The Greatest Football Team In The World

Venango Museum Staff
Sep 9, 2025
3 min read

Franklin's Perfect Score

Venango County helped shape early professional football well before the NFL was founded. The legendary 1903 Franklin Athletic Club proved that small-town teams could leave a lasting mark on the game.

This article draws from regional histories, early professional football records, and materials from the Pro Football Hall of Fame documenting Venango County’s role in the sport’s early development.

American football began to develop in the late 1800s, growing out of soccer and rugby, which were already well known around the world. The first official college football game took place between Rutgers and Princeton on November 6, 1869. After that, the sport slowly changed, with different rules, equipment, and strategies used for many years before football became the game we recognize today.

Professional football also took time to develop. John Brallier, a 16-year-old quarterback from Indiana, Pennsylvania, was one of the first players called a professional when he accepted ten dollars and expenses to play for the Latrobe team in 1895. Even earlier, in 1893, the Pittsburgh Athletic Club is thought to have signed halfback Grant Dibert, though records are unclear. These early payments started professional football in Pennsylvania, long before there were organized leagues.

The National Football League was not founded until 1920 in Canton, Ohio, with Jim Thorpe as its first president. However, football had already become popular in Pennsylvania much earlier. Western Pennsylvania, especially, became known for early football talent, new ideas, and strong competition. One of the most impressive stories came from Venango County.

In the early 1900s, as football became more popular nationwide, a unique tournament, the World Series of Football, was held indoors at Madison Square Garden in New York City. Tim O’Rourke, the arena’s manager, organized the event to make use of the venue during the winter, when it was usually empty. He decided to invite some of the best football teams in the country for a tournament in December.

The first World Series of Football happened in 1902. Teams from Pittsburgh and Philadelphia, among the best, could not join on short notice, so other clubs stepped in. Even though indoor football was something new, only small crowds attended, and the event did not make much money. The Syracuse Athletic Club won the tournament, but O’Rourke saw the event as a financial failure.

The next year, football history changed in a big way, mostly because of Franklin, Pennsylvania. In 1903, the Franklin Athletic Club assembled an outstanding football team that finished the season with a perfect 12–0 record. They beat every team they played and became known as one of the best football teams of their time. Even more impressive, Franklin did not let any opponent score a single point all season, finishing with a total score of 461–0.

That same Franklin team won the second and last World Series of Football at Madison Square Garden in 1903, making Venango County an important part of early football history. While many players came from outside the area, three team members were from Franklin: W.J. “Bill” McConnell, Chal Brennan, and John A. “Teck” Matthews. Their impact went beyond football, as McConnell later became Franklin's mayor and Brennan served as a county commissioner.

Long before the NFL was created, Venango County played an important role in shaping professional football. This showed that small-town teams could have a big impact on a sport that was becoming popular across the country.