Pittsburgh Stars facts for kids

The Pittsburgh Stars were a professional American football team. They were based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and only played for one season in 1902. This team was part of the very first National Football League. This league is not connected to the NFL we know today.

The 1902 league was a mix of baseball and football. The Stars were managed by Dave Berry. He also managed the Latrobe Athletic Association. Many people thought the baseball team, the Pittsburgh Pirates, secretly paid for the Stars. In their only year, the Stars won the league championship. They beat two teams that were funded by the owners of baseball's Philadelphia Athletics and the Philadelphia Phillies.

Team History

How the Team Started

Pittsburgh Stars manager David Berry, who also served as the league president

The Stars and their league began because of a big fight. This fight was between two baseball leagues: the National League and the American League. It started in 1901. In Philadelphia, two major baseball teams were competing. These were the Athletics from the American League and the Phillies from the National League.

In 1902, the Phillies' owner, John Rogers, decided to start a football team. He took over a team and renamed them the Philadelphia Phillies. The Athletics' owner, Ben Shibe, did the same. He created a team called the Philadelphia Athletics. This team had both baseball players and local football players.

Both owners wanted to claim a "World Championship." To do this, they needed a team from Pittsburgh in their new league. Pittsburgh was a very important city for football back then. So, they asked Dave Berry for help. Berry was a well-known football promoter. He had managed the first fully professional football team, the Latrobe Athletic Association. Berry agreed to create a Pittsburgh team. Because of the rivalry between the two Philadelphia owners, Berry was chosen as the league president.

Building the Stars Team

Dave Berry built his team using many top players. These players came from the Homestead Library & Athletic Club. That team had won professional football championships in 1900 and 1901. Berry became the Stars' owner and manager.

However, Berry didn't have a lot of money. People wondered how he could pay the salaries of such famous players. Many suspected William Chase Temple, a rich steelman, or Barney Dreyfuss, the owner of the Pittsburgh Pirates baseball team. Both men said they were not involved. Berry insisted he was the only owner. But most people didn't believe him. To this day, we don't know for sure who helped Berry pay for the Stars.

Even with the money mystery, Berry made all the team decisions. He upset many Pittsburgh fans right away. He decided to have the team train in Greensburg, Pennsylvania, which was 40 miles away. Berry said Greensburg had better facilities. But Pittsburghers were still angry. They were used to watching practices for free in their city. Berry also said the team would play some games in Greensburg. They would only come to Pittsburgh for "big-money" games. Because of this, the Pittsburgh Press newspaper started calling them "the Greensburg team."

Despite these issues, Berry built a great team. He hired Willis Richardson as a player-coach and quarterback. Richardson was a college football star from Brown University. He had also played quarterback for the Homestead team in 1901. Having Richardson helped attract other Homestead players to join. The team was named "The Stars" because it had so many top football players.

The Stars also had some baseball players. Christy Mathewson, a famous pitcher for the New York Giants, played as the team's fullback. Mathewson later became one of the first players in the Baseball Hall of Fame. Another baseball player, Fred Crolius, who played for the Pirates, also joined the Stars.

Football training for the teams didn't start until September 29, 1902. The season was set to begin just a week later, on October 4. But most players were already in good shape. Many had jobs that kept them fit. For example, Pittsburgh halfback Artie Miller had worked as a lumberjack that summer. Also, football in 1902 was simpler. Teams only used about six standard plays.

The 1902 Season

The league played all its games on Saturdays. This was because of Pennsylvania's "blue laws," which didn't allow sports events on Sundays in 1902. The Stars played their home games at the Pittsburgh Coliseum. This stadium was owned by William Chase Temple. But he still said he had no part in the Stars. People who thought Barney Dreyfuss was a backer were surprised. They expected the team to play at Exposition Park, the Pirates' home field.

The Stars' first game at the Pittsburgh Coliseum was rained out. The Stars played many independent teams. They also played the two Philadelphia teams in the NFL. The next week, the Stars beat the Pennsylvania Railroad Y.M.C.A. 30-0. In 1902, a football field was 110 yards long. The Coliseum had a wooden track for bicycle racing. This track cut off the ends of the field. So, the Stars played on a smaller, 100-yard field.

As the season went on, Pittsburgh fans became more interested in the Stars. In their first six games, the Stars did not allow any touchdowns. They also scored at least three touchdowns in every game. Sometimes they played local semi-pro teams. Other times, they played college teams, which was common back then. The Stars beat Bucknell, Christy Mathewson's old college, 24-0. On November 4, nearly 4,000 fans watched the Stars beat the Philadelphia Phillies 18-0 at the Coliseum.

Then, the team faced a challenge when Mathewson left. Some historians think his baseball team, the Giants, found out he was playing football. They might have ordered him to stop to protect his baseball career. Others think coach Richardson replaced Mathewson. He felt Mathewson's punting skills weren't used much. He replaced him with Shirley Ellis. Ellis was a strong runner, but he wasn't a good punter. This cost Pittsburgh a game against the Athletics in Philadelphia.

In that game, Pittsburgh scored two touchdowns but missed both extra points. The Athletics scored a touchdown and made their extra point. In 1902, a touchdown was worth only five points. So, the score at halftime was 10-6. In the second half, the Athletics scored a field goal, which was also worth five points. The game ended with an 11-10 victory for Philadelphia. If the Stars had made either of their extra points, they would have won.

Fans were shocked by the loss. A champion Pittsburgh team was not expected to lose. Two weeks later, the Stars lost again to the Phillies, 11-0. Dave Berry needed to schedule a Thanksgiving Day football game. These games usually attracted many fans. Berry offered Connie Mack, the Athletics' manager, $2,000 if his team would play the Stars in Pittsburgh. Berry said this game would decide the championship of the National Football League.

The Athletics and Stars played to a scoreless tie. This meant Berry's "championship game" didn't decide anything.

1902 Championship Game

Berry and Mack quickly planned another championship game for two days later. But Berry almost canceled it due to a lack of money. He told his players that he couldn't pay them. He claimed William Temple had all the team's money. Berry promised the players they would share equally in the money from Saturday's game. The players reluctantly agreed.

About 2,000 fans showed up for the game. The Pittsburgh players knew the money from ticket sales would not be enough. The game seemed headed for another tie. But late in the game, Shirley Ellis scored a touchdown. Then Artie Miller scored another. Pittsburgh won 11-0 against the Athletics.

After the game, the Athletics players said the Stars' win was just an exhibition. They still called themselves the champions. However, everyone at the time agreed that the game was for the championship. Both teams had a 2-2 record in league play. But Pittsburgh had a much better point difference. They scored 39 points and only allowed 22. Both the Athletics and Phillies allowed more points than they scored. Finally, Dave Berry used his power as league president. He named his Stars the 1902 champions.

Team's Legacy

Not many fans celebrated the championship win. The Pittsburgh players were busy trying to get money they were owed from William Temple. The story disappeared from newspapers before the money issue was settled. In 1903, the fight between the American and National baseball leagues ended. The football teams sponsored by baseball owners disappeared. This left many top pro players without teams. Many players later joined other teams like the Franklin Athletic Club, the Canton Bulldogs, and the Massillon Tigers. The Stars' championship marked the end of Pittsburgh's glory days as a major center for professional football.

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