythical national championship in the 1920s . Knute Rockne called Tyson “ one of the finest coaches I ever met , college or high school . ” Career . A native of Arkansas , Tyson enrolled at Addison - Randolph College in Waco , Texas ( later re - founded as Texas Christian University in Fort Worth , Texas ) in 1904 , intending to become a doctor . Then he went to a football game , tried out for the team the next week and made the starting lineup . He also lettered in baseball . In 1908 Tyson graduated from Add - Ran , then went to the University of Chicago to study medicine . While playing baseball there , he reportedly was offered a contract to pitch for a major league team , but turned down the offer . Returning to Texas , Tyson taught biology in Tyler to supplement his income while studying medicine . While at Tyler , the kids recruited him to be their “ football supervisor . ” After teaching two more terms at Denison High School , Tyson finally decided to give up medicine for athletics , when he became biology teacher and football coach at Waco High School . Though starting his career with a 1 – 3 – 2 season in 1913 , Tyson ' s Waco teams would not have a losing season the following 27 years under his guidance . Their dominance , however , truly began in the 1920s . Waco played six straight championship games between 1922 and 1927 , losing only two of them . In 1927 , after beating Notre Dame - Cathedral Latin High School of Chardon , Ohio 44 - 12 in a post - season game , Waco was recognized mythical national champion . In a time when most teams relied on a basic offense run out of a short punt formation , Tyson revolutionized offensive tactics , developing a series of plays out of the single - wing formation , where one or both of the two backs receiving the snap would spin and cross paths with the remaining backs and ends . The so - called “ spinner ” was so effective , that Waco scored over a hundred points on nine occasions during 1922 - 27 . In 1927 , the Tigers scored an average of 56 points per game — a record that would stand until 1975 , when Big Sandy High School scored 824 points for the season . Tyson ' s teams were also known for their defense . Playing only a regular - season schedule , the 1921 team was the first of three squads to allow no points in a season . From 1921 - 27 , Waco had 58 shutouts . The 3 - 0 state title loss to Abilene in 1923 was Waco ' s only scoring blemish . Led by Boody Johnson , Tommy Glover , Jack Sisco and Sam Coates , Waco ' s defense gave up just 156 points in seven seasons . Despite receiving several offers to coach collegiate football teams , Tyson had no interest in leaving Waco . He attended and spoke at football clinics all over the country . Knute Rockne and Glenn Scobey " Pop " Warner routinely sought his opinions on offensive philosophy , and he was a favorite of reporters , who found him charismatic and humble and openly campaigned for major universities to hire him . In the spring of 1942 , the Waco school board suddenly and unanimously voted to fire Tyson after an 8 - 2 season , two removed from a year he took the Tigers to the state finals . Tyson , a lifelong bachelor who never dated , was rumored to be " too intimate " with his players .