Sunday afternoon football wasn’t always about the NFL.

At least, not in Butler.

From 1936 through 1956, Butler Cubs football games at Pullman Park was the place to be.

The semi-pro team played in the Tri-State League and Steel Bowl Conference. There would be as many as 60 players on the roster and as many as 5,000 people in the stands.

“That was the thing to do on Sunday afternoons, go to the Cubs games,” said Jim Lokhaiser, a member of the 1956 squad, the Cubs’ final year of existence. “Everything was so community-minded back then.

“Then the age of TV really developed, guys started getting into golf, leagues folded and it all went away.”

But they were good while they were here.

From 1936-39, the Cubs won 40 games, lost only eight and had three ties. Their worst record in the 1940’s was 7-4-2 in 1945. The team won 86 games and lost only 26 during that decade.

John Gazetos coached the Cubs teams from their inception through the 1940’s. Henry Yandell took the reins after that.

Yandell had been a player-coach for the rival Garfield Eagles from 1940-45.

“That was an all-black team that had exceptional talent,” Lokhaiser recalled. “Those were classic games.”

The Butler Cubs were primarily comprised of players in their 20’s from all over Butler County, along with guys from New Castle and Pittsburgh. Some went off to the service during World War II, returned and resumed — or started — their semi-pro careers.

“Our lives were sports,” 1948 Cubs player Merril Moses said. “Playing basketball, fast-pitch softball, football ... We had no other interests.”

Opposing teams came from all over the region. Other franchises included the Millvale Amechi, Ambridge Sunny Boys, Sto-Rox Cadets, Morningside Bulldogs, Johnsonberg Shamrocks, Bloomfield Rams, Kittanning Kay Eyes and Pittsburgh Corsairs.

“You just kept playing football with guys you grew up with,” Regis Laconi said. “We played the Duquesne University freshmen — they had good teams back then — Westminster College, a variety of opponents.”

John Graham referred to the games as “rock ‘em, sock ‘em football.”

The bleachers at Pullman Park were rolled out from third base to right field. Kids would gather behind those bleachers and get a pick-up game going of their own.

“In a way, that’s how the Midget football program got started in town,” Lokhaiser said. “Lots of kids would organize and play behind those bleachers.”

“I’m sure they charged admission to the Cubs games, but when I was 10 or 11 years old, a bunch of us used to climb over the fence to get in,” Graham said.

John Houston attended the games and was impressed with the quality of football being played.

“A lot of stellar athletes played in that league,” he said. “A few guys got pro tryouts or went on to play college ball.

“It was tough guys playing tough football.”

Dick McCune, who played for the Cubs in the late 1940’s, said the coaches were all volunteers.

“The high school team didn’t draw very good, but the Cubs sure did,” McCune said. “Going to the game was the social thing to do on a Sunday afternoon.

“We practiced every night, but work and family always came first. Guys doing shift work in the mill ... If they couldn’t get to practice, there was no penalty or punishment or anything. If you couldn’t get to a practice, it was OK. Nobody ever complained.”

Practices took place at the old athletic field in Butler. McCune can still recall joining his teammates walking down the hill to the practice field after dressing at the Cubs Hall.

“There were occasional fights after some games, but there was good sportsmanship, too,” McCune said. “There was an element of mutual respect between teams.

“We had a lot of pride in that Cubs program. It was an honor to play for them.”

The Cubs had their share of outstanding players: Roger Petrizio, Johnny Zgibor, Henry “Honey” Thompson, Dale Sarver, Tom Brown, Paul “Red” Uram and Ed Vargo among them.

“There was high quality talent,” Moses insisted. “Zgibor was a running back who could have played for any college in the country. He was that good.

“I was a scrawny little running back who rarely got to play. I remember one game, I got the ball on the opponent’s 2-yard line and threw my 130 pounds into the line. I was on the ground and the ball was in my hand, touching the goal-line.

“I looked up at the official and pleaded with him to give me the touchdown, that I had never scored one. He looked right at me, smiled and said ‘No.’ I will never forget that,” Moses added. “When I was done playing, I worked the sticks on the sidelines. I couldn’t leave it.”

But, eventually, Butler Cubs football faded away.

“Money got tight,” Moses said.

“Guys got married and the injury factor kicked in,” McCune said. “Players started thinking, if I get hurt, how do I support my family?”

“The whole thing just ran its course. It ran out of interest and guys went off in different directions,” Graham said.

Whatever the reasons, Butler Cubs football has its place in local history.

“We never had cheerleaders,” McCