Allegheny Athletic Association & the Pittsburgh Athletic Club Rivalry
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pittsburgh#1900_to_present
Excerpt from the article:
From 1891 to 1911, the city's name was federally recognized as "Pittsburg", though use of the final h was retained during this period by the city government and other local organizations.[24][20]
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http://pabook2.libraries.psu.edu/palitmap/Football.html
Excerpts from the article:
Where was professional football born? When did the first professional game take place? On November 12, 1892 Pittsburgh[*], Pennsylvania held the very first professional football game between the Pittsburgh Athletic Club and the Allegheny Athletic Club.
*Allegheny, PA was the actual site. Allegheny City was a municipality that existed in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania from 1788 until it was annexed by Pittsburgh in 1907. [Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allegheny,_Pennsylvania]
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http://pabook2.libraries.psu.edu/palitmap/Football.html
Excerpts from the article:
Teams quickly began competing with one another in hopes of becoming the area’s most celebrated club eleven. On October 11, 1890, the Allegheny Athletic Association (AAA), based in Allegheny City (now the North Side of Pittsburgh), played the Western University of Pennsylvania. The event marked southwest Pennsylvania’s first official game of football. Moreover, it marks the birth of a contemporary football powerhouse: Western University, now known as the University of Pittsburgh.
With competition fierce, another Pittsburgh-based club formed in 1891 – The East End Gymnasium Club. After a successful first season, the club’s reputation grew amongst football enthusiasts far and wide. Their growing fame allowed them to change their name to the Pittsburgh Athletic Club or PAC. Following their recent success, the PAC felt entitled to challenge the well-established Allegheny Athletic Club, or “The Three A’s”. As a result, the clubs scheduled an 1892 Columbus Day battle. The highly-anticipated match concluded with no victor with a tie score of 6-6. Following the stalemate, the clubs scheduled a rematch and both teams made changes to better themselves in preparation. With the clubs eager to win, they bent the rules in order to fill their rosters with the best players possible. This “revamping process” led directly to the first “professional” game.
Prior to their match, football was strictly an “amateur” sport. Players played for their dedication and love of the game, and playing for pay was highly frowned upon. To combat “play for pay” as it became known, an organization called the Amateur Athletic Union was created in order to monitor all club elevens and maintain the integrity of the game. Despite the organization, a closer look at football’s history reveals that the Union was fairly unsuccessful, and could do little to stop “play for pay.
The AAA and PAC implemented clever techniques to ensure compensation for their athletes without violating union rules. One technique widely used during the era was “double expense money.” Instead of awarding straight cash incentives, clubs would reward their top players with “gifts,” which they would in turn pawn for cash. This would often be done in the form of trophies or pocket watches. With this technique in mind, the AAA and PAC began scouting and offering incentives to athletes of interest for the rematch. The first team to make offers to players, the PAC, had a history of questionable behavior in the past. The club’s coach, William Kirschner, a well-respected football player at the time, held the title “coach,” despite the fact that he actively played in games. The attractive coaching salary he received was double expense money and a cover. Unfortunately for the PAC, Kirschner was later injured and they were forced to find another leader.
The PAC then scouted the well-known Chicago Athletic Association, known for their celebrated collegiate-trained players. Impressed with what they saw, the club offered famed guard William “Pudge” Heffelfinger $250 to participate in the highly anticipated rematch. Soon after, on October 30, the Pittsburgh Press got wind of the negotiations and reported that Heffelfinger and teammate Knowlton “Snake” Ames were offered money by the PAC.
Just as the PAC was looking for ways to strengthen its roster, the AAA was simultaneously speaking with Ben “Sport” Donnelly and Ed Malley, offering both “double expense money.” Once word spread, the club began to pursue Heffelfinger and Ames as well. They began by offering them $250 each for the game, but were unsuccessful. Ames refused to accept the cash incentive in fear of losing his amateur status while Heffelfinger was simply interested in more money. Pushing further, the AAA offered Heffelfinger $500, plus $25 for travel expenses, which he accepted.
As game day finally arrived, Heffelfinger, Donnelly, and Malley ran onto Allegheny Field touting AAA uniforms, in front of 3,000 screaming fans. When the PAC saw the players, they immediately accused the club of wrongdoing, claiming that they paid players, despite participating in similar negotiations themselves. The sides bickered substantially, but AAA manager O. D. Thompson maintained his and his club’s innocence. As negotiations subsided, the club managers agreed to play, however, the game was now only considered an exhibition and all corresponding bets were nullified. Despite the “positive” outcome, fans of both clubs were displeased. PAC fans were upset by AAA’s new Chicago additions, while AAA fans were angered by the elimination of betting.
Nevertheless the game proceeded. Due to the pre-game negotiations, the game was shortened to “two 30-minute halves, instead of 45 minutes.” During the first half, the legendary Heffelfinger terrorized the PAC offense, forced a fumble, and returned it for a touchdown, which at the time was 4 points. Unfortunately the shortened time was not enough and darkness overcame the field 18 minutes into the second half. As a result, Heffelfinger’s inspired play was the game’s only score. Thus, the AAA won 4-0 over their archrival.
When the Pro Football Hall of Fame opened in 1963, the matter of determining the first professional football player was deeply researched. During the investigation an AAA expense report was discovered that clearly illustrated the payment Heffelfinger received for his participation in the 1892 game. As a result, the report was dubbed “pro football’s birth certificate.”
From the 1892 AAA/PAC rematch to the Pittsburgh Steelers’ 2009 Super Bowl victory, southwest Pennsylvania remains rich with football fans. Without the intensity within the area, professional football may never have achieved the mass appeal and allure it has today. Heffelfinger and the AAA’s have forever rooted the historic beginnings of professional football in Southwest Pennsylvania.
Sources:
- Bauder, David. “Super Bowl 2010 Ratings: 106 Million Watch, Top-Rated Telecast Ever.” Huffington Post. 2 Feb. 2010. Huffingtonpost.com.1 Mar. 2010 <http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/02/08/super-bowl-2010-ratings- m_n_453503.html>.
- “The First Intercollegiate Game - November 6, 1869.” Scarletknights.com. Rutgers University. 4 Mar. 2010 <http://www.scarletknights.com/football/history/first-game.asp>.
- “The Allegheny Athletic Association and the rise of professional football in Pittsburgh, PA in 1890s.” ExplorePAHistory.com. WITF. 1 Mar. 2010. <http://explorepahistory.com/odocument.php?docId=1-4-1A3>.
- “Historical Markers: First Professional Football Game.” ExplorePAHistory.com. WITF. 1 Mar. 2010 <http://explorepahistory.com/hmarker.php?markerId=1000>.
- “History: Birth of Pro Football.” Pro Football Hall of Fame. 25 Feb. 2010 <http://www.profootballhof.com/history/general/birth.aspx>.
- Pro Football Hall of Fame. N.p., 2011. 15 Apr 2011 <http://www.profootballhof.com/hof/birthplace.aspx>.
- Pruter, Robert. “Heffelfinger, William Walter (“Pudge”).” Scribner Encyclopedia of American Lives. Gale Virtual Reference Library, 2006.
- Van Atta, Robert B. “The Early Years of Pro Football in Southwest Pennsylvania.” The Coffin Corner. Vol. 3. 1981. 25 Feb. 2010 <http://www.profootballresearchers.org/Coffin_Corner/03-An-078.pdf>.
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------https://www.timesreporter.com/sports/20190127/who-was-william-pudge-heffelfinger
- Excerpt from the article:
In fact, PAC’s manager, George Barbour, had made a trip to Chicago to make an offer to William “Pudge” Heffelfinger and another player to join his team...now playing for a traveling amateur team, the Chicago Athletic Association. Barbour was unsuccessful, however; for Heffelfinger had quit the team and gone to Pittsburgh where he met up with the AAA’s manager, Billy Kountz. When game day arrived, Heffelfinger and two other teammates from Chicago were playing for the Three A’s (as they were often referred to locally).
The PAC immediately protested and an argument broke out between the clubs. The substitutes for the two teams began playing, which hardly satisfied the crowd in attendance, but finally the regular players agreed to an abbreviated game (since darkness was approaching) of 30 minutes rather than the usual 45. Heffelfinger did not disappoint – he forced a fumble that he then picked up and ran 35 yards for the game’s only touchdown. The AAA won, 4-0 (touchdowns were worth less in those days).
Afterward, Heffelfinger received $500 plus $25 for expenses (his teammates from the Chicago AA, Ed Malley and Ben “Sport” Donnelly, received expense money). It was the first recorded incidence of an athlete being paid to play football.
While it is suspected that others may have been paid prior to Heffelfinger, and certainly received perks provided by the athletic clubs for their participation, the entry in the Allegheny Athletic Association’s ledger documenting the transaction is the oldest proven player payment (the documentation wasn’t uncovered until the 1960s, and is now held by the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Previously, a club in Latrobe, Pennsylvania had claimed to be the first to have paid a player, in 1895).
It did not take long for professionalism to take hold, even if at a rather modest level. By 1896, there were teams that were entirely made up of paid players.
Random thoughts on William Heffelfinger:
In 1892, people who are 6'3" and 210 pounds are nicknamed pudge. I don't think that's even considered "dad bod" today.
Heffelfinger's $500 payment was the equivalent of $14,200 in 2019 dollars. Players making the minimum NFL salary in 2019 got game checks of $29,117. Obviously, the players now make more, but considering how much the game has changed, I find it kind of interesting how close those numbers are. (Heffelfinger got paid in cash, not by check, but if Randy Moss is to be believed, many NFL players do carry that much cash around.)
The old-timey scoring system was whack.
When I was a kid, it always annoyed me that the first professional football player was a lineman. Now I kind of like it.
College football was taken seriously enough even in the 1880s that somebody probably paid a professional ringer to play in a college game before 1892.
Heffelfinger was the most famous football player in America at the time. For years, amateur town teams in western Pennsylvania and northeastern Ohio were rumored to have slipped money under the table to various stars on their rosters. But the Allegheny Athletic Association was an open bidder for Heffelfinger. It decided to pay over the table.
Allegheny hired him to play against their arch-rival, the Pittsburgh Athletic Club, on that historic November day. The Allegheny ledger for that day contains this entry: "Game performance bonus to W. Heffelfinger for playing (cash) $500."
Pudge was worth it. Allegheny cleared $621 in profit despite paying what was, in those days, serious money to its star.
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allegheny_Athletic_Association
Allegheny Athletic Association
| Head coaches | Sport Donnelly |
|---|---|
| General managers | O. D. Thompson (1890–1891, 1893–1896) Billy Kountz (1892) |
| Owner(s) | Allegheny Athletic Association |
| W. Pennsylvania Championship wins | 4 (1890, 1892, 1894, 1896) |
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