1893 Pittsburgh Athletic Club (football)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pittsburgh_Athletic_Club_(football)
Excerpts from the article:
The Pittsburgh Athletic Club or the Pittsburg[a] Athletic Club football team, established in 1891, was based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania...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.[2]
First pro football contract[edit]
In 1893, the Allegheny and Pittsburgh split two games, with the Pittsburgh winning 6-0 at Exposition Park and the Alleghenys winning, 8-4, in East Liberty. The year was far more significant for several other reasons, however. On October 4, Pittsburgh, represented by George Barbour, signed a player to a formal pro football contract which stated that the player must participate in all Pittsburgh games and will not play for anyone else during those games. In return the player was paid $50 per game by the Pittsburgh club. While contract has been torn at the signature line, it is believed that the first contracted player was Grant Dibert who played halfback and was a member of the Pittsburgh A. C. since 1890.
1894–1898[edit]
Pittsburgh continued to play until 1901. However, the club lost its major rival, Allegheny, in 1896 when the Amateur Athletic Union suspended the Allegheny team for its flagrant violations of amateur rules. After successful seasons in 1896 and 1897, the pro football turmoil had upset Allegheny club so greatly that the sport was dropped. By that time the new Duquesne Country and Athletic Club became the dominating force in Pittsburgh-area football. However, the Pittsburgh A. C. also lost ground to the Latrobe Athletic Association, located in neighboring Westmoreland County. In 1898, Pittsburgh put together a roster of local stars to play against Duquesne. However, the Pittsburgh A. C. lost the game 34–0. Pittsburgh finally decided the cost of paying football players only to watch them lose to Duquesne was a poor investment for the club's treasury. They quietly disappeared from the Pittsburgh football scene.
[a] The name of Pittsburgh was often spelled without the h in the 1800s and early 1900s, especially between 1891 and 1911 when the h-less spelling was favored by the United States Board on Geographic Names.
References[edit]
- ^ http://www.nfl.com/history/chronology/1869-1910
- ^ http://www.nfl.com/history/chronology/1869-1910
- ^ http://www.explorepahistory.com/hmarker.php?markerId=1000
- ^ http://www.profootballhof.com/history/general/chronology/1869-1939.jsp
Remember When: Grant Dibert signs first pro football contract
On Oct. 4, 1893, Grant Dibert apparently was the first football player to sign a pro contract.
Grant Dibert, signed the first professional football contract on Oct. 4, 1893, exactly 120 years ago today. Dibert played as a running back at Swarthmore in college and then after tooling around the western Pennsylvania amateur football scene, he signed a deal to play for the Pittsburgh Athletic Club.
A note: he was not the first player to be paid for playing in a game.
Dibert was the first player to sign a season-long contract where he could only play for Pittsburgh and he apparently could NOT play for Pittsburgh’s rival, the Alleghany Athletic Assocation. For his trouble, he was paid $50 a game.
It’s believed to be Dibert’s signature anyway.
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https://americanfootballdatabase.fandom.com/wiki/1893_Pittsburgh_Athletic_Club_football_season
1893 Pittsburgh Athletic Club [7-2]
October 7, 1893 Pittsburgh Athletic Club 10-0 Western University of Pennsylvania
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