The Latrobe Athletic Association was a professional
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
team located in
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 Rid ...
, from 1895 until 1909. A member of the unofficial
Western Pennsylvania Professional Football Circuit 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 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
The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...
,
John Brallier
John Kinport "Sal" Brallier (December 12, 1876 – September 17, 1960) 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 f ...
, also became the first football player to openly turn professional, by accepting $10 and expenses to play for Latrobe against the
Jeannette Athletic Club
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 ...
.
Origins
In 1895 the local Latrobe
YMCA
YMCA, sometimes regionally called the Y, is a worldwide youth organization based in Geneva, Switzerland, with more than 64 million beneficiaries in 120 countries. It was founded on 6 June 1844 by George Williams in London, originally ...
organized a local football team and announced that the team play a formal schedule. With the decision,
Russell Aukerman
Albert Russell Aukerman was an early professional football player-coach for the Latrobe Athletic Association. Prior to that, he was a halfback at Gettysburg College. He entered the College in 1893 at the age of 20. Because of his maturity, he was ...
, an instructor at the club and a former
halfback at
Gettysburg College
Gettysburg College is a private liberal arts college in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1832, the campus is adjacent to the Gettysburg Battlefield. Gettysburg College has about 2,600 students, with roughly equal numbers of men and women. ...
, was named as a
player-coach
A player-coach (also playing coach, captain-coach, or player-manager) is a member of a sports team who simultaneously holds both playing and coaching duties. A player-coach may be a head coach or an assistant coach. They may make changes to the sq ...
. Meanwhile,
David Berry, an editor-publisher of a local newspaper, the ''Latrobe Clipper'', was chosen as the team's manager.
Harry Ryan, a former
tackle from
West Virginia University
West Virginia University (WVU) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Morgantown, West Virginia. Its other campuses are those of the West Virginia University Institute of Technology in Beckley, Potomac State College ...
, was then elected as the team's captain. The team was formed and began to conduct daily practices in early August. Since many of the players held jobs unrelated to football, those men working different shifts were accommodated with evening practices, when they could not attend regular sessions in the afternoon. The team's practices were held on a vacant
Pennsylvania Railroad
The Pennsylvania Railroad (reporting mark PRR), legal name The Pennsylvania Railroad Company also known as the "Pennsy", was an American Class I railroad that was established in 1846 and headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was named ...
lot at the corner of Depot and Alexandria Streets, which was lit at night by a street light.
[
]
First admitted professional football player
![John Brallier 1895 W&J uniform cropped](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/50/John_Brallier_1895_W%26J_uniform_cropped.jpg)
Just before the start of the season, Latrobe's quarterback,
Eddie Blair
James Edward Blair (August 5, 1871 – March 8, 1913) was an American football player and coach and physician. He was early professional football player with the Latrobe Athletic Association. He later relocated to Burlington, New Jersey where he ...
, found himself in a scheduling conflict. Blair, who also played
baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...
in nearby
Greensburg, discovered that the team's first football game against the Jeannette Athletic Club conflicted with a prior baseball commitment. Berry was now given the task for replacing Blair, for the game. He heard of a quarterback at
Indiana Normal named John Brallier and contacted him at his home in
Indiana, Pennsylvania
Indiana is a borough in and the county seat of Indiana County in the U.S. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The population was 13,564 at the 2020 census, and since 2013 has been part of the Pittsburgh metropolitan area. After being a long time par ...
. Berry offered Brallier expenses to play for Latrobe. However Brallier was reluctant to play since he would be playing for
Washington & Jefferson College
Washington & Jefferson College (W&J College or W&J) is a private liberal arts college in Washington, Pennsylvania. The college traces its origin to three log cabin colleges in Washington County established by three Presbyterian missionaries to ...
within just a few weeks. This led Berry to offer Brallier $10 to play for Latrobe against Jeannette, plus expenses, with the promise of several future games. Brallier, accepted the offer and became the first player to openly admit to being paid to play football player. The quarterback arrived in Latrobe the night before the game and practiced with the team.
While Brallier was considered the first professional football player and deemed a national icon for many years, it wasn't until after his death in 1960 that evidence proved John Brallier was not in fact the first professional football player, but merely the first one to openly admit that he was being paid.
William "Pudge" Heffelfinger of the
Allegheny Athletic Association
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 A ...
is now considered the first professional player.
[
]
Early years
1895 season
The first game of
Latrobe's 1895 season was played on a Tuesday afternoon on September 3, 1895. Before the game, a parade formed on newly paved Ligonier Street. The parade was led by Billy Showalter’s Cornet Band, followed by both the Latrobe and Jeannette teams in full uniforms. The Latrobe team colors of Orange and Maroon were displayed in store windows and hotels, and on street corner poles. Stores were closed, and steel mines, coal and coke works declared a half-holiday for the occasion. The game began at 4:00 pm with Latrobe coming out as the victor over Jeannette. Latrobe's coach, Russell Auckerman, scored two
touchdown
A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchdown by advancing the ball into the opponent's end zone. In Ameri ...
s (each worth four points at the time), while Brallier kicked two
extra point
The conversion, try (American football, also known as a point(s) after touchdown, PAT, or (depending on the number of points) extra point/2-point conversion), or convert (Canadian football) occurs immediately after a touchdown during which the sc ...
s (then worth 2 points each) for a final score of 12–0.
After the initial game, Brallier played a second game with Latrobe, before traveling to Washington & Jefferson for college. The game was held on September 14, against a squad from
Altoona, Pennsylvania
Altoona is a city in Blair County, Pennsylvania. It is the principal city of the Altoona Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA). The population was 43,963 at the time of the 2020 Census, making it the eighteenth most populous city in Pennsylvania. ...
, and ended in a 7–0 Latrobe loss. While at Washington & Jefferson, Brallier became the college's varsity quarterback. Meanwhile, the 1895 Latrobe YMCA team ended up playing 11 games, for a record of 7–4 with two losses to their cross-county rivals, 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 Greensb ...
, and single losses to Altoona and
West Virginia University
West Virginia University (WVU) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Morgantown, West Virginia. Its other campuses are those of the West Virginia University Institute of Technology in Beckley, Potomac State College ...
.
1896
Latrobe fielded a team for a
second season in 1896. Many of the players on team had returned from the year before. Brallier accepted an offer to return to the team and served as the team's quarterback and coach. The team started off with wins against the
Pittsburgh Imperials, the renamed
Jeannette Indians, Altoona, and
Western University of Pennsylvania
The University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) is a public state-related research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The university is composed of 17 undergraduate and graduate schools and colleges at its urban Pittsburgh campus, home to the univers ...
(renamed the
University of Pittsburgh
The University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) is a public state-related research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The university is composed of 17 undergraduate and graduate schools and colleges at its urban Pittsburgh campus, home to the universit ...
in 1908) before finally losing to the Greensburg Athletic Association, 10–4. The team later split a two-game series against West Virginia University and won against Indiana Normal, before once again losing to the Greensburg Athletic Association, 10–0, to finish with a 7–3 record.
First All-Pro team
The
1897 Latrobe team was composed entirely of professional players. Berry had signed a number of college players from
east coast
East Coast may refer to:
Entertainment
* East Coast hip hop, a subgenre of hip hop
* East Coast (ASAP Ferg song), "East Coast" (ASAP Ferg song), 2017
* East Coast (Saves the Day song), "East Coast" (Saves the Day song), 2004
* East Coast FM, a ra ...
colleges, some as far west as
Iowa
Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to the ...
, to the team. Meanwhile,
Walter Okeson
Walter Raleigh "Okey" Okeson (October 3, 1875 – November 4, 1943) was an American football player and coach. He was a player-coach for the first all-professional football team, the Latrobe Athletic Association club in 1897. Okeson was the head ...
, a former
All-American end
End, END, Ending, or variation, may refer to:
End
*In mathematics:
** End (category theory)
** End (topology)
**End (graph theory)
** End (group theory) (a subcase of the previous)
**End (endomorphism)
*In sports and games
**End (gridiron footbal ...
from
Lehigh University
Lehigh University (LU) is a private research university in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania in the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pennsylvania. The university was established in 1865 by businessman Asa Packer and was originally affiliated with the Epis ...
, was named as the team's coach.
George Shelafo of the
Carlisle Indian School
The United States Indian Industrial School in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, generally known as Carlisle Indian Industrial School, was the flagship Indian boarding school in the United States from 1879 through 1918. It took over the historic Carlisle B ...
, located in
Carlisle, Pennsylvania
Carlisle is a Borough (Pennsylvania), borough in and the county seat of Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, United States. Carlisle is located within the Cumberland Valley, a highly productive agricultural region. As of the 2020 United States census, ...
, also joined Latrobe that season. Shelafo was set to play for the
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chicago is consistently ranked among the b ...
that fall before he was lured to Latrobe by Berry.
The team began the season 7–0–1 with wins over Jeannette,
Pittsburgh Emeralds,
Pittsburgh College,
Western University of Pennsylvania
The University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) is a public state-related research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The university is composed of 17 undergraduate and graduate schools and colleges at its urban Pittsburgh campus, home to the univers ...
, and a team from
Youngstown, Ohio
Youngstown is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio, and the largest city and county seat of Mahoning County, Ohio, Mahoning County. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, Youngstown had a city population of 60,068. It is a principal city of ...
. After the team's game against Western University of Pennsylvania,
Doggie Trenchard
Thomas Gawthrop "Doggie" Trenchard (May 3, 1874 – October 16, 1943) was an All-American football player at Princeton University in 1893 and a college football head coach at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, the University of Pit ...
and Eddie Blair, the team's original quarterback who was replaced by Brallier in 1895, joined the team. The team remained undefeated before facing the
Duquesne Country and Athletic Club
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 1 ...
for a 12–6 loss at
Exposition Park. However, the team did rebound to defeat the
Pittsburgh Athletic Club
The Pittsburgh Athletic Club (PAC) was one of the earliest professional ice hockey teams. It was based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania from around 1895 until 1904 and again from 1907 to 1909. The team was a member of the Western Pennsylvania Hockey Le ...
, and Youngstown in back-to-back games. The championship of western Pennsylvania was expected to be a battle between the Duquesne and Pittsburgh Athletic Club. However both Greensburg and Youngstown ended up defeating Duquesne. This led to talk of a championship game between Greensburg and Latrobe. However, with the season still incomplete, a regular season game between the two clubs took place in Greensburg on November 20, 1897. The game resulted in a hard fought 12–6 victory for Latrobe in what locals called “one of the greatest games ever played in western Pennsylvania.” However, after an 18–0 defeat at the hands of West Virginia, Latrobe lost the final game of the season to Greensburg, 6-0. However a Pittsburgh-based football expert picked an all-western Pennsylvania team from among the region's amateur, pro, and college teams, and three of the 11 players chosen were from the Latrobe club. These members were Walter Okeson (end), Harry Ryan (tackle), and
Ed Abbaticchio
Edward James Abbaticchio (April 15, 1877 – January 6, 1957) was the first Major League Baseball player and first professional football player of Italian ancestry.
Baseball
Born in Latrobe, Pennsylvania, Abbatticchio was primarily a shortstop ...
(
fullback).
First all-star team and down years (1898–1902)
The Latrobe squad remained a strong competitor for the next several seasons. However, the team did not provide much of a challenge for the western Pennsylvania championship.
The 1898 team started off to a 7–0 record, before losing three games to Pittsburgh Athletic Club, Duquesne Country and Athletic Club and Greensburg to finish 7–3.
After their 1898 season
first all-star team in professional football history, composed of early football players, from several teams in the area. The team was formed by Latrobe manager, Dave Berry, 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 very 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
Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...
, the 1898 location of the game was
Allegheny, Pennsylvania
Allegheny City was a municipality that existed in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania from 1788 until it was annexed by Pittsburgh in 1907. It was located north across the Allegheny River from downtown Pittsburgh, with its southwest border formed by ...
which was not incorporated into the city of Pittsburgh until 1907.
