William Walter "Pudge" Heffelfinger (Hafelfinger) was an American football player and coach. He is considered the first athlete to play American football professionally, having been paid to play in 1892.
William Ross Fiscus was an early professional American football player and coach. He was one of the first pro players on record.
The Allegheny Athletic Association was an athletic club that fielded the first ever professional American football player and later the first fully professional football team. The organization was founded in 1890 as a regional athletic club in Allegheny, Pennsylvania, which is today the North Shore of Pittsburgh.
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 or the Pittsburg Athletic Club football team, established in 1891, 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.
The Duquesne Country and Athletic Club was a professional football team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania from 1895 until 1900. The team was considered one of the best, if not the best, professional football teams in the country from 1898 until 1900. However, the team is most famous for being the first football franchise to be owned by an individual, William Chase Temple.
Benjamin Shenstone "Sport" Donnelly was an American football player and coach. He was the second-ever known professional football player, behind Pudge Heffelfinger. He was paid $250 for one game on November 19, 1892 by the Allegheny Athletic Association, for a game against the Washington & Jefferson Presidents football team. The November 19 date was exactly seven days after the team paid Heffelfinger $500 for a game. In 1893, Donnelly was hired by the Allegheny Athletic Association as player-coach, making him the first man to ever coach a known pro team. Heffelfinger once said that Donnelly was the only man that he had played against who "could slug you and at the same time keep his eyes on the ball". Donnelly also served as the second head football coach at the University of Iowa for a single season in 1893, compiling a record of 3–4.
The Jeannette Athletic Club, also referred to as the Jeannette Indians, was an early football team, based in Jeannette, Pennsylvania from 1894 until around 1906. The team is best known for its role in the Latrobe Athletic Association's hiring of John Brallier, who became the first player to openly turn professional. This event occurred in 1895, a few days before Latrobe's game against Jeannette. Latrobe starting quarterback, Eddie Blair, due to a scheduling conflict could not play in the game. This led Latrobe manager, Dave Berry to hire Brallier to play against Jeannette for $10, plus expenses. Latrobe would go on to win that game 12-0.
Oliver David Thompson, Esq. was an early football player at Yale, who played alongside Walter Camp. After his time at Yale, Thompson played, and served as the manager, for the Allegheny Athletic Association. However Thompson is best known for paying Pudge Heffelfinger $500 to play for Allegheny against their rivals, the Pittsburgh Athletic Club. Thompson's historic actions went unnoticed until the 1960s, when an 1892 account ledger prepared by Thompson – while he was manager of the Allegheny Athletic Association – included the line: "Game performance bonus to W. Heffelfinger for playing (cash) $500." The ledger is currently on display at the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio.
Professor William Kirschner was an early football player for the Pittsburgh Athletic Club. He may, or may not, have been one of the earliest professional football players. Even though he had never played football before 1890, he had the ability to learn and adapt to the game quickly. During the 1890s he was viewed as one of the best offensive linemen in Pennsylvania.
The 1898 Western Pennsylvania All-Star football team was a collection of early football players, from several teams in the area, to form an all-star team. The team was formed by Dave Berry, the manager of the Latrobe Athletic Association, for the purpose of playing the Duquesne Country and Athletic Club, which fielded a team composed of many of the game's stars from the era. The game between the two clubs ended in a 16-0 Duquesne victory and is considered to be the first all-star game for professional football. Contrary to popular belief, while the game was held at Exposition Park, which would be currently located inside of the city limits of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the 1898 location of the game was Allegheny, Pennsylvania which was not incorporated into the city of Pittsburgh until 1907.
A. S. Valentine was an early professional football player for the Allegheny Athletic Association. He served as the team's quarterback in 1890 and 1891. However, he jumped to the rival Pittsburgh Athletic Club in 1892. Valentine played for Pittsburgh in their first two games. Then, without warning, he suddenly jumped back to the Allegheny team. Some Pittsburgh A.C. members accused Allegheny of enticing him back, while others charged he had all along been a spy for them. During Allegheny's two games against the Pittsburgh A.C. that year, Valentine played as a left halfback.
James M. Van Cleve was an American football player and coach. He was the fourth ever known person to be paid to play the sport. Only Pudge Heffelfinger, Sport Donnelly and Peter Wright were professionals before him. Van Cleve's contract was with the Allegheny Athletic Association for $50 per game for the entire 1893 season.
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. 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 1893 Western University of Pennsylvania football team was an American football team that represented the Western University of Pennsylvania as an independent during the 1893 college football season.
The 1892 Western University of Pennsylvania football team was an American football team that represented the Western University of Pennsylvania as an independent during the 1892 college football season.
