One of the famous football games, especially in the Unites States, is the American football. It came about because of two other sports also referred to as football, namely soccer and rugby. In the 1880′s rules of the rugby game were altered which then became a new fun filled sport called American football.
The early historians initially believed that professional football started on September 3, 1895. This is when John Brallier, a 16 year old from Indiana College, received $10 to play for Latrobe who was competing against Jeannette that time. But when the Pro Football Hall of Fame started in 1963, more research was done. It revealed that John Brallier was actually not the first professional football player.
Football was supposed to be for amateur players which is why the Amateur Athletic Union closely oversees any illegal practices, such as paying a player in exchange of his service. But in 1892, this changed and a history was made. Allegheny Athletic Association and Pittsburgh Athletic Club were heated rivals. And during the games in the 1892 season, the two teams competed. The Allegheny Athletic Association won over Pittsburgh Athletic Club on November 12, 1892. But there is one more circumstance in that competition that will never be forgetten. Rumors broke that William (Pudge) Heffelfinger, one of the players of Allegheny Athletic Association, was paid $500 to play for the team. Even if the Pittsburgh Athletic Club suspected that there was something illegal happening, they do not have actual evidence to back this up. This was only verified after 80 years when the Pro Football Hall of Fame saw a document of Allegheny Athletic Association. This is their accounting sheet which consists of the detailed team’s expenses. One of the items in the document is the $500 game performance bonus of William Heffelfinger which was paid in cash. Of course it is possible that this practice was also done to other players even before 1892, but this document serves as the first indisputable evidence of an outright payment to a football player. This is why this expense sheet is also known as the pro football’s birth certificate.
After which, Pro Football Hall of Fame was able to list other players that received payment after W. Heffelfinger. Examples are: Ben “Sport” Donnelly, who was paid $250 per game to play for Allegheny Athletic Association; Peter Wright, Oliver W. Rafferty and James Van Cleve received $50 each per game under Allegheny Athletic Association; and many more. These outright payments to football players then gave birth to what we know today as professional football.