364:, and formed the Allegheny club's football team. Since both men had played the sport at Yale, alongside Walter Camp, forming team wasn't too hard. The Allegheny A. A. took up football largely to give them a recruiting edge over the established Pittsburgh Athletic Club. Many Allegheny club members had gone to eastern colleges and played football. 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.
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340:. Early in the game, Camp ran for a good gain on a play, however when he was finally tackled, he threw the ball forward to Thompson, who ran for a touchdown. The Princeton players protested the play. Since the rules of football were still unclear in 1876, a coin toss was used by the referee to decide if the play stood. Yale won the toss and the touchdown stood. However, according to one of Yale's "special rules" that were agreed upon before the game by both teams, the touchdown didn't count in the scoring, however the
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together that the East End team already had. Allegheny dropped to a 2–2–1 record, which forced
Thompson's resignation as the manager and captain of the team. However Thompson was still very much active in the team's affairs. That season, Thompson wrote in his ledger that expenses of $ 25 each would be paid to
233:. Thompson's historic actions went unnoticed until the 1960s, when an 1892 account ledger prepared by Thompson – while he was manager of the Allegheny Athletic Association – included the line: "Game performance bonus to W. Heffelfinger for playing (cash) $ 500." The ledger is currently on display at the
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and
Heffelfinger for playing for Allegheny against the Pittsburgh Athletic Club. It was also at this same game that Heffelfinger was given $ 500 extra to play. Accusations then arose that Allegheny had paid Heffelfinger. However, they could not be proven until the discovery of Thompson's ledger, a
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In 1891, a bitter rivalry developed between the two clubs. Efforts were made by local media to schedule a game between the two clubs. However O. D. Thompson, Allegheny's manager, carefully avoided a game. He feared a one-sided loss to
Pittsburgh because his team lacked the time needed to practice
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did to give Yale a 1–0 lead. Later
Thompson would also successfully threw the ball forward as he was being tackled. Princeton didn't bother to protest the play this time and Yale went on to win the game 2–0. The forward pass was then banned after that game. However, when the forward pass was
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By 1893, Allegheny was once again under the full leadership of
Thompson. That season, he scheduled some of the better known athletic clubs from around the nation. During a 28–0 victory against the
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265:, from which he graduated in 1879. At Yale he was a four-year member of the varsity crew, football, and track teams, captaining the crew during his last two years; he was also a member of
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society. After reading law in his father's office in Butler, he was admitted to the
Allegheny County Bar in 1880 and from then until 1924 practiced law in
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A year later
Thompson helped the Pittsburgh Athletic Club, by setting up an unnamed player who was trying to sell that team's play signals.
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A History of the Class of
Seventy-Nine:Yale College, During the Thirty Years from its Admission into the Academic Department, 1875-1905
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alongside Walter Camp at Yale from 1876 through 1878. Before this, Camp had developed the current game of football from the sport,
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After his graduation from Yale, Thompson continued to play football, or at least rugby, with great success throughout the 1880s.
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half a century later. A week later
Thompson's ledger shows that Allegheny paid Sport Donnelly $ 250 for playing against
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218:. After his time at Yale, Thompson played, and served as the manager, for the
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297:. In 1879, Thompson became the first Yale football player to score against
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524:. Professional Football Researchers Association: 1–4. Archived from
474:. Professional Football Researchers Association: 1–4. Archived from
451:. Professional Football Researchers Association: 1–6. Archived from
428:. Professional Football Researchers Association: 1–3. Archived from
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in football history. On
November 30, 1876, Yale was playing
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While at Yale, Thompson and Camp executed the first "legal"
577:. New Haven: Yale University. August 1, 1925. p. 1347.
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and Anna Loretta (Campbell) Thompson. Oliver attended
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Signed the first known professional football player,
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1877 Yale Bulldogs football—national champions
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1876 Yale Bulldogs football—national champions
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500 to play for Allegheny against their rivals, the
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206:(September 24, 1855 – June 10, 1925) was an early
345:legalized in 1906, Walter Camp opposed the idea.
