Lawson Fiscus Ira Lawson Fiscus 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 . Fiscus grew up in Indiana County , Pennsylvania as the son of a farmer . He was just one of sixteen children . All of his brothers were athletic and big . 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 were good enough to receive " liberal expense money " to go to Pittsburgh and play for the Allegheny Athletic Association . In 1892 , Lawson was recruited to play football at Princeton University . At the time , college football was considered more prestigious than professional football . While at Princeton , Fiscus played guard and excelled at the position . However he dropped out of school and returned home after the 1892 season . Professional football . In 1893 , Lawson played for both the Allegheny Athletic Association and the Greensburg Athletic Association . Both clubs were thirty miles apart . While Allegheny used Fiscus on the offensive line , Greensburg placed him at halfback . Lawson became a teacher in South Fork in 1894 . However Greensburg offered him $ 20 a game to play with their Athletic Association . Fuiscus quickly took job , making Greensburg the third football team in three years to hire professionals . Greensburg then enjoyed their best season to date . Their only loss to a club from Altoona was avenged with a 6 - 4 victory at home on Thanksgiving Day . Other wins came over the Kiski Kiskiminetas , Indiana Normal , West Virginia University , the Carnegies of Braddock , Holy Ghost College ( now Duquesne University ) , and the Jeannette Athletic Club . The Jeannette incident . During the first half was of the Jeannete game Fiscus got into an altercation with an unknown Jeannette player . Several accounts of the incident describe Fiscus kicking the Jeannette player in the face . However the " Pittsburgh Press " reported that he tripped the guy and " purposely tramped on his neck . " Either way Jeannette immediately petitioned the referee to expel Fiscus from the game , while Greensburg defended Fiscus ' actions . The arguments continued through to the second half of the game . Finally , either Jeannette or Greensburg stormed off the field in protest and the game was declared a scoreless draw . 1896 . In 1896 Lawson and his brother Ross Fiscus manned the halfback slots for Greensburg , while is other brother Newell became the team ' s offensive tackle . The team accumulated a 5 - 0 - 0 at the end of October , and had a final record of 6 - 1 - 1 . This was the best finish for Greensburg since they began playing football in 1890 . In 1897 Fiscus helped Greensburg win the Western Pennsylvania football championship . Post - football . Fiscus continued to play football with Greensburg for the next several years . He was later involved in businesses throughout the years . Still later , he became a police chief in Youngwood , Pennsylvania . For the longest time sports historians were convinced that pro football had begun in 1895 when the Latrobe Athletic Association to offered to pay John Brallier $ 10 to play against Jeannette . However just before his death in 1949 , Fiscus announced he was paid by Greensburg $ 20 a year earlier and believed himself to have been the first pro football player . Today Fiscus is known to be the sixth player known to have been openly paid to play football . However after looking at the list of the first several professional football players , Fiscus seemed to unaware that some of his 1893 Allegheny Athletic Associtaion teammates had been salaried .