SANDLOT FOOTBALL IN PITTSBURGH

Football has been played in America since the nineteenth century. The game evolved through the country’s universities and colleges as an amateur sport. As its success grew, the game spread into the sandlots of cities and towns as the locals wanted to get involved.

As the sandlot game created local rivalries, the temptation for the owners who wanted a winning team was to pay to get the top players. Semi pro teams then became professional as football began to thrive in the northern states.

Individual owners enjoyed having control over their teams’ scheduling and the signing of players. They were risking their money and did not need regulations that could affect their investment. Teams would sometimes use ringers to improve performance, especially if money were on the line.

Eventually, the owners decided that the professional game needed regulating to move forward and succeed. 1920 saw the birth of the NFL as an organization introducing rules and a schedule.

Art Rooney did not become part of the NFL until 1933, but he was involved with semi-professional football from 1919, beginning with the Rooney Reds.

In 1930, Rooney’s Majestic Radios were part of the newly formed Western Pennsylvania Independent Sandlot Football Conference.

This is the interesting story of that first season >>>

 

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