The first professional football game in the United States took place in 1895 in the town of Latrobe, Pennsylvania, between a team representing Latrobe and a team from Jeannette, Pennsylvania. In the following years many professional teams were formed, including the Duquesnes of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; the Olympics of McKeesport, Pennsylvania; the Bulldogs of Canton, Ohio; and the team of Massillon, Ohio. Noted college players who took up the professional game during its early years include Willie Heston (formerly at the University of Michigan), Fritz Pollard (Brown University), and Jim Thorpe (Carlisle Indian School).
The first league of professional football teams was the American Professional Football Association, formed in 1920. The admission fee was $100 per team. The teams pledged not to use any student player who still had college eligibility left, as the goodwill of the colleges was believed to be essential to the survival of the professional league. Thorpe, a player-coach for one of the teams, became president of the league during its first year.
The American Professional Football Association gave way in 1922 to the NFL. Red Grange, the famous halfback from the University of Illinois, provided a tremendous stimulus for the league when he joined the Chicago Bears in 1925. His exciting play drew large crowds. Thereafter, professional football attracted larger numbers of first-rate college players, and the increased patronage made the league more and more successful financially.
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