Paul Blair (May 30, 1882 – December 11, 1904) was an American 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 ...
player for the
Latrobe Athletic Association in 1904. He was also the brother of Latrobe player,
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 ...
. After the
1904 season, 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, Pennsylvania and 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 ...
. The train's crew then loaded Blair's body on the train. Paul's father, John Blair, who was a railroad employee, recognized the shoe on the body that was just struck by the train, as being his son's. Latrobe players
Harry Ryan and
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 ...
served as
pallbearers at the funeral.
The Latrobe football team also reportedly sent a floral wreath, standing on a pillar, to the Blair home. It stood almost five feet high. In the wreath were the words "Latrobe Football Team, 1904," while the words were intertwined with the colors of the team.
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Blair, Paul
1882 births
1904 deaths
Latrobe Athletic Association players
People from Latrobe, Pennsylvania
Players of American football from Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania
Railway accident deaths in the United States