O. D. Thompson

O. D. Thompson
Profile
Positions	Halfback • Fullback • Tackle
Personal information
Born	September 24, 1855; Butler, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Died	June 10, 1925 (aged 69); Edgeworth, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Career information
College	Yale
Career history
Playing
1890–1891, 1893–1894	Allegheny Athletic Association
Manager
1891, 1893, 1896	Allegheny Athletic Association
Awards and highlights
	Helped Walter Camp develop football; Scored Yale's first touchdown against Harvard; Caught first allowed forward pass in history; threw/completed the second one; Signed the first known professional football player, Pudge Heffelfinger; Signed the first professional football coach, Sport Donnelly; Managed the first completely professional football team; 3x Pittsburgh local champion (1890, 1892, 1894);

Oliver David Thompson (September 24, 1855 – June 10, 1925) was an early football player at Yale, who played alongside Walter Camp. After his time at Yale, Thompson was a player and manager for the Allegheny Athletic Association. He is best known for paying Pudge Heffelfinger $500 to play for Allegheny against their rivals, the Pittsburgh Athletic Club—a move that made Heffelfinger the first known professional football player. Thompson's historic action went unnoticed until the 1960s, when a record of the payment was discovered on a page of a ledger prepared by Thompson. The page is currently on display at the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio.