End Zones in the Oil Field
- Lydia Seaton
- Sep 10
- 7 min read
This year, the Venango Museum’s revolving exhibit is called Oil Boom Spectacular! Entertainment in the Oil Region. If you are familiar with last year’s exhibit, however, you will remember that the exhibit discussed the region’s long and spectacular history with baseball!
To celebrate the beginning of the NFL Football season, our staff wanted to discuss our region’s very own football history, how it compares – and complements – baseball, and the time a team from Franklin became World Professional Football champions!
The Sport That was Here First — Baseball
The Venango Museum’s exhibit for the 2024 season, "Oil Fields to Outfields: Baseball In The Oil Region," discussed the region’s rich history with baseball.
Widely acknowledged as America’s “pastime,” the relationship Venango County had with the sport is no different! Ball games in Venango County attracted vast and rambunctious crowds.
On May 15, 1894, for example, over three thousand spectators were in attendance for the first game between Oil City and Franklin for the season, and “excursion trains” from Oil City, Titusville, and Meadville transported attendees. Many people also made the trip from Emlenton, Clarion, and other places! “The stands were full,” one account states, “people surrounded the grounds and covered the fences.” Oil City won this game, much to Franklin’s dismay. The final score was 11 points for Oil City, 9 for Franklin.
Baseball first began gaining popularity in Venango County after the Civil War, starting quietly but quickly becoming a “loud and intense” interest.
The so-called "Diamond Fever” reached its height in 1919, when Franklin and Oil City entered a fierce competition that lasted three years and included incredibly talented players and skillfully stacked teams. This “Two-Team League” – named for the two baseball clubs, Franklin and Oil City – was “so loaded with talent that other baseball clubs in the area refused to schedule them.”
The Two-Team League was still eager to play, however, and ended up playing each other three to five times a week, sometimes having two games on special days!
The competition was intense, and there was excessive funding for the recruitment of talented players. Oil City and Franklin were extremely prosperous cities at this time, and many citizens had disposable resources for such endeavors.
Many of the players who got recruited were big league players who were stationed in Pittsburgh or Cleveland. On days off, they would travel to Venango County and play for one of the teams. Often, these players were brought here "secretly and under fictitious names.” They were known as “ringers” – players whose recruitment increased betting odds for the city, which slipped them onto their roster.
The owners and managers of major league teams often disliked playing in Pittsburgh or Cleveland for the “fear some of their better talent would be approached and lured away by the carrot of big money.”
Joseph Contino, the president of the National Transit Company, said, “Whenever a player on a major team failed to show up for practice, the first place they looked was Franklin or Oil City.”
The Oil Region’s success with baseball persisted, and the Oil City Refiners came into play in the 1940s.
The team was professional in the minor league, affiliated first with the Pittsburgh Pirates, and then the Chicago White Sox. The 1950 season was the most successful year for the team; however, it was also the final year of professional baseball in Oil City.
The Refiners finished the regular season league championship with a 70-44 record. In the playoffs, they “swept” the Erie Sailors in three games, but lost in a seven-game struggle with Butler.
Football's Beginnings
Baseball remained a hugely important sport for the region. Its success was driven widely by the oil industry and popularity within American culture. However, beginning in the 1900s, a new adversary began slipping into the mix – football. Some argue that football surpassed – and continues to surpass – baseball in popularity.
Football has historically been popular among blue-collar workers, particularly those employed in the oil, coal, and steel industries. Workers were plentiful across not just Venango County, but also Western Pennsylvania.
“American football” emerged around 1892 and stemmed from a blend of soccer and rugby, both of which were incredibly popular internationally. On November 6, 1869, Rutgers and Princeton played what was called the “first college football game.” However, it took many more years before the rules and techniques were standardized into recognizable American football.
The first player to be considered a “professional football player” was 16-year-old quarterback John Brallier, who was from Indiana, Pennsylvania. John was deemed professional because he accepted “$10 and cakes [expenses] to play for Latrobe, PA,” in 1895. The first known professional football contract, however, was signed in 1893 by the Pittsburgh Athletic Club. It is believed that halfback Grant Dibert was signed, but this cannot be confirmed.
