Amos Alonzo Stagg was an American athlete and college coach in multiple sports, primarily American football. He served as the head football coach at the International YMCA Training School (1890–1891), the University of Chicago (1892–1932), and the College of the Pacific (1933–1946), compiling a career college football record of 314–199–35 (.605). His undefeated Chicago Maroons teams of 1905 and 1913 were recognized as national champions. He was also the head basketball coach for one season at Chicago (1920–1921), and the Maroons' head baseball coach for twenty seasons.
George Oliver Barclay was an American football and baseball player. He played Major League Baseball for the St. Louis Cardinals and later the Boston Beaneaters. He was also an early professional football player-coach for the Greensburg Athletic Association. He was nicknamed "The Rose" for his concern with his looks and "Deerfoot" because of his speed. Barclay also invented the first football helmet.
George Washington "Doc" Hoskins was an American football player and coach of football and basketball. He served as the head football coach at Pennsylvania State University (1892–1895), the University of Pittsburgh (1896), and Bucknell University, compiling a career college football record of 59–48–9. Hoskins was also the head basketball coach at Bucknell from 1908 to 1911, tallying a mark of 21–14.
Adam Martin Wyant was an American politician who served as Republican member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania. He served six terms, a total of twelve years, in the House.
Charles Ramsay Rinehart was an American football player, engineer and businessman. He was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame in 1964. He played high school football at Phillipsburg High School in Phillipsburg, New Jersey.
Walter Raleigh "Okey" Okeson was an American football player and coach. He was a player-coach for the first all-professional football team, the Latrobe Athletic Association club in 1897. Okeson was the head football coach at Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania for one season, in 1900, compiling a record of 5–6.
The Latrobe Athletic Association was a professional football team located in Latrobe, Pennsylvania, from 1895 until 1909. A member of the unofficial Western Pennsylvania Professional Football Circuit, the team is best known for being the first football club to play a full season while composed entirely of professional players. In 1895, team's quarterback, John Brallier, also became the first football player to openly turn professional, by accepting $10 and expenses to play for Latrobe against the Jeannette Athletic Club.
John Kinport "Sal" Brallier was one of the first professional American football players. He was nationally acknowledged as the first openly paid professional football player when he was given $10 to play for the Latrobe Athletic Association for a game against the Jeanette Athletic Association in 1895.
The Greensburg Athletic Association was an early organized football team, based in Greensburg, Pennsylvania, that played in the unofficial Western Pennsylvania Professional Football Circuit from 1890 until 1900. At times referred to as the Greensburg Athletic Club, the team began as an amateur football club in 1890 and was composed primarily of locals before several professional players were added for the 1895 season. In 1894 it was discovered that the team had secretly paid formerly Indiana Normal player, Lawson Fiscus, to play football and retained his services on salary. The team was the chief rival of another early professional football team, the Latrobe Athletic Association.
The Pittsburgh Athletic Club football team, established in 1890, was based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. In 1892 the intense competition between two Pittsburgh-area clubs, the Allegheny Athletic Association and the Pittsburgh Athletic Club, led to William (Pudge) Heffelfinger becoming the first known professional football player. Heffelfinger was paid $500 by Allegheny to play in a game against Pittsburgh on November 12, 1892. As a result, Heffelfinger became the first person to be paid to play football. Allegheny would go on to win the game, 4–0, when Heffelfinger picked up a Pittsburgh fumble and ran it 35 yards for a touchdown. In 1893, Pittsburgh again made history when it signed one of its players, probably halfback Grant Dibert, to the first known pro football contract, which covered all of the team's games for the year.
James Edward Blair was an American football player and coach and physician. He was early professional football player with the Latrobe Athletic Association. He later relocated to Burlington, New Jersey where he took a prominent part in the city council for a time and was a surgeon for the Third Battalion of the New Jersey National Guard. He was a charter member of the Burlington Elks Lodge and was a thirty-second degree Mason. He also was affiliated with the Sons of Veterans.
The Chicago Athletic Association was a men's club and American football team, based in Chicago, Illinois. The club itself had been organized in 1890, and in 1892 it formed a football team. The team was built around veterans of Chicago's University Club football team. The team played for seven seasons.
Stuart John "Jack" Gass was an early professional football player. He played mostly with the Latrobe Athletic Association from 1895 until 1899. In 1898, he was a member of the Western Pennsylvania All-Stars, which was a team put together by Latrobe manager Dave Berry for the purpose of challenging the star-filled Duquesne Country and Athletic Club to the first pro football all-star game held at Exposition Park in Pittsburgh. The All-Stars lost to Duquesne, 16–0. In 1897, Gass was a member of the very first all-professional football team, in Latrobe, to play a complete season together. In 1900, he played for Latrobe's rival, the Greensburg Athletic Association.
The 1896 Greensburg Athletic Association season was their seventh season in existence. The team finished 6–1–1. Alfred Sigman from Lafayette College was added as Greensburg's captain and coach and also played fullback.
Arthur Lamont "Tiger" McFarland was an early professional American football player who played with the Greensburg Athletic Association as well as the Latrobe Athletic Association. He later played for the Philadelphia Athletics in the 1902 version of the National Football League and for the 1903 US Football Champions, the Franklin Athletic Club. Sweet also won, with Franklin, the 1903 World Series of Football, held that December at Madison Square Garden.
American football in Western Pennsylvania, featuring the city of Pittsburgh and surrounding areas, has had a long and storied history, dating back to the early days of the sport. All levels of football, including high school football and college football, are followed passionately, and the area's National Football League (NFL) team, the Pittsburgh Steelers, is consistently one of the sport's most popular teams. Many of the NFL's top stars have come from the region as well, especially those that play quarterback, earning Western Pennsylvania the nickname "Cradle of Quarterbacks".
Offutt Field is a multi-purpose athletic field, located in Greensburg, Pennsylvania. It is currently used by the Greensburg-Salem School District and Seton Hill University, primarily as a football field. The stadium was called Athletic Park, until 1928 when Greensburg-Salem renamed the field after James H. Offutt, a community leader, and school director. The school district had previously purchased the land in December 1916. The purchase price for the 4.4-acre site was $17,166.66. The Greensburg Athletic Association, an early organized football team based in Greensburg, played their home games at the stadium from 1890–1900. The stadium has also hosted minor league baseball, Little League baseball and track and field.
The Western Pennsylvania Professional Football Circuit was a loose association of American football clubs that operated from 1890 to approximately 1940. Originally amateur, professionalism was introduced to the circuit in 1892; cost pressures pushed the circuit to semi-professional status from about 1920 through the rest of its existence. Existing in some form for 48 years, it was one of the longest-lived paying football loops to operate outside the auspices of the National Football League.
The 1892 Chicago Maroons football team represented the University of Chicago during the 1892 college football season. Former Yale All-American, Amos Alonzo Stagg, was the team's head coach and also played at the end position. On October 8, 1892, one week into the university's first semester, the football team played its first game, defeating Hyde Park High School, 14–0. The team won its first six games in eleven days, plyaing matches against local high schools and the Englewood YMCA. Starting on October 22, the team played seven intercollegiate games, compiling a 2–4–1 record in those games. The two victories against college teams were games with Lake Forest and Illinois.
The 1891 Bucknell football team was an American football team that represented Bucknell University as an independent during the 1891 college football season. The team compiled a 6–2–1 record and had no head coach. Charles Allen was the team captain. The roster included Andy Wyant, who later played for Amos Alonzo Stagg at the University of Chicago and was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame.
