James M. Van Cleve was the fourth ever known person to be paid to play football

American football

American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...

. Only Pudge Heffelfinger, Sport Donnelly and Peter Wright

Peter Wright

Peter Maurice Wright was an English scientist and former MI5 counterintelligence officer, noted for writing the controversial book Spycatcher, which became an international bestseller with sales of over two million copies...

 were professionals before him. Van Cleve's contract was with the Allegheny Athletic Association

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 Allegheny, Pennsylvania, which is today the North...

 for $50 per game for the entire 1893 season.

In 1894, during a game against the Pittsburgh Athletic Club

Pittsburgh Athletic Club

The Pittsburgh Athletic Club or Pittsburgh PAC was a professional hockey team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania from around 1895 until 1910. The Club was an affiliate of the Pittsburgh Athletic Association. The team was a member of the Pittsburgh Hockey League, which was formed in 1896 and became...

. Allegheny's quarterback

Quarterback

Quarterback is a position in American and Canadian football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive team and line up directly behind the offensive line...

, A. S. Valentine

A. S. Valentine

A. S. Valentine was an early professional football player for the Allegheny Athletic Association. He served as the team's quarterback in 1890 and 1891. However he jumped to the rivial Pittsburgh Athletic Club in 1892. Valentine played for Pittsburgh in their first two games. Then, without warning,...

, was thrown out of the game after coming to the aid of Van Cleve during a fight against Pittsburgh's Joe Trees

Joe Trees

Joseph Clifton Trees was a college football player at the University of Pittsburgh, the first athlete to receive an athletic subsidization at the school, and, possibly, an early professional football player. He later made millions of dollars in the oil industry and became a trustee and significant...

. After several appeals, Valentine left the field reportedly "crying like a baby" by the local media. During the 1895 season, Allegheny did not field a team after learning the club was under investigation by the Amateur Athletic Union

Amateur Athletic Union

The Amateur Athletic Union is one of the largest non-profit volunteer sports organizations in the United States. A multi-sport organization, the AAU is dedicated exclusively to the promotion and development of amateur sports and physical fitness programs.-History:The AAU was founded in 1888 to...

 for secretly paying its players. As a result Van Cleve played for the upstart Duquesne Country and Athletic Club

Duquesne Country and Athletic Club

The Duquesne Country and Athletic Club was a professional football team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania from 1895 until 1900. The team was considered one of the best, if not the best, professional football teams in the country from 1898 until 1900...

. He would return to Allegeheny for their last season in 1896.

College career

Prior to his professional career, Van Cleve played college football

College football

College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...

 at Lehigh University

Lehigh University

Lehigh University is a private, co-educational university located in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, in the Lehigh Valley region of the United States. It was established in 1865 by Asa Packer as a four-year technical school, but has grown to include studies in a wide variety of disciplines...

. On October 15, 1892, Van Cleve scored Lehigh's only touchdown

Touchdown

A touchdown is a means of scoring in American and Canadian football. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchdown by advancing the ball into the opponent's end zone.-Description:...

 in a loss against the Orange Athletic Club. He would play for Lehigh five days later during a 50-0 loss to the Princeton Tigers

Princeton Tigers

The Princeton Tigers are the athletic teams of Princeton University. The school sponsors 31 varsity sports. The school has won several NCAA national championships, including one in men's fencing, six in men's lacrosse, three in women's lacrosse, and eight in men's golf...

.

Van Cleve would later became football coach at Holy Ghost College, later renamed Duquesne University

Duquesne University

Duquesne University of the Holy Spirit is a private Catholic university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded by members of the Congregation of the Holy Spirit, Duquesne first opened its doors as the Pittsburgh Catholic College of the Holy Ghost in October 1878 with an enrollment of...

.