770:Players of American football from Pennsylvania
488:"Long history of legends surrounds 'The Game'"
184:Signed the first professional football coach,
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222:. However Thompson is best known for paying
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575:Obituary Record of Yale Graduates 1924-1925
381:. Thompson would finish the 1892 season in
154:Career highlights and awards
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556:. The University Press. pp. 434, 435.
501:(13). Yale University: 1–4. Archived from
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735:19th-century players of American football
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175:Completed first two legal forward passes
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765:Sportspeople from Butler, Pennsylvania
755:Allegheny Athletic Association players
171:Yale's first touchdown against Harvard
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16:American football player (1855–1925)
571:"Oliver David Thompson, B.A. 1879"
550:Williams, Frederick Wells (1906).
536:Yale's Walter Camp and 1870s Rugby
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311:photograph of Thompson wearing a
285:Thompson played the position of
760:Yale Bulldogs football players
385:, defending several Allegheny
253:, the son of U.S. Congressman
220:Allegheny Athletic Association
144:Allegheny Athletic Association
129:Allegheny Athletic Association
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316:
400:that season Thompson played
393:charges of professionalism.
245:Personal life and background
745:American football halfbacks
740:American football fullbacks
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775:Members of Skull and Bones
495:Yale Bulletin and Calendar
419:"Last Hurrah in Allegheny"
404:alongside Sport Donnelly.
379:Washington & Jefferson
750:American football tackles
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235:Pro Football Hall of Fame
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465:"Three A's for Football"
362:Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
360:returned to their home,
259:Phillips Andover Academy
255:John McCandless Thompson
231:Pittsburgh Athletic Club
194:(1890, 1892, 1894, 1896)
192:W. Pennsylvania Champion
67:Place of death
44:Place of birth
398:Cleveland Athletic Club
214:, who played alongside
71:Edgeworth, Pennsylvania
55:Date of death
36:Date of birth
508:on September 29, 2010.
486:PFRA Research (1999).
481:on September 29, 2010.
458:on September 29, 2010.
442:"Five Hundred Reasons"
391:Amateur Athletic Union
356:In 1890, Thompson and
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531:on November 26, 2010.
435:on November 26, 2010.
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249:Thompson was born in
204:Oliver David Thompson
251:Butler, Pennsylvania
140:1890–1891, 1893–1896
48:Butler, Pennsylvania
338:Hoboken, New Jersey
269:fraternity and the
267:Delta Kappa Epsilon
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224:Pudge Heffelfinger
180:Pudge Heffelfinger
78:Career information
39:September 24, 1855
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374:William C. Malley
358:John Moorhead Jr.
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281:Football at Yale
166:develop football
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515:"A Weekly Wage"
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440:PFRA Research.
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387:track and field
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313:Skull and Bones
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271:Skull and Bones
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370:Sport Donnelly
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115:Career history
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62:(aged 69)
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22:O. D. Thompson
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522:Coffin Corner
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389:players from
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383:New York City
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58:June 10, 1925
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503:the original
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476:the original
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453:the original
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430:the original
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330:forward pass
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324:Forward pass
309:Yale College
295:Pennsylvania
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263:Yale College
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239:Canton, Ohio
203:
202:
60:(1925-06-10)
18:
730:1925 deaths
725:1855 births
699:Walter Camp
634:Walter Camp
342:point after
216:Walter Camp
164:Walter Camp
84:Position(s)
719:Categories
411:References
275:Pittsburgh
210:player at
135:As manager
104:US college
352:Allegheny
334:Princeton
261:and then
125:1890–1894
120:As player
287:halfback
208:football
93:Fullback
89:Halfback
299:Harvard
169:Scored
162:Helped
402:tackle
97:Tackle
73:, U.S.
50:, U.S.
529:(PDF)
518:(PDF)
506:(PDF)
491:(PDF)
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468:(PDF)
456:(PDF)
445:(PDF)
433:(PDF)
422:(PDF)
315:pin,
291:rugby
319:1879
212:Yale
109:Yale
336:in
237:in
190:4x
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499:28
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447:.
424:.
372:,
317:c.
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277:.
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227:$
673:e
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Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