The modern National Football League, or NFL, originated in Canton, Ohio, in 1920 with Jim Thorpe serving as the first president. Football found a fitting home in the Oil Region in the early twentieth century.
In 1903, the Franklin Athletic Club hosted a wildly impressive team that would go on to earn the title of World Professional Football Champions! The team posted a “perfect 12-0 record” and successfully won the World Series of Professional Football – the equivalent of today’s Super Bowl. The Franklin team was the second – and last – winners of the Football World Series.
More impressively, they did not let another team score a single point on them all the entire season. Their perfect scoring record was 461-0. The final games in the World Series were played in Madison Square Garden in New York City. Only three of the team members were native to Franklin – W.J. “Bill” McConnell, Chal Brennan, and John A. “Teck” Matthews. Mr. McConnell went on to become the mayor of Franklin, and Mr. Brennan became a commissioner.
The Oil Region Goes Pro!
There have been numerous players from the region who have gone on to play professional football in the NFL.
The first player was Forrest “Forrey” Hall of Oil City, who played at the University of San Francisco before spending three years with the San Francisco 49ers. Hall, who was known as “Mr. Flea,” established NCAA Division I-A records for the highest average per carry, highest punt return average, and highest kickoff return average.
Hall also held his fourth all-time rank with a 38.2-yard kickoff return average, set during the 1946 season.
Hall has frequently been referred to as the “greatest athlete” to ever come out of Venango County. Beyond his sportsmanship, he is also widely commended for his service during World War II. Hall played for the 49ers from 1948 to 1950, serving as a kick-returner.
Another player who went on to achieve success with the NFL was Franklin’s Ted “Butch” Marchibroda. Marchibroda first earned all-state honors in football and basketball during his time in high school. He was a “stand-out” baseball player as well. He went on to play quarterback at St. Bonaventure for two seasons; however, the school dropped its football program.
Marchibroda then transferred to the University of Detroit, where he proceeded to “lead the nation in total offense” in the year 1952. Marchibroda was named the Most Valuable Player in the 1952 Blue-Gray game played in Montgomery, Alabama, and was a consensus All-American pick by the wire services his senior year at Detroit.
In 1953, Marchibroda was the Pittsburgh Steelers’ first pick in the NFL draft; however, he played only one season before joining the army. He quickly returned to the field and played two more years with the Steelers, circa 1955-1956. His best season with the Steelers saw him complete 124 of 275 passes for 1,585 yards and 12 touchdowns. He also spent time playing with the Chicago Cardinals.
After he finished his playing career, Marchibroda became a backfield coach and, in 1961, joined the Washington Redskins (this team is now called the Commanders). He stayed in Washington until 1966, when he left to work with the Los Angeles Rams. Eventually, Marchibroda returned to Washington to work as an offensive coordinator.
In 1975, Marchibroda became the head coach of the Baltimore Colts, who became the first team in NFL history to go from last place to first place as Marchibroda guided them to a 10-4 finish, which led to him being named NFL coach of the year.
Marchibroda continued to bounce from team to team, working as offensive coordinator, coach, etc. He is credited with Buffalo’s “no-huddle” offense, which helped the Bills to win two straight Super Bowl appearances in 1990 and 1991.
Overall, Marchibroda spent 34 years in the NFL, with 12 being spent as head coach. His win-loss record was 87-98-1. He led teams to four playoff appearances and three division titles.
Rolland Bay Lawrence was another native of the Oil Region who went on to play in the NFL. He excelled in multiple sports in his youth and received numerous varsity letters. Following his high school graduation, Lawrence attended Tabor College and was a track and field athlete, as well as a football player.
In 1999, long after his sports career was over, Lawrence was the first to be inducted into Tabor College’s hall of fame, located in Kansas. Lawrence joined the Atlanta Falcons as a free agent in 1973. He had a career spanning nine years, ending in 1983. Lawrence ranked first on the team’s all-time interception list with a total of 39.
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