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 Allegheny , Pennsylvania , which is today the North Shore of Pittsburgh . History . Origins . The Allegheny team was assembled in 1890 . At that time athletic clubs and associations , ranging from the best with extensive facilities to local organizations with minimum meeting rooms , were in their prime as a source of fraternal fellowship for athletes . In most sports , Allegheny provided very little competition for the more established East End Gymnasium Club ( EEGC ) , which in 1892 became the Pittsburgh Athletic Club . Allegheny soon took up football largely when the club discovered that it could give them a recruiting edge over the East Enders . Many Allegheny club members had gone to eastern colleges and played football . Members O . D . Thompson and John Moorehead , were former teammates of Walter Camp , the inventor of the modern game , who had become a successful Pittsburgh lawyer . The team also immediately gave Allegheny a strong following since the East Enders did not have a football team at the time . Allegheny ' s backfield during that inaugurual year had A . S . Valentine , at quarterback ; two track stars in Harry Oliver and Harry Fry as the halfbacks ; and O . D . Thompson at fullback . In what may have been the first official football game in modern - day Pittsburgh , the club ' s inaugural season began on October 11 , 1890 when Allegheny played the Western University of Pennsylvania ( later renamed the University of Pittsburgh ) at Exposition Park , on what is today the parking area between PNC Park and Heinz Field , in front of a crowd of 500 spectators . Allegheny won the game easily , 38 - 0 , but the contest was significant since it marked the official start of Pitt ' s football program . prior to the game , Allegheny was to play Shady Side Academy , however the team failed to show up for the game and were replaced the Western University team . Allegheny went on to defeat Shady Side Academy a week later , 32 - 0 . Although the eleven players styled themselves the " All - Pittsburghs " , who were really a collection of local athletes masquerading as a team . Significantly , several of the pick - ups were members of the East End Gym such as William Kirschner and Grant Dibert . This game foreshadowed the start of the upcoming rivailry between Allegheny and the Pittsburgh Athletic Club . Allegheny would go on to defeat the inexperienced team by a score of 22 - 6 . November 1 , 1890 Allegheny scheduled a game against the Princeton University Preparatory team , paying them $ 150 . The prep team was a far cry from the Princeton ' s varsity team . Allegheny would end up losing to the touring Princeton team , 44 - 6 . The season concluded with a 6 - 6 tie with the Detroit Athletic Club and a 6 - 4 loss to the Cleveland Athletic Club , both amateur club squads . However the Allegheny Athletic Association was regarded as the local champions that season . Threat from Pittsburgh . Allegheny began their 1891 season recognized as the premier football teams in western Pennsylvania . The year began with the club ' s admission into the Amateur Athletic Union , which increased the prestige of the club that their membership of more than 330 now equalled that of the older Pittsburgh Athletic Club ( still officially called the East End Gym at the time ) . However by early October , the Pittsburgh club emerged onto the football scene . At this time , Harry Fry , who was in the line - up for Allegheny a year earlier , jumped to East End team . Allegheny finally began their 1891 season on October 24 . Their line - up included veteran players A . S . Valentine , Ed Brainard , Harry and John Oliver , O . D . Thompson and John Moorehead . Norman McClintock , formerly of Yale , was a new addition for the team at end . Surprisingly though , Doc Proctor of the East End team appeared in Allegheny ' s starting backfield that day . The team played against the Greensburg Athletic Association to post a 10 - 0 win . However a week later Allegheny lost to the Cleveland Athletic Club , led by Billy Rhodes , 22 - 4 . A November 11 , 1891 game against the Dayton Athletic Club , a dispute arose over the rules of the , still relatively new , game of football . When the game was over , the score stood either 10 - 6 Dayton or 10 - 6 Allegheny , or possibly 6 - 6 , depending on just how the rules were applied . To resolve the dispute a claim was filed directly to the modern game ' s founder , Walter Camp . Despite Allegheny ' s O . D . Thompson being Camp ' s student and friend , the decision by Camp ended in a 10 - 6 Dayton victory . However after losing two games in a row , Allegheny was able to climb back to . 500 with a 8 - 4 rally over Washington & Jefferson College . However in order of putting together a competitive team , Allegheny had to convince two brothers , Ross and Lawson Fiscus , for the Greensburg Athletic Association , to play for them . Without the Fiscus brothers in their line - up , the game would have possibly ended in another Allegheny loss . Meanwhile the East End team finished posting a six game winning streak . Sports fans in the area soon demanded a game between East End and Allegheny . Manager O . D . Thompson tried to avoid the issue , even after he was accused of cowardice by critics . Thompson secretly knew how good the East End team was and feared of what a one - sided loss to their arch - rivals might do to the club ' s memberships and clubhouse subscriptions . Thompson even had to recruit not only the Fiscus borthers but also Doc Proctor and Grant Dibert of East End to fill out his backfield for the final scheduled game . So under the circumstances , Alleghent was in no condition to play a high stakes game against East End . The team ' s final game of the season , was a rematch against the Cleveland Athletic Club . Allegheny ' s additions of Dibert , Proctor and the Fiscus brother made the match - up more even . Meanwhile Cleveland ' s , Billy Rhodes , did bnot make the trip to Allegheny . The game played At Exhibition Park , ended in a 6 - 6 tie , after the game was called due to darkness . After the game , O . D . Thompson announced his retirement as the club ' s manager . However newspaper reports in the " Pittsburgh Post " hinted that Thompson was forced out as the team ' s manager . The paper stated that unnamed club officials were very critical of how the football team was being run . Many were citical over Thompson fielding the team with East End players . However Thompson ' s defenders pointed out that the manager of an amateur team had very few ways to compel his men to do anything . They further stated that had Thompson not used East End players he might have had to ask for volunteers from the crowd . Also the falling attendance for the club ' s games was mainly due to the inclement weather that was experienced in the area throughout the autumn . But finally it was stated that a game with East End might have hurt the clubs reputation more than it would have helped bringing in money to the organization . Path to professional football . Up until now , there was no proof of professional athletes being used in western Pennsylvania sports . However there were some questions as to why the Fiscus brother were willing to travel over 30 miles to play for Allegheny when they had a perfectly good team in Greensburg . Or why Doc Proctor , Grant Dibert , and a couple of other Pittsburgh players performed for Allegheny , while the Pittsburgh club was outraged over Allegheny ' s refusal to schedule a game with them . However these examples could be ascribed to enthusiasm by the players and persuasiveness by the team managers . The 1892 season would showcase the first two games of the Pittsburgh - Allegheny rivialry . On October 8 , Allegheny played its only warm - up game against the Indiana Normal School at Exposition Park . Norman McClintock would score four touchdowns in a 20 - 6 Allegheny win . New changes to the team included tackle , W . W . Blunt , who was listed as team captain , while guard Billy Kountz replaced Thompson as the team ' s manager . The reason that Alleghney played in only one exhibition game was so that the team could effectively hide its strengths and weaknesses from Pittsburgh ' s scouts . The game between was schedule for October 21 , Columbus Day , to be played at Pittsburgh ' s field . Animosity between the two clubs remained high . The latest incident involved quarterback A . S . Valentine , who jumped to the Pittsburgh team at the beginning of the 1892 season and played in their first two games . However , without warning , he suddenly jumped back to Allegheny . Some accused Allegheny of enticing him back , while others , charged he had all along been a spy for Allegheny all along . Gamblers and odds - makers listed the Pittsburgh team as slight favorites because the game would be played on their home field and because they had more experience working together . Shortly before the game , the Pittsburgh A . C . was in need of a replacement at center , due to their regular player being injured . Pittsburgh captain Charley Aull , reportedly told the officials from both teams that he had just ran into an old friend named " Stayer " , who agreed to play in the game at center . Both teams agreed to let " Stayer " play . The hard - fought game between the two clubs ended in a 6 - 6 tie , with William Kirschner ( for Pittsburgh ) and Doc Proctor scoring the games only scores . As a result of the contest , the two clubs divided $ 1 , 200 in gate receipts and each processed about 100 new members in the following two months . The game only added fuel to rivialry as Pittsburgh accused the Allegheny of dirty play to purposely injure Kirschner . Meanwhile Allegheny countered that Kirschner was a professional who didn ' t belong on the field anyway . Meanwhile Allegheny ' s E . V . Paul announced that he was willing to bet anyone that Pittsburgh had indeed used a professional in the game . Suspicion soon focused on the mysterious Pittsburgh player " Stayer " . Allegheny soon began with accusing " Stayer " of being a hired player after the supposedly injured player he replaced appeared healthy the next day when Pittsburgh had another game . It was soon discovered that " Strayers " real name was A . C . Read , the captain of the Penn State University football team . The revelation came a shocker to sports fans in the area . Now neither club would hesitate to take the final step to professionalism . The rematch was scheduled to be played in three weeks . On the day of the rematch between the two clubs , Sport Donnelly , Ed Malley and William " Pudge " Heffelfinger of the Chicago Athletic Association Football team appeared in the Allegheny line - up . Pittsburgh objected to the new additions in the line - up and the game was originally called a 6 - 0 forfeit after the Pittsburgh players walked off the field in protest . However O . D . Thompson reappeared and reclaimed his position as Allegheny manager . After arguments and deliberations , the platers took the field . The game ended in a 4 - 0 Allegheny win , with Heffelfinger scoring the games only points on a 35 yard fumble recovery for a touchdown . However while the three Chicago players gave Allegheny an advantage , however they had never practiced with their new teammates and a lot of mistakes were made . This kept the tight - knit Pittsburgh team competitive throughout the game . Both teams were upset about the outcome of the game . Allegheny was unable to collect on their bets , while Pittsburgh was angered over the Chicago players being imported into the contest . Pittsburgh called Heffelfinger a paid professional and insisted he had been paid $ 500 to play in the game . On top of that , the team charged that all three Chicago men had received twice their travel expenses , making them paid professionals . Meanwhile Allegheny accused Pittsburgh of hiring Simon Martin , who was promised a job at the club for his participation . Both teams threatened to take their complaints to the Amateur Athletic Association , but later backed down after realizing that each ' s own activities would be closely scrutinized . There were reports that some Allegheny players had quit the team rather than be associated with professionalism . While some regular A . A . A . players wanted to be paid for playing . Pittsburgh newspapers , continued to refer to both teams as amateurs while printing most of the charges of professionalism . First professional player . In the 1960s a man named Nelson Ross , walked into the office of Dan Rooney , the president of the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League . After a brief discussion , the man gave Rooney a typed , 49 - page manuscript about the early history of pro football . Ross ' examination of Pittsburgh newspapers indicated that the first pro football player actually was Pudge Heffelfinger , an all - American guard from Yale , who was hired play for Allegheny on November 12 , 1892 for $ 500 . Up until then John Brallier , of the Latrobe Athletic Association , was considered the first professional football player . The Pro Football Hall of Fame soon discovered a page torn from an 1892 account ledger prepared by Allegheny manager , O . D . Thompson , that included the line item : " Game performance bonus to W . Heffelfinger for playing ( cash ) $ 500 . " Heffelfinger , who was working as a railroad clerk in Chicago , and had earlier turned down an offer to play for the Pittsburgh Athletic Club for $ 250 . This set off quite a controversy as Pittsburgh A . C . protested the presence of Heffelfinger and other Chicago Athletic Association players . Allegheny retaliated with the fact that Pittsburgh had imported players as well . The game was played at Recreation Park , which was located on Pittsburgh ' s north shore . The spot is marked by a historic marker . It later turned out that Heffelfinger received $ 500 plus $ 25 in expenses for the game , too much for a low - paid railroad clerk to pass up . Two of his Chicago teammates received “ liberal ” expense money . Thus , William ( Pudge ) Heffelfinger now is acknowledged as the first professional football player anywhere . The next week , Allegheny paid former Princeton tight end Ben " Sport " Donnelly $ 250 to play against Washington & Jefferson College , and despite having two pros in their line - up , the Allegheny would go on to lose the game , 8 - 0 . A professional football club . In 1893 , Allegheny and Pittsburgh split two games , with Pittsburgh winning 6 - 0 at Exposition Park and Allegheny evening the score , 8 - 4 , at Pittsburgh ' s field . That season Allegheny put Peter Wright , James Van Cleve , and Ollie Rafferty under contract for $ 50 per game for the season . Other Pittsburgh teams began hiring players , but Allegheny remained the top local football club for the next two years . When the team started slowly , Sport Donnelly was brought in as player - coach , becoming the first man to coach a known professional football team . Donnelly was paid to coach the team , however he still played for them for free . In 1894 the Allegheny looked to be the stronger fo the two teams . They defeated a team from Sewickley , 18 - 0 , Indiana Normal 16 - 0 , and the Carnegie Athletic Club 33 - 0 . A three game series between Pittsburgh and Allegheny would be played to determine the western Pennsylvania champions . In late October a game was scheduled between Allegheny and Pittsburgh . Nearly 2 , 000 tickets were sold in advance and the actual crowd at the Pittsburgh Athletic Club was estimated at 3 , 000 . Pittsburgh won the first game of the three game series 6 - 4 . The second game of the series was scheduled for November 6 . Prior to the game , an unnamed Pittsburgh player offered the team ' s signals and offering to Allegheny ' s Billy Kountz for $ 20 . Allegheny reported the incident to Pittsburgh and the player was dealt with properly . Both team had hired ringers but this offense was considered blatant cheating and unacceptable . Alleghney would go on to win the second game and tie up the series . Just before Thanksgiving the third game was played and ended in a 30 - 4 Allegheny win . Ross Fiscus scored three touchdowns in the game . Allegheny was awarded a large trophy cup contributed by the " Pittsburgh Chronicle - Telegraph " ( merged into the " Pittsburgh Post - Gazette " in 1960 ) . Both clubs admitted to making a couple of thousand dollars on the game . The game ' s attendance was said to have numbered nearly 10 , 000 people . AAU investigation . In September , 1895 the Allegheny found that it was under investigation by the Amateur Athletic Union for secretly paying its players . If the AAU discovered that the Allegheny had been paying players , it would declare the club professional , and no other team would dare play them and the club ' s membership would dramatically fall . Hoping to avoid punishment , Allegheny simply decided not to filed a team in 1895 . First fully professional team . For the 1896 season , the Allegheny organization fielded a completely professional team . However by 1896 , the Amateur Athletic Union ( AAU ) , which discouraged professional play , began the process of suspending the Allegheny team for its flagrant violations of amateur rules . Knowing that it would soon be barred from competition by the AAU , the Allegheny Athletic Association defiantly emptied its treasury to import a team of all - stars , including Heffelfinger . The team , the first completely professional team , defeated the Pittsburgh Athletic Club and the Duquesne Country and Athletic Club on consecutive days , both games by shutouts . Then , after its abbreviated two game season , the pro football turmoil had upset the club so much that the sport was dropped .