 Ross' examination of Pittsburgh newspapers indicated that the first pro football player actually was Pudge Heffelfinger, an all-American guard from Yale, who was hired play for Allegheny on November 12, 1892, for $500.Up until then John Brallier, of the Latrobe Athletic Association, was considered the first professional football player.The Pro Football Hall of Fame soon discovered a page torn from an 1892 account ledger prepared by Allegheny manager, O.D.