There’s a really fun football movie from 2008 called Leatherheads that does a nice job of showing what professional football was like - or at least might have been like - in the early years.
George Clooney plays a character named Dodge Connelly who loves the roguish era of football and enjoys pulling scams and trick plays on opponents.
Trick plays have always been popular and remain so today. In fact, one of the great plays in Duke history came in 1969 when the Blue Devils pulled off a shoestring play against UNC. It was fun, hilarious and cool as hell.