Are you ready for some football!
Yeah, the high school season doesn’t open until August, but there will be football played at Brookfield Alumni Stadium on Bedford Road this summer. The Youngstown Patricians, a semi-pro team, is renting Brookfield school district’s stadium for its home games.
Patricians’ President John Galbraith said he has had his eye on the stadium since turf was installed last year.
“Every year, our plan was to get to a better venue,” Galbraith said, noting the team played at Jackson-Milton High School last year.
He said he likes the size of the stadium, the proximity of fans to the game, the turf, the lighting, the sound system and that it has a “nostalgic feel.”
“There’s not a bad seat,” Galbraith said. “It’s just a good environment. It’s a great location.”
Galbraith said he hopes to attract more Pennsylvania spectators with the stadium so close to the border.
The Patricians will pay a rental fee of $1,000 a game for use of the stadium, said school district Treasurer Jordan Weber. Part of that fee is to offset the cost of clean up.
“They’re actually our first bigger outside group that’s using the field, so we’re excited to work with them,” Weber said.
A school representative will attend home games to “keep an eye on things,” he said.
When school officials decided to install turf on the field, they said they envisioned it attracting non-school events.
“This is perfect,” Weber said. “We even told them this is a good first test run in terms of having an outside group use the field. We’re hoping it leads to many more of those types of events.”
Galbraith said he hopes Brookfield becomes a long-term home for the Patricians.
Coached by Brookfield High grad Vinny Anerino, the Patricians play in the Tri-Point Football League, with teams in Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Ohio. The season runs from May to August, with the championship game in Virginia Beach.
The Patricians have a storied history. St. Patrick’s Church in Youngstown created a men’s sports club in 1911 that included basketball, baseball and football teams.
“The football team was the most popular out of the bunch,” Galbraith said. “They ended up becoming pro. It was the only pro football team in the United States that was ever formed by a church.”
The Patricians played its home games at Idora Park against teams such as the Canton Bulldogs when Jim Thorpe played for Canton, and won a championship in 1914.
The team played on and off, depending on finances, until 1921, when an effort to join the league that became the National Football League failed due to lack of funds.
The Patricians were largely forgotten until a history presentation in 2015 caught Galbraith’s attention. A high school and semi-pro player and long-time coach, Galbraith brought the team back as a nonprofit corporation. The players, whose ages range from 19 to 40, are not paid.
“They play for the love of the game,” Galbraith said. “We have a lot of guys that played locally, high school players that still want to compete. We have a couple of college players that decided they still want to play.”
The Patricians showcase local talent in presenting the National Anthem before the game and as the halftime entertainment. There are concessions and a mascot, an owl, at games.
“It’s gonna be a real family-friendly event,” said Galbraith, whose day job is as a case manager for COMPASS Family and Community Services, which provides counseling, senior guardianship services, residential services and workforce development in Trumbull and Mahoning counties.
The Patricians like to help raise money for community causes and $1 from each ticket sold will go to the St. Baldrick’s Foundation, which funds childhood cancer research, said Galbraith, adding that he hopes to contribute to a local cause and hold a summer football camp in Brookfield.
The Patricians open their season May 25 and have home games June 6 and 13, July 11 and 18 and Aug. 1. Tickets are $12 for adults and $7 for children and can be purchased at the gate or at the Patricians’ website, youngstownpat.org Season tickets are $40 and are available at the website or by calling Galbraith at 330-540-1099.
