1900 Homestead Library & Athletic Club football season

The 1900 Homestead Library & Athletic Club football team won the professional football championship of 1900. The team was affiliated with the Homestead Library & Athletic Club in Homestead, Pennsylvania, near Pittsburgh. The team featured a lineup of former college All-Americans paid by Pittsburgh Pirates' minority-owner William Chase Temple.

1900 Homestead Library & Athletic Club season
Head coachHoward Morton Risher
Home fieldSteel Works Park
Results
Record10–0
League place1st

Organization

In 1898, William Chase Temple took over the Duquesne Country and Athletic Club, becoming the first individual team owner in professional football. In 1900, most of the Duquesne players were hired by the Homestead Library & Athletic Club, by offering them higher salaries.[1]

Over the next two season (1900 and 1901), Homestead fielded the best professional football team in the country and did not lose a game. The 1900 team reportedly paid its player "from $50 to $100 a game plus 'expenses.'"[2]

After two years as captain of the Duquesne team, Dave Fultz from Brown University was hired by Homestead and served as the team's captain. Other players for the 1900 Homestead team included Pete Overfield (center from Penn), Bemus Pierce, Art Poe (end from Princeton), Otto Wagenhurst (from Penn), Charlie Gelbert (end from Penn), Church (tackle from Princeton), John Hall (end from Yale), George Young (from Cornell), J. A. Gammons (from Brown University), Willis Richardson (from Brown), Artie Miller (from the Carlisle Indian School), Lewis (from Georgetown), Winstein (guard from Brown), Edward (guard from Princeton), Young (quarterback from Cornell), and Kennedy (quarterback from the University of Chicago).[2][3][4]

Season summary

Before the season, the schedule was announced as: October 6 vs. Pittsburgh College, October 13 vs. Altoona, October 20 @ Greensburg, October 27 vs. Detroit A.C., November 3 @ Latrobe, November 6 vs. Duquesne C. & A.C., November 10 vs. Greensburg, November 17 vs Lehigh, November 24 vs. Latrobe, November 29 vs. Bucknell.[5]

Season schedule
DateOpponentSiteResult
October 6Pittsburgh College
W 37–0
October 13Altoona Athletic Club
  • Steel Works Park
  • Homestead, PA
W 58–0
October 20Greensburg
W 6–5
October 27Detroit A.C.
  • Steel Works Park
  • Homestead, PA
W 54–0
November 3Latrobe
W 11–0
November 6Duquesne C. & A.C.
W 10–0
November 10Greensburg
  • Steel Works Park
  • Homestead, PA
W 12–0
November 17Lehigh
  • Steel Works Park
  • Homestead, PA
W 50–0
November 24East End A.A.
  • Steel Works Park
  • Homestead, PA
W 30–0
November 29Latrobe
  • Steel Works Park
  • Homestead, PA
W 12–0

See also

References
  1. "Pro Football Before The NFL". Quake City. Archived from the original on 25 June 2009. Retrieved 20 June 2009.
  2. "No More Wednesday Games: Mid-West Football Given up by Practically All the Colleges". New Haven Evening Register. 1900-10-30.
  3. "Baseballists in Football". New Haven Evening Register. 1900-10-20.
  4. "Hall's Visit Timely". New Haven Evening Register. 1900-10-24.
  5. "Football Heroes of Last Season's College Games Will Play With Homestead's All-Star Team This Year", Pittsburgh Press, Pittsburgh, PA, p. 15, September 30, 1900
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.