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73-548: The Allegheny team was assembled in 1890 . At that time athletic clubs and associations, ranging from the best with extensive facilities to local organizations with minimum meeting rooms, were in their prime as a source of fraternal fellowship for athletes. In most sports, Allegheny provided very little competition for the more established East End Gymnastic Club (EEGC), which in 1892 became the Pittsburgh Athletic Club . Allegheny soon took up football largely when

146-481: A $ 400 forfeit and withdrew from the Thanksgiving Day game at Greensburg to play against Duquesne instead. However that game also had to be cancelled because of extreme weather conditions. Greensburg's final season record was 3–7. Although there were probably others, several members of the 1895 squad who were known to have been paid to play football were Fiscus, guard-quarterback Adam Wyant of Bucknell and

219-561: A 6–0 score in a season-ending rematch at Latrobe. Greensburg, along with Washington and Jefferson College , had the best football records in Pennsylvania for the 1897 season. Barclay, however, was the only Greensburg player among the eleven named by The Pittsburg Times to their “All-Western Pennsylvania” team. The start of the 1898 season saw optimism in Greensburg with the return of ex-coach Charlie Atherton. However, some of

292-709: A 6–6 tie with the Detroit Athletic Club and a 6–4 loss to the Cleveland Athletic Club , both amateur club squads. However, the Allegheny Athletic Association was regarded as the local champions that season. Allegheny began their 1891 season recognized as the premier football team in western Pennsylvania. The year began with the club's admission into the Amateur Athletic Union , which increased

365-516: A Pittsburgh-area team financed heavily by the Carnegie Steel Company . Newspapers in Greensburg called it “the greatest contest ever witnessed on the Greensburg gridiron”. The game also featured a match-up between two of the era's star players: Homestead's Art Poe and Greensburg's Isaac Seneca. Greensburg newspaper accounts of the day state that Seneca outplayed Poe. However, the Greensburg club did sustain several key injuries during

438-543: A heighten security plan for the return game in Latrobe. On October 31, the Greensburg team, still injury-plagued, suffered a fourth consecutive loss, 24–0, to Duquesne Country and Athletic Club at Exposition Park. Greensburg's final win came on November 5 with a 22–0 over Altoona. However, the team was defeated again by Homestead five days later, 22–0 over Altoona. The final professional football game for Greensburg took place on November 17, in Latrobe. Latrobe would go on to win

511-515: A hired player after the supposedly injured player he replaced appeared healthy the next day when Pittsburgh had another game. It was soon discovered that "Strayers" real name was A.C. Read , the captain of the Penn State University football team . The revelation came a shocker to sports fans in the area. Now neither club would hesitate to take the final step to professionalism. The rematch was scheduled to be played in three weeks. On

584-524: A lack of local experienced players. It is not even known if the club recorded a win prior to 1894. The Greensburg Athletic Association kicked off its inaugural season in 1890. Their first game resulted in 6–6 tie against Indiana Normal ( IUP ), while losing their first-ever home game to the Kiskiminetas Springs School , 34–4. A group of college students, which of whom returned home to Greensburg for Thanksgiving vacation, played for

657-412: A number of new ones. Among those players was George Barclay , of Millville , who played a halfback at Bucknell University and Lafayette University . Barclay brought several of Lafayette top players with him to Greensburg to enhance the team. Greensburg went on to post a 10–1 record. The team's only defeat came at a 12–6 loss in the ninth game to Latrobe. However, the outcome of that game was reversed by

730-624: A perfectly good team in Greensburg. Or why Doc Proctor, Grant Dibert, and a couple of other Pittsburgh players performed for Allegheny, while the Pittsburgh club was outraged over Allegheny's refusal to schedule a game with them. However, these examples could be ascribed to enthusiasm by the players and persuasiveness by the team managers. The 1892 season would showcase the first two games of the Pittsburgh-Allegheny rivalry. On October 8, Allegheny played its only warm-up game against

803-619: A record of 6-1-1 and led to an increased interest in football throughout Western Pennsylvania. Fans now turned out in large numbers for games, and even accompanied the team by train to road games. And while Fiscus was the only paid player on the 1894 team, several other pros joined him in 1895. Greensburg's 1895 season opened and closed with games against the Latrobe Athletic Association , from nearby Latrobe , which served as Greensburg's chief rival. The Latrobe team had an impressive squad led by John Brallier who became

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876-544: A row, Allegheny was able to climb back to .500 with an 8–4 rally over Washington & Jefferson . However, in order of putting together a competitive team, Allegheny had to convince two brothers, Ross and Lawson Fiscus , for the Greensburg Athletic Association, to play for them. Without the Fiscus brothers in their line-up, the game would have possibly ended in another Allegheny loss. Meanwhile,

949-593: A school team. He has also played at halfback for the Allegheny Athletic Association as well as for Princeton University . During the 1894 season , Greensburg jumped out to a 5–0 record, before losing 10–0 against the Altoona Athletic Club . A week later, a game against the Jeannette Athletic Club , ended at halftime due to disagreement between the two teams. The disagreement regarded the tough play of Greensburg's Lawson Fiscus, who

1022-557: A spy for Allegheny all along. Gamblers and odds-makers listed the Pittsburgh team as slight favorites because the game would be played on their home field and because they had more experience working together. Shortly before the game, the Pittsburgh A.C. was in need of a replacement at center, due to their regular player being injured. Pittsburgh captain Charley Aull , reportedly told the officials from both teams that he had just run into an old friend named "Stayer", who agreed to play in

1095-544: A state championship were dashed when the club was finally defeated by the Duquesne Country and Athletic Club in Pittsburgh, 18–4, on November 14. The game was followed by a scoreless tie with Pittsburgh Athletic Club. Greensburg did recover from their road trip to post a 10–0 win over Latrobe on Thanksgiving Day to end the season 6-1-1. The 1897 season marked the pinnacle of the professional football era in Greensburg. That year's squad had 27 players, which included

1168-521: The Amateur Athletic Union (AAU), which discouraged professional play, began the process of suspending the Allegheny team for its flagrant violations of amateur rules. Knowing that it would soon be barred from competition by the AAU, the Allegheny Athletic Association defiantly emptied its treasury to import a team of all-stars, including Heffelfinger. The team, the first completely professional team, defeated

1241-572: The Carlisle Indian School , was also signed to the team. Also that year, Latrobe's team was reorganized by the team's long-time manager, Dave Berry. Soon a three-game series had been arranged between Latrobe and Greensburg which provided for a home-and-home series, with a third game at the site which drew the largest crowd. Greensburg began the season 2-1-1, before losing 6–5 to the Homestead Library & Athletic Club ,

1314-572: The Carnegie Athletic Club 33–0. A three-game series between Pittsburgh and Allegheny would be played to determine the western Pennsylvania champions. In late October a game was scheduled between Allegheny and Pittsburgh. Nearly 2,000 tickets were sold in advance and the actual crowd at the Pittsburgh Athletic Club was estimated at 3,000. Pittsburgh won the first game of the three game series 6–4. The second game of

1387-526: The Indiana Normal School at Exposition Park. Norman McClintock would score four touchdowns in a 20–6 Allegheny win. New changes to the team included tackle , W.W. Blunt , who was listed as team captain, while guard Billy Kountz replaced Thompson as the team's manager. The reason that Allegheny played in only one exhibition game was so that the team could effectively hide its strengths and weaknesses from Pittsburgh's scouts. The game between

1460-461: The University of Chicago , and fullback Charles Atherton and halfback Fred Robison, both of Penn State. Wyant was cited by his coach at Chicago, Amos Alonzo Stagg , as “one of the best men that ever donned the canvas jacket” (then part of the uniform). Wyant also served at one time as principal of the Greensburg schools and became a U.S. Congressman from the Greensburg area. He would go on to be

1533-400: The 1899 season began, most of the top Greensburg players of the year before were playing for either Greensburg's rivals in Pittsburgh or for other teams as far away as Newark, New Jersey . As result of not having a Greensburg or Latrobe team in 1899, the football clubs from Pittsburgh completed their schedules by playing teams mainly from eastern Pennsylvania. In 1900, plans were complete for

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1606-421: The Allegheny of dirty play to purposely injure Kirchner. Meanwhile, Allegheny countered that Kirchner was a professional who didn't belong on the field anyway. Meanwhile, Allegheny's E.V. Paul announced that he was willing to bet anyone that Pittsburgh had indeed used a professional in the game. Suspicion soon focused on the mysterious Pittsburgh player "Stayer". Allegheny soon began with accusing "Stayer" of being

1679-406: The Allegheny would go on to lose the game, 8–0. In 1893, Allegheny and Pittsburgh split two games, with Pittsburgh winning 6–0 at Exposition Park and Allegheny evening the score, 8–4, at Pittsburgh's field. That season Allegheny put Peter Wright , John Van Cleve , and Ollie Rafferty under contract for $ 50 per game for the season. Other Pittsburgh teams began hiring players, but Allegheny remained

1752-520: The Amateur Athletic Union for secretly paying its players. If the AAU discovered that the Allegheny had been paying players, it would declare the club professional, and no other team would dare play them and the club's membership would dramatically fall. Hoping to avoid punishment, Allegheny simply decided not to field a team in 1895. For the 1896 season, the Allegheny organization fielded a completely professional team. However, by 1896,

1825-508: The East End team finished posting a six-game winning streak. Sports fans in the area soon demanded a game between East End and Allegheny. Manager O.D. Thompson tried to avoid the issue, even after he was accused of cowardice by critics. Thompson secretly knew how good the East End team was and feared of what a one-sided loss to their arch-rivals might do to the club's memberships and clubhouse subscriptions. Thompson even had to recruit not only

1898-530: The East Enders did not have a football team at the time. Allegheny's backfield during that inaugural year had A. S. Valentine , at quarterback ; two track stars in Harry Oliver and Harry Fry as the halfbacks ; and O.D. Thompson at fullback . In what may have been the first official football game in modern-day Pittsburgh, the club's inaugural season began on October 11, 1890, when Allegheny played

1971-538: The Fiscus brothers but also Doc Proctor and Grant Dibert of East End to fill out his backfield for the final scheduled game. So under the circumstances, Allegheny was in no condition to play a high-stakes game against East End. The team's final game of the season, was a rematch against the Cleveland Athletic Club. Allegheny's additions of Dibert, Proctor and the Fiscus brother made the match-up more even. Meanwhile, Cleveland's, Billy Rhodes, did not make

2044-414: The Pittsburgh Athletic Club and Latrobe. The team was acclaimed by Pittsburgh papers at mid-season as being the best in Pennsylvania. During a game against a squad from Beaver Falls , Greensburg's Tom Donohoe ran 44 yards with an intercepted pass . [Note: Pass was probably a lateral , since the forward pass was not legal until 1906]. On October 17, Greensburg defeated the Pittsburgh Athletic Club for

2117-973: The Pittsburgh Athletic Club and the Duquesne Country and Athletic Club on consecutive days, both games by shutouts. Then, after its abbreviated two game season, the pro football turmoil had upset the club so much that the sport was dropped. 1890 in sports 1890 in sports describes the year's events in world sport. College championship Non-college amateur championships Events England France Scotland Spain National championship Events Events Lineal world champions Events England Australia South Africa Major tournaments Other tournaments England Australia Canada Ireland USA Events Events The Boat Race Home Nations Championship England USA Greensburg Athletic Association The Greensburg Athletic Association

2190-478: The Pittsburgh Athletic Club. However, the team later turned things around to finish the season strong. In the final game of the season, Greensburg beat rival Latrobe 6–0 at Latrobe. According to the Greensburg Daily Tribune , the end of the game was marred by stoning and spitting on Greensburg players and fans, “boorish conduct by ruffians,” resulting in one player being injured when he was hit on

2263-493: The Western University of Pennsylvania (later renamed the University of Pittsburgh ) at Exposition Park , on what is today the parking area between PNC Park and Heinz Field , in front of a crowd of 500 spectators. Allegheny won the game easily, 38–0, but the contest was significant since it marked the official start of Pitt's football program . Prior to the game, Allegheny was to play Shady Side Academy , however

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2336-547: The charges of professionalism. In the 1960s a man named Nelson Ross, walked into the office of Dan Rooney , the president of the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League . After a brief discussion, the man gave Rooney a typed, 49-page manuscript about the early history of pro football. Ross' examination of Pittsburgh newspapers indicated that the first pro football player actually

2409-399: The club discovered that it could give them a recruiting edge over the East Enders. Many Allegheny club members had gone to eastern colleges and played football. Members O. D. Thompson and John Moorhead Jr. , were former teammates of Walter Camp , the inventor of the modern game, who had become a successful Pittsburgh lawyer. The team also immediately gave Allegheny a strong following since

2482-573: The day of the rematch between the two clubs, Sport Donnelly , William C. Malley and Pudge Heffelfinger of the Chicago Athletic Association Football team appeared in the Allegheny line-up. Pittsburgh objected to the new additions in the line-up and the game was originally called a 6–0 forfeit after the Pittsburgh players walked off the field in protest. However O.D. Thompson reappeared and reclaimed his position as Allegheny manager. After arguments and deliberations,

2555-417: The first football player to admit to being a paid professional. Greensburg won the opening game 25–0 over Latrobe, and the second game 42–2 over Western University of Pennsylvania, to start the season 2–0. Soon afterward, Fiscus and two former Penn State University players, Charlie Atherton (who was also the team's coach) and Fred Robison , turned down an offer promising each of them $ 125 a month to play for

2628-438: The first time, posting a 14–0 win at home. All three of the game's touchdowns were scored by Lawson Fiscus. On October 31, Greensburg defeated Latrobe, 10–4. In the stands there was considerable betting over whether Latrobe would score or not. Late in game Latrobe's Doggie Trenchard scored a touchdown, led to a Latrobe newspaper stating that “Greensburg got the game and Latrobe got the cash.” However Greensburg's hopes of winning

2701-479: The four games from that season remain unknown. The team's fourth game, against the Pittsburgh Athletic Club, resulted in 10–0 loss. In 1894 Greensburg hired its first professional player, Lawson Fiscus , for $ 20 a game plus expenses. While Fiscus did play for Greensburg as an amateur in 1893, he was actively recruited by several other teams as professionalism in football began to take hold. Fiscus played informal football at Indiana Normal, even before it even fielded

2774-431: The game and did their best to discourage their players from taking part. After an apparent decline in financial resources and interest, professional football in Greensburg and Latrobe underwent a one-year hiatus in 1899. Some efforts were made to reorganize a team around a core of local members of the 1898 squad, which would have to be shored up by obtaining some Latrobe players. However this effort never materialized. When

2847-411: The game at center. Both teams agreed to let "Stayer" play. The hard-fought game between the two clubs ended in a 6–6 tie, with L. F. Kirchner (for Pittsburgh) and Doc Proctor scoring the game's only scores. As a result of the contest, the two clubs divided $ 1,200 in gate receipts and each processed about 100 new members in the following two months. The game only added fuel to rivalry as Pittsburgh accused

2920-473: The game during their playing careers. Charlie Atherton is credited with inventing the place kick , and George Barclay invented the first-ever football helmet . Meanwhile, Isaac Seneca became the first Native-American to earn All-American honors and Adam Martin Wyant was the first professional football player to become a United States Congressman . The team's home games were played at Athletic Park (which

2993-403: The game, 11–0, and the claim of “Westmoreland County championship”. By this time, the team was experiencing major financial problems. To make matters even worse, the club's scheduled next-to-last game was cancelled due to inclement weather. However, the worst occurred when Latrobe, who always drew large crowds when they played Greensburg, withdrew from a scheduled Thanksgiving Day game. Latrobe paid

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3066-482: The game. By this time Greensburg was unable to regain its footing. A loss at home, this time to Latrobe, was sustained a week later on October 27. This marked Greensburg's third straight loss. During the game a fight between Seneca and the Latrobe quarterback, named Kennedy, led to a riot between the opposing fans and players. This riot prompted the Westmoreland County Sheriff's Office to devise

3139-472: The head by a rock. At the end of the season, against their club's wishes, Greensburg's Charles Rinehart and George Barclay played in the first pro football all-star game for the 1898 Western Pennsylvania All-Star football team , against the Duquesne Country and Athletic Club, on December 3, 1898. The all-star team was put together by Latrobe manager, Dave Berry and resulted in 16-0 Duquesne win. For reasons that are still unclear, Greensburg leaders opposed

3212-476: The inclement weather that was experienced in the area throughout the autumn. But finally it was stated that a game with East End might have hurt the clubs reputation more than it would have helped bringing in money to the organization. Up until now, there was no proof of professional athletes being used in western Pennsylvania sports. However, there were some questions as to why the Fiscus brother were willing to travel over 30 miles to play for Allegheny when they had

3285-522: The outcome of the game. Allegheny was unable to collect on their bets, while Pittsburgh was angered over the Chicago players being imported into the contest. Pittsburgh called Heffelfinger a paid professional and insisted he had been paid $ 500 to play in the game. On top of that, the team charged that all three Chicago men had received twice their travel expenses, making them paid professionals. Meanwhile, Allegheny accused Pittsburgh of hiring Simon Martin, who

3358-430: The players from the 1897 season had bigger offers to play elsewhere and left the team. Replacing these players proved hard since the amount of money, to lure new talent to Greensburg, was hard to come by in a small city. However, as early as 1898, the team featured Christy Mathewson , a future baseball hall of famer and former fullback from Bucknell University , in their line-up. Greensburg's first game that season

3431-416: The players took the field. The game ended in a 4–0 Allegheny win, with Heffelfinger scoring the games only points on a 35-yard fumble recovery for a touchdown. However while the three Chicago players gave Allegheny an advantage, they had never practiced with their new teammates and a lot of mistakes were made. This kept the tight-knit Pittsburgh team competitive throughout the game. Both teams were upset about

3504-642: The prestige of the club that their membership of more than 330 now equalled that of the older Pittsburgh Athletic Club (still officially called the East End Gym at the time). However, by early October, the Pittsburgh club emerged onto the football scene. At this time, Harry Fry, who was in the line-up for Allegheny a year earlier, jumped to East End team. Allegheny finally began their 1891 season on October 24. Their line-up included veteran players A.S. Valentine, Ed Brainard, Harry and John Oliver, O.D. Thompson and John Moorehead. Norman McClintock , formerly of Yale,

3577-414: The result of an earlier game against Indiana Normal remains unknown. Meanwhile, the surviving records of the club's 1892 campaign show only two games being played, resulting in two losses against Western University of Pennsylvania (today the University of Pittsburgh ), 6–2, and the Pittsburgh Athletic Club, 28–0. In 1893, Greensburg placed a higher emphasis on its football program. The results of three of

3650-404: The return of professional football to Greensburg. Under the direction of industrialist Morris L. Painter, Greensburg once again fielded a team. Many of the players were from eastern and midwestern colleges and universities. The top sought player for the 1900 season, Ralph Hutchinson of Princeton , signed with Greensburg as a player-coach . Meanwhile, Isaac Seneca , a former All-American from

3723-446: The rules of the, still relatively new, game of football. When the game was over, the score stood either 10–6 Dayton or 10–6 Allegheny, or possibly 6–6, depending on just how the rules were applied. To resolve the dispute a claim was filed directly to the modern game's founder, Walter Camp. Despite Allegheny's O.D. Thompson being Camp's student and friend, the decision by Camp ended in a 10–6 Dayton victory. However, after losing two games in

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3796-468: The score and the outcome of Greensburg's final game against Latrobe is disputed by historians. While Greensburg and Latrobe records both indicate a 4-0 Greensburg win, one Pittsburgh newspaper reported the game ended in 4-0 Latrobe victory. For 1896, Alfred Sigman of Lafayette College became the team's fullback and coach, and two more Fiscus brothers, Ross and Newill , were added to the team. Greensburg began their season 5–0, which included wins over

3869-426: The series was scheduled for November 6. Prior to the game, an unnamed Pittsburgh player offered the team's signals to Allegheny's Billy Kountz for $ 20. Allegheny reported the incident to Pittsburgh and the player was dealt with properly. Both team had hired ringers but this offense was considered blatant cheating and unacceptable. Allegheny would go on to win the second game and tie up the series. Just before Thanksgiving

3942-578: The start of the upcoming rivalry between Allegheny and the Pittsburgh Athletic Club. Allegheny would go on to defeat the inexperienced team by a score of 22–6. November 1, 1890 Allegheny scheduled a game against the Princeton University Preparatory team, paying them $ 150. The prep team was a far cry from the Princeton's varsity team . Allegheny would end up losing to the touring Princeton team, 44–6. The season concluded with

4015-439: The team failed to show up for the game and were replaced by the Western University team. Allegheny went on to defeat Shady Side Academy a week later, 32–0. Although the eleven players styled themselves the "All-Pittsburghs", they were really a collection of local athletes masquerading as a team. Significantly, several of the pick-ups were members of the East End Gym such as L. F. Kirchner and Grant Dibert . This game foreshadowed

4088-546: The team for a game against an unknown Pittsburgh club to close out the season. However, the team, filled with supplement players, lost to the Pittsburgh club by a narrow margin. During the 1891 season , the club suffered from at least two known losses against two of the two top football athletic clubs in Pittsburgh: the Pittsburgh Athletic Club and the Allegheny Athletic Association . Meanwhile,

4161-506: The third game was played and ended in a 30–4 Allegheny win. Ross Fiscus scored three touchdowns in the game. Allegheny was awarded a large trophy cup contributed by the Pittsburgh Chronicle Telegraph . Both clubs admitted to making a couple of thousand dollars on the game. The game's attendance was said to have numbered nearly 10,000 people. In September, 1895 the Allegheny found that it was under investigation by

4234-416: The top local football club for the next two years. When the team started slowly, Sport Donnelly was brought in as player-coach , becoming the first man to coach a known professional football team. Donnelly was paid to coach the team, however he still played for them for free. In 1894 the Allegheny looked to be the stronger of the two teams. They defeated a team from Sewickley , 18–0, Indiana Normal 16–0, and

4307-463: The trip to Allegheny. The game played At Exhibition Park, ended in a 6–6 tie, after the game was called due to darkness. After the game, O.D. Thompson announced his retirement as the club's manager. However newspaper reports in the Pittsburgh Post hinted that Thompson was forced out as the team's manager. The paper stated that unnamed club officials were very critical of how the football team

4380-411: The upstart Duquesne Country and Athletic Club , located in Pittsburgh. They were induced to stay with Greensburg when "interested parties" in that city raised some extra money to guarantee to the players. After a 6–0 start the team tied the Pittsburgh Athletic Club 0–0 at Exposition Park . The following week, Greensburg was defeated by the Duquesne Country and Athletic Club in Pittsburgh, 14–0, in what

4453-498: Was Pudge Heffelfinger, an all-American guard from Yale, who was hired play for Allegheny on November 12, 1892, for $ 500. Up until then John Brallier , of the Latrobe Athletic Association , was considered the first professional football player. The Pro Football Hall of Fame soon discovered a page torn from an 1892 account ledger prepared by Allegheny manager, O.D. Thompson, that included the line item: "Game performance bonus to W. Heffelfinger for playing (cash) $ 500." Heffelfinger, who

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4526-572: Was a new addition for the team at end . Surprisingly though, Doc Proctor of the East End team appeared in Allegheny's starting backfield that day. The team played against the Greensburg Athletic Association to post a 10–0 win. However a week later Allegheny lost to the Cleveland Athletic Club, led by Billy Rhodes , 22–4. A November 11, 1891, game against the Dayton Athletic Club , a dispute arose over

4599-465: Was accused of kicking or stepping on the face of one of the Jeannette players, during the game. A rematch between Greensburg and Altoona was held on Thanksgiving Day . This time though, Greensburg defeated Altoona, 6–4 in front of about 2,500 fans. During this era, please note that a touchdown accounted for four points and the “ goal after ” for two. Greensburg finished a highly successful season with

4672-454: Was against, their rivals, Latrobe. The game was played on a field, so muddy that the game had to be delayed at one point so that mud could be removed from the eyes, nose, mouth and ears of Latrobe's Ed Abbaticchio , who was buried in the mud on one of his carries. Latrobe went on to win the game 6-0 (4-0 by other accounts). The 1898 season would go on to be marred with another loss to Latrobe, and ties against Duquesne Country and Athletic Club and

4745-540: 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

4818-405: Was being run. Many were critical over Thompson fielding the team with East End players. However Thompson's defenders pointed out that the manager of an amateur team had very few ways to compel his men to do anything. They further stated that had Thompson not used East End players he might have had to ask for volunteers from the crowd. Also the falling attendance for the club's games was mainly due to

4891-597: Was discovered that the team had secretly paid formerly Indiana Normal (now Indiana University of Pennsylvania ) 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 . Aside from Fiscus, the Greensburg Athletic Association included several of the era's top players, such as: Charlie Atherton , George Barclay , Ross Fiscus , Jack Gass , Arthur McFarland , Charles Rinehart , Isaac Seneca and Adam Martin Wyant . Several of these players revolutionized

4964-429: Was later renamed Offutt Field ). The field is still in use as football field by Greensburg Salem High School and, up until 1993, Greensburg Central Catholic High School . The first four years of Greensburg Athletic Association football that began with the 1890 season, through 1893, were not particularly successful. The drawbacks included a lack of local opponents, rivalries which did not develop until later as well as

5037-561: Was located on Pittsburgh's North Side. The spot is marked by a historic marker. It later turned out that Heffelfinger received $ 500 plus $ 25 in expenses for the game, too much for a low-paid railroad clerk to pass up. Two of his Chicago teammates received “liberal” expense money. Thus, Pudge Heffelfinger now is acknowledged as the first professional football player anywhere. The next week, Allegheny paid former Princeton tight end Ben "Sport" Donnelly $ 250 to play against Washington & Jefferson , and despite having two pros in their line-up,

5110-591: Was promised a job at the club for his participation. Both teams threatened to take their complaints to the Amateur Athletic Association, but later backed down after realizing that each team's own activities would be closely scrutinized. There were reports that some Allegheny players had quit the team rather than be associated with professionalism. While some regular A.A.A. players wanted to be paid for playing. Pittsburgh newspapers, continued to refer to both teams as amateurs while printing most of

5183-447: Was scheduled for October 21, Columbus Day , to be played at Pittsburgh's field. Animosity between the two clubs remained high. The latest incident involved quarterback A.S. Valentine, who jumped to the Pittsburgh team at the beginning of the 1892 season and played in their first two games. However, without warning, he suddenly jumped back to Allegheny. Some accused Allegheny of enticing him back, while others, charged he had all along been

5256-474: Was seen as a controversial game. A local resident with ties to Duquesne was substituted for the scheduled official. This resulted in what the Greensburg Daily Tribune called bad officiating and “thievery”. A touchdown was said to have been scored by Duquesne after time was called, along with rough play. However Greensburg soon recovered and finished their season with a 9-1-1 record. However,

5329-455: Was working as a railroad clerk in Chicago , and had earlier turned down an offer to play for the Pittsburgh Athletic Club for $ 250. This set off quite a controversy as Pittsburgh A.C. protested the presence of Heffelfinger and other Chicago Athletic Association players. Allegheny retaliated with the fact that Pittsburgh had imported players as well. The game was played at Recreation Park , which

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