Jacob Paul "Twister" Steinberg (June 4, 1880 – February 1964) was a professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

player in the early 1900s. As a member of the first National Football League, he played with the

Philadelphia Athletics The Philadelphia Athletics were a Major League Baseball team that played in Philadelphia from 1901 to 1954, when they moved to Kansas City, Missouri, and became the Kansas City Athletics. Following another move in 1967, they became the Oakland ...

in the first professional night game in history. He also won the first, and only, two series of the first World Series of Football with the

Syracuse Athletic Club A nameless professional American football team, based in Syracuse, New York and generically known as the Syracuse Pros or Syracuse Eleven, was once thought to have joined the American Professional Football Association (now the National Football L ...

and the

Franklin Athletic Club The Franklin Athletic Club was an early professional football team based in Franklin, Pennsylvania. It was considered the top team in professional football in 1903, by becoming the US Football Champions and winning the 1903 World Series of Fo ...

. Steinberg was also the first

Jew Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, religion, and community are highly inte ...

ish professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

player.

Harry March Harry Addison March (December 11, 1875 – June 10, 1940) was an early football historian and promoter, as well as a medical doctor. He also helped organize the National Football League (NFL) and well as the second American Football League ( ...

, dubbed the "Father of Pro Football", referred to Steinberg as, "one of the most elusive, fastest, slickest, shrewdest, and clean backs of the century."

Biography

Steinberg's professional career began after he was discharged from the

army An army, ground force or land force is an armed force that fights primarily on land. In the broadest sense, it is the land-based military branch, service branch or armed service of a nation or country. It may also include aviation assets by ...

in 1900. He first played pro football with the Syracuse Athletic Association. While with Syracuse, Paul also played for the club's pro basketball team, making him the first Jewish basketball player. In 1902, Paul signed with

baseball team, managed by

Connie Mack Cornelius McGillicuddy (December 22, 1862 – February 8, 1956), better known as Connie Mack, was an American professional baseball catcher, manager, and team owner. Mack holds records for the most wins (3,731), losses (3,948), ties (76), and ga ...

. He remained with the team from 1902 to 1904, however he never appeared in a major league game. However, in 1902 Mack organized and coached a professional football team also called the Philadelphia Athletics. Steinberg played halfback for the Athletics, which won the Philadelphia city title, before losing the league championship to the

Pittsburgh Stars The Pittsburgh (or Pittsburg) Stars were a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 1902. The team was a member of the National Football League (1902), first National Football League, which has no connection with ...

. After the season, he joined the

in the first World Series of Football. Syracuse won the tournament held at

Madison Square Garden Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as the Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh and Eighth Avenue (Manhattan), Eig ...

. Steinberg joined the

, located in

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

. The team was backed by the head of the

Carnegie Steel Company Carnegie Steel Company was a steel-producing company primarily created by Andrew Carnegie and several close associates to manage businesses at steel mills in the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania area in the late 19th century. The company was formed in ...

was so good that they had difficulty finding opponents. That year Franklin went on to win the Pennsylvania state title. After their championship win Franklin, traveled to New York City, and won the second World Series of Football. In 1905, Paul moved to

Canton, Ohio Canton () is a city in Stark County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of cities in Ohio, eighth-most populous city in Ohio, with a population of 70,872 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The Canton–Massillo ...

and played that year with the pre-National Football League version of the

Canton Bulldogs The Canton Bulldogs were a professional American football team, based in Canton, Ohio. They played in the Ohio League from 1903 to 1906 and 1911 to 1919, and the American Professional Football Association (later renamed the National Football Lea ...

, then known as the Canton Athletic Club. In Canton, Steinberg experienced the huge rivalry between Canton and the

Massillon Tigers The Massillon Tigers were an early professional football team from Massillon, Ohio. Playing in the " Ohio League", the team was a rival to the pre-National Football League version of the Canton Bulldogs. The Tigers won Ohio League championshi ...

. In 1905, Massillon defeated Steinberg and Canton for the championship and Canton vowed to claim the title the following year. By 1906, Steinberg became known as the Bulldogs' best-known player and remained with Canton as one of the team's top backs. After both Canton and Massillon defeated their regular season opponents, a two-game championship was set up between the two teams. Canton won the first game, 10–5, for the team's biggest victory ever, but Massillon recovered to win the second game, 13–6, claiming the Ohio State Championship for the fourth consecutive year. After the games, however, rumors existed that some Canton players had thrown the game. Disgusted by the allegations, Steinberg quit professional football.

References

Franklin's Hired GunsThe First Football World SeriesJews in Sports Paul Steinberg Bio

Pigskin The Early years of Pro Football

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Steinberg, Paul 1880 births 1964 deaths Franklin Athletic Club players Syracuse Athletic Association players Canton Bulldogs (Ohio League) players Philadelphia Athletics (NFL) players Jewish American players of American football

Biography

See also

References

Notes