The very next season marked the team's first undefeated season, despite only playing four games. However, the 1898, 1899 and
1900
As of March 1 ( O.S. February 17), when the Julian calendar acknowledged a leap day and the Gregorian calendar did not, the Julian calendar fell one day further behind, bringing the difference to 13 days until February 28 ( O.S. February 15), 2 ...
seasons did showcase what can historically be considered Latrobe's most colorful player,
Charles Barney. Off the field, Barney had a reputation for entertaining both fans and fellow players by lifting and holding a piano while a man played it. The
1901 Latrobe season was another low-profile year, the team played only three games for a 2-1 record. But the stage was set for a later resurgence with development of some squad members. The team lost, 12–0, to a squad from nearby
Derry
Derry, officially Londonderry (), is the second-largest city in Northern Ireland and the fifth-largest city on the island of Ireland. The name ''Derry'' is an anglicisation of the Old Irish name (modern Irish: ) meaning 'oak grove'. The ...
and won two games over teams picked up from men working at Latrobe Steel.
"Wait until next year"
John Brallier rejoined the team as
player-coach
A player-coach (also playing coach, captain-coach, or player-manager) is a member of a sports team who simultaneously holds both playing and coaching duties. A player-coach may be a head coach or an assistant coach. They may make changes to the sq ...
for the
1902 season. Latrobe once again played only a small number of games (four) that fall. After posting scoreless ties against Indiana Normal and the
Wilkinsburg Sterling Athletic Club, the team defeated the Indiana First Regiment team, 22-2. In the season finale, Latrobe defeated the Latrobe Steel Works, 17–0. At the end of the season most of the team's followers and players were optimistic about the club's future. Most of Brallier’s players were between the ages of 17–18 years and expressed a desire to learn, and drilled for long hours in fundamentals. Brallier correctly, as it turned out, anticipated what was reflected in street conversation throughout Latrobe, “wait until next year.”
Undefeated seasons
1903
In 1903, the Latrobe
YMCA
YMCA, sometimes regionally called the Y, is a worldwide youth organization based in Geneva, Switzerland, with more than 64 million beneficiaries in 120 countries. It was founded on 6 June 1844 by George Williams in London, originally ...
was organized under the leadership of the Latrobe Steel Works, and its membership included many of the players from the 1902 team. A football organization was formed with Brallier once again serving as a player-coach. A fence was built around the Latrobe Steel Athletic Grounds and new uniforms were ordered with money donated by several local merchants. Further experience was added when several former players of the 1890s rejoined the team. Locally, Latrobe was the acclaimed western Pennsylvania champion after posting the undefeated season.
While the
Franklin Athletic Club
The Franklin Athletic Club was an early professional football team based in Franklin, Pennsylvania. It was considered the top team in professional football in 1903, by becoming the US Football Champions and winning the 1903 World Series of Foot ...
was generally considered the "U.S. Pro Champion" that year, the team had refused to play Latrobe.
Ironically for a team that made history by fielding an all-professional line-up for a complete season in 1897, the 1903 Latrobe team was composed entirely of amateurs. Brallier reflected in 1934 that the 1903 Latrobe backfield “was the best I had ever played with and the best I have ever seen.” However, despite their winning season, the Latrobe team was losing money. Crowds for the games were small, which led to a drop in revenue.
1904
At a team meeting on June 4, 1904, Brallier was once again elected as the team's coach and manager, and Harry Ryan was again elected as the team's captain.
Latrobe's 1904 season ended in another undefeated season for the team. In an effort to keep expenses down, the team reportedly used just nine footballs throughout the season. After all debts and expenses were paid, the 16 players divided up about $500 in profits. A big post-season event was a chicken and waffle benefit supper at Latrobe's Mozart Hall, at which over 5,000 waffles “rolled in pools of chicken gravy” were consumed. The Hotel Mahaney also held a banquet for the team.
However tragedy did strike the team shortly after the season.
Paul Blair, a Latrobe player and the brother of Eddie Blair, was killed when he was hit by train walking along the
Pennsylvania Railroad
The Pennsylvania Railroad (reporting mark PRR), legal name The Pennsylvania Railroad Company also known as the "Pennsy", was an American Class I railroad that was established in 1846 and headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was named ...
line between Latrobe and
Derry
Derry, officially Londonderry (), is the second-largest city in Northern Ireland and the fifth-largest city on the island of Ireland. The name ''Derry'' is an anglicisation of the Old Irish name (modern Irish: ) meaning 'oak grove'. The ...
. Latrobe players Harry Ryan and John Brallier served as pallbearers at the funeral. The team also reportedly sent a beautiful floral wreath, to the Blair home. In the wreath, draped in team colors, were the words "Latrobe Football Team, 1904".
1905
By this time it had been three years since Latrobe posted a defeat, and the team scored on only once in the last two seasons. The
1905 season saw a mood of optimism in Latrobe. Several new college players were signed to the team. The team and the community provided new jobs to bring some more football talent, and to keep others there. However scheduling was difficult, with many teams either refusing to play Latrobe or asking overly high financial guarantees. Still the team did manage to secure an 8-0 record without giving up a point.
During the season, Latrobe took part in a high-profile game against the
Canton Bulldogs. The Bulldogs were a professional team widely renowned in the unofficial "
Ohio League
The Ohio League was an informal and loose association of American football clubs active between 1902 and 1919 that competed for the Ohio Independent Championship (OIC). As the name implied, its teams were mostly based in Ohio. It is the direct pr ...
" and would later become a founding member, and
two-time champion, of the
National Football League
The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...
. Canton was a particularly strong team that scored over 100 points in many of its games. A game between the two clubs was arranged November 18, 1905 in Latrobe. Despite injuries to several of the Latrobe players, the team went on to defeat the Bulldogs 6–0.
A season-ending game against Canton's "Ohio League" rivals, the
Massillon Tigers
The Massillon Tigers were an early professional football team from Massillon, Ohio. Playing in the "Ohio League", the team was a rival to the pre-National Football League version of the Canton Bulldogs. The Tigers won Ohio League championships i ...
, was proposed but never occurred.
On December 2, 1905, the ''Latrobe Bulletin'' devoted a full page to the three-year Latrobe record of 26-0, and 794-5 points spread. Furthermore, the ''
Pittsburgh Chronicle Telegraph
The ''Pittsburgh Sun-Telegraph'' was an evening daily newspaper published in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania from 1927 to 1960. Part of the Hearst newspaper chain, it competed with ''The Pittsburgh Press'' and the ''Pittsburgh Post-Gazette'' until bein ...
'' published two teams of all-stars, and among western Pennsylvania 22 teams. The paper cited were five Latrobe players: Hayes (tackle), Van Doren (tackle), Harry Ryan (guard), Gibson (guard), and Brallier (quarterback). At the end of the year, a Football Association was being planned to include teams in Latrobe, Steelton, Franklin, and Pittsburgh representing Pennsylvania, and the
Akron Indians
The Akron Pros were a professional football team that played in Akron, Ohio from 1908 to 1926. The team originated in 1908 as a semi-pro team named the Akron Indians, but later became Akron Pros in 1920 as the team set out to become a charter mem ...
, the
Canton Bulldogs, the
Massillon Tigers
The Massillon Tigers were an early professional football team from Massillon, Ohio. Playing in the "Ohio League", the team was a rival to the pre-National Football League version of the Canton Bulldogs. The Tigers won Ohio League championships i ...
, and
Shelby Blues
The Shelby Blues were an American football team based in Shelby, Ohio. The team played in the Ohio League from 1900 to 1919. In 1920, when the Ohio League became the APFA (now known as the National Football League), the Blues did not join but conti ...
representing Ohio. The plan was for the teams to settle championships within each state, with the two state winners to meet in a championship game on
Thanksgiving Day
Thanksgiving is a national holiday celebrated on various dates in the United States, Canada, Grenada, Saint Lucia, Liberia, and unofficially in countries like Brazil and Philippines. It is also observed in the Netherlander town of Leiden a ...
. Salary limits were reportedly established, while other details were worked out. However, the project never materialized.
Decline
1906 season
The
1906 season saw the beginning of the decline of professional football in Latrobe. Many players were still attracted to Latrobe for football, and many players remained in the community, working in industrial, mining, and mercantile jobs. The success of the three years through 1905 brought inquiries from prominent players all over the nation who wanted to come to Latrobe in 1906. However, an effort to obtain funds with which to pay players apparently failed when 25 shares at $100 each were not subscribed.
On November 29, 1906, the Latrobe was defeated for the first time in four years by Canton, 16–0. On top of that, Latrobe had been guaranteed $1,500 for the game, $1,200 of which was to be used to pay the players, and $300 for expenses. But the Canton's manager
Blondy Wallace
Charles Edgar "Blondy" Wallace (died March 5, 1937) was an early professional football player and later convicted criminal during the Prohibition Era. He was a 240-pound, former Walter Camp second-team All-American tackle from the University ...
was unable to pay, the result of the fallout from
an infamous betting scandal between Massillon and Canton. The problems had soured Canton's 1,200 fans who turned out for the game, further complicating things. Canton players were not paid as a result, in addition. To help pay for the Latrobe team's expenses an effort was established in Latrobe, which raised part of the team's $300 expense debt, and the balance of the money was borrowed by the YMCA so that it could be paid.
1907 season
By October 1907, sentiment in Latrobe had grown for keeping the football team comprising local men and not hiring players from out of town. However, despite the changing atmosphere, the
1907 season was moderately successful with a 5-2-2 record. Harry Ryan was retired; while John Brallier served mainly as a coach. Leo Gibson was then elected as Latrobe's captain.
California YMCA mystery game
In a bizarre story during that final season, the "
California (Pennsylvania) YMCA team" came to Latrobe for a game, and was ejected from its rooms at the Parker House for "chasing and frightening a chambermaid," jumping on beds and breaking two of them, and for language "far from what might be asked for from YMCA boys." Latrobe would go on to win the game, 38–0, in front of a small crowd. However, it was later discovered that there wasn't a YMCA located in California. Who Latrobe played in that game remains a mystery.
1908–1909
The decrease in community interest and the change of the team from a professional football club to local amateur team, coincided with John Brallier's last year as a player, although he continued to help coach local teams. Some of the players continued with the 1908 and 1909 loose amateur squads, captained by
Peck Lawson, however the out-of town players and the old rivalries had generally disappeared.
[
]
Legacy
Several of the prominent members of the original Latrobe professional football teams, including Brallier, Ryan, Abbaticchio and Peck Lawson, lived around Latrobe for many years. Ed Abbaticchio, outside of football, also played baseball in the National League
The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team s ...
for the Philadelphia Phillies
The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. Since 2004, the team's home sta ...
, Pittsburgh Pirates
The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Founded as part of the American Associati ...
, and in between played in Boston (for the club that is now the Atlanta Braves
The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. The Braves ...
). He was also a part of the Pirates' 1909 World Series team. John Brallier practiced dentistry
Dentistry, also known as dental medicine and oral medicine, is the branch of medicine focused on the teeth, gums, and mouth. It consists of the study, diagnosis, prevention, management, and treatment of diseases, disorders, and conditions o ...
in Latrobe, and the others were generally employed in locally. Brallier later spent 20-years as a school director, from which he retired at the end of 1931. In 1979, John Brallier was voted one of the "Best Pros Not in the Hall of Fame" by the Professional Football Researchers Association
The Professional Football Researchers Association (PFRA) is an organization of researchers whose mission is to preserve and, in some cases, reconstruct professional football history. It was founded on June 22, 1979 in Canton, Ohio by writer/hist ...
.
After World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, the success of baseball's Hall of Fame spawned plans for a similar football hall. At that time, Latrobe was recognized by the National Football league as the birthplace of professional football, and Brallier was given a lifetime pass for NFL games. However, the Hall of Fame was awarded to Canton, but homage was paid to Latrobe's status when the Pittsburgh Steelers
The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. Founded in , the Steel ...
and Green Bay Packers
The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. It ...
played an exhibition game there on August 29, 1952. The event also honored the early pro player survivors.
Today Latrobe is home to the Pittsburgh Steelers training camp, located at Saint Vincent College
Saint Vincent College is a private Benedictine college in Latrobe, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1846 by Boniface Wimmer, a monk from Bavaria, it is operated by the Benedictine monks of Saint Vincent Archabbey, the first Benedictine monastery in the ...
.
References
{{Defunct Pennsylvania sports teams
1895 establishments in Pennsylvania
History of Pennsylvania
Sports clubs founded by the YMCA
Sports clubs disestablished in 1909
Athletic Club football teams and seasons