Augustus Clement Read (c. 1869 – August 17, 1916) was an American

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

player and the captain of the Penn State Nittany football team, and a college

shot put The shot put is a track-and-field event involving "putting" (throwing) a heavy spherical Ball (sports), ball—the ''shot''—as far as possible. For men, the sport has been a part of the Olympic Games, modern Olympics since their 1896 Summer Olym ...

ter. He was from

Delano, Pennsylvania Delano is a census-designated place (CDP) in Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 377 at the 2000 census. Geography Delano is located at (40.839633, -76.071032). According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Delano has a t ...

. In 1892, he was suspected of being a paid ringer for the then-amateur

Pittsburgh Athletic Club The Pittsburgh Athletic Club (PAC) was one of the earliest professional ice hockey teams. It was based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania from around 1895 until 1905 and again from 1907 to 1909. The team was a member of the Western Pennsylvania Hockey ...

. According to the story, the Pittsburgh A.C. was in need of a replacement at

center Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentrici ...

, due to their regular player being injured. The team was also days away from playing their rival, the

Allegheny Athletic Association The Allegheny Athletic Association was an athletic club that fielded the first ever professional American football player and later the first fully professional football team. The organization was founded in 1890 as a regional athletic club in ...

. Then Pittsburgh captain

Charley Aull Charles Elmer Aull (September 5, 1869 – June 28, 1958) was an early professional American football, football player. He played professionally for the Pittsburgh Athletic Club (football), Pittsburgh Athletic Club. He also played college football ...

reportedly ran into an old friend named "Stayer". Both teams agreed to let "Stayer" play in the place of the injured center. A week later it was discovered that "Stayer" was actually Read. Although no one could prove that Read actually had been paid, and Aull had not tried to present him as a Pittsburgh A.C. member, the incident raised tensions between both clubs. Now no club would hesitate to use ringers or professional players. Allegheny then hired, under the table,

Pudge Heffelfinger William Walter "Pudge" Heffelfinger (December 20, 1867 – April 2, 1954), also spelled Hafelfinger, was an American football player and coach. He is considered the greatest lineman of his time, and the first athlete to play American football p ...

, a college star formerly from

Yale Yale University is a private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States, and one of the nine colonial colleges ch ...

, for $500, to play for the club in a November 21 rematch. This game made Heffelfinger the first professional football player. Read played against the Pittsburgh A.C. on November 5, 1892, when Penn State defeated the club 16–0. Read played center all season for the Pittsburgh A.C the following season; although no contract was discovered, he is believed to have been paid for his services. Read later served on the Penn State Board of Trustees. He died in 1916 after a short illness aged 47.

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* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Read, A. C. 1860s births 1916 deaths 19th-century players of American football American football centers Penn State Nittany Lions football players Pittsburgh Athletic Club (football) players Players of American football from Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania