American Football In Western Pennsylvania
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". Early years Professional In the early 20th century, football began to catch on in the general population of the United States and was the subject of intense competition and rivalry, albeit of a localized nature. Although payments to players were considered unsporting and dishonorable at the time, a Pittsburgh area club, the Allegheny Athletic Association, of the unofficial western Pennsylvania football c ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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American Football
American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with possession of the oval-shaped football, attempts to advance down the field by running with the ball or passing it, while the defense, the team without possession of the ball, aims to stop the offense's advance and to take control of the ball for themselves. The offense must advance at least ten yards in four downs or plays; if they fail, they turn over the football to the defense, but if they succeed, they are given a new set of four downs to continue the drive. Points are scored primarily by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone for a touchdown or kicking the ball through the opponent's goalposts for a field goal. The team with the most points at the end of a game wins. American football evolved in the United States, ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Latrobe, Pennsylvania
Latrobe is a city in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, in the United States and part of the Pittsburgh metropolitan area. The city population was 8,338 as of the 2010 census (9,265 in 1990). It is located near Pennsylvania's scenic Chestnut Ridge (Laurel Highlands), Chestnut Ridge. Latrobe was incorporated as a Borough (Pennsylvania), borough in 1854, and as a city in 1999. The current mayor is Rosemarie M. Wolford. Latrobe is the home of the Latrobe Brewing Company, Latrobe Brewery (the original brewer of Rolling Rock beer). Latrobe was the home of golfer Arnold Palmer. It was the birthplace and childhood home of children's television personality Fred Rogers. The banana split was invented there by David Strickler in 1904. Latrobe is also home to the Training camp (National Football League), training camp of the Pittsburgh Steelers. Latrobe was long recognized as the site of the first professional American football game in 1895 until research found an 1892 game with paid players ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Charles Rinehart
Charles Ramsay Rinehart (December 31, 1875 – October 30, 1933) 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. Playing career College career Rinehart attended Lafayette and played right guard on the school's 1896 team, under coach Parke H. Davis. At 6'3" and 210 pounds, "Babe" or "Riny" was the biggest man on the team. That season Rinehart and Lafayette fought Princeton to a scoreless tie. Thirty-seven years later, the two teams were named co-national champions for the season by Coach Davis, who had become the sport's pre-eminent historian. In 1934, Davis wrote that Rinehart was "the peer of any player whoever wore a cleated shoe" and "often has been named, with Walter Heffelfinger of Yale, as one of the two greatest foot ball players of all time." Rinehart captained and played quarterback for the team in 1897. ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Arthur McFarland
Arthur Lamont "Tiger" McFarland (July 7, 1874 – August 21, 1959) 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. At the same time McFarland was enjoying his professional career, he also played at the college level. While McFarland played professional football for Greensburg and Latrobe, he still claimed his amateur status by playing for the Washington & Jefferson Presidents. After playing two seasons for the Presidents, McFarland played his two seasons for West Virginia Mountaineers. For 1906 to 1908, McFarland was the head football coach at Ohio University, compiling a record of 13–10–1 record in th ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Jack Gass
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 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 Greensbu .... References * * * 1898 Western Pennsylvania All-Star football playe ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Ross Fiscus
William Ross Fiscus (April 2, 1870 – November 6, 1950) was an early professional American football player and coach. He was one of the first pro players on record. Playing career Fiscus played for the Allegheny Athletic Association professional football team as a lineman in 1891 and 1892, but by 1893 he had successfully earned the role as halfback. Fiscus continued to play several more years for Allegheny, even dropping out of college to do so. This would have put him alongside the first recorded professional football player Pudge Heffelfinger, who also played for Allegheny. In 1896, he played alongside his brother, Lawson, for the Greensburg Athletic Association. Coaching career Fiscus was the second head football coach at Geneva College in Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania, and he held that position for three seasons, from 1897 until 1899. His coaching record at Geneva was 6–9–2. Later life Fiscus died November 6, 1950, at his home in the Mount Washington neighborhood of Pi ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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George Barclay (baseball)
George Oliver Barclay (May 16, 1876 – April 3, 1909) 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. Baseball career Minor leagues Barclay began his professional baseball career in 1896 with the Chambersburg Maroons in the independent Cumberland Valley League. He continued to play both football and minor league baseball. In 1901, he batted .335 for the Rochester Bronchos of the Eastern League, earning him a look from the Cardinals. Cardinals Barclay was 25 years old when he broke into the big leagues on April 17, 1902, with the St. Louis Cardinals. Two of the team's starting outfielders, Jesse Burkett and Emmet Heidrick, had jumped to the ri ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Charlie Atherton
Charles Morgan Herbert Atherton (November 19, 1874 – December 17, 1935) was an American Major League Baseball third baseman. Nicknamed "Prexy", he batted and threw right-handed, was tall and weighed 160 pounds. He was an accomplished musician and writer, as well as an athlete. Early life He was born in New Brunswick, New Jersey, the son of George W. Atherton and Frances “Fannie” Wright Darusmont Washburn, of Plympton, Massachusetts. His father, a Civil War veteran, at the time was a professor of political science at Rutgers University. In 1882, at the age of 9 he moved to Philadelphia when his father took over as president of Pennsylvania State University. Atherton loved baseball as well as football. He was Penn State's first sports star as a member of the school's baseball and football teams. He is also credited with inventing the place kick. Sports career He was an early professional football player and coach for the Greensburg Athletic Association. He also played prof ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Lawson Fiscus
Ira Lawson Fiscus (1866-1949) was one of the first professional football players. He attended Princeton University, where his outstanding play at offensive guard earned him the title Samson of Princeton, before going on to play professionally with the Allegheny Athletic Association in 1891 and the Greensburg Athletic Association in 1893. His brothers Ross and Newell also played for Pittsburgh-area athletic clubs and were highly regarded as players. Early life Lawson was the son of a farmer and he grew up in Indiana County, Pennsylvania. He was just one of sixteen children. All of his brothers were athletic and largely built, however Lawson was considered the toughest of family. Football Princeton Lawson may have played some informal football at Indiana Normal School (now Indiana University of Pennsylvania) in the late 1880s. By 1891, he and Ross played well enough to receive "liberal expense money" to go to Pittsburgh and play for the Allegheny Athletic Association. In 1892, Lawso ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Indiana University Of Pennsylvania
Indiana University of Pennsylvania (IUP) is a public research university in Indiana County, Pennsylvania. As of fall 2021, the university enrolled 7,044 undergraduates and 1,865 postgraduates, for a total enrollment of 9,009 students. The university is northeast of Pittsburgh. It is governed by a local Council of Trustees and the Board of Governors of the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education. IUP has branch campuses at Punxsutawney, Northpointe, and Monroeville. IUP is accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education. History IUP was conceived as Indiana Normal School, first chartered in 1871 by Indiana County investors. The school was created under the Normal School Act, which passed the Pennsylvania General Assembly on May 20, 1875. Normal schools established under the act were to be private corporations in no way dependent upon the state treasury. They were to be "state" normal schools only in the sense of being officially recognized by the comm ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Greensburg Athletic Association
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 (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 rev ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Greensburg, Pennsylvania
Greensburg is a city in and the county seat of Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, United States, and a part of the Pittsburgh Metro Area. The city lies within the Laurel Highlands and the ecoregion of the Western Allegheny Plateau (ecoregion), Western Allegheny Plateau. The city is named after Nathanael Greene, a major general of the Continental Army in the American Revolutionary War. The population was 14,976 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Located southeast of Pittsburgh, Greensburg is a major business, academic, tourism, and cultural center in Western Pennsylvania. It is evident as the city's population doubles during work hours. In 2007, Greensburg was ranked as one of the "Best Places to Retire" in Pennsylvania by ''U.S. News & World Report''. History After the end of the American Revolutionary War, Revolutionary War, an inn was built along a wagon trail that stretched from Philadelphia west over the Appalachian Mountains to Fort Pitt (Pennsylvania), Fort P ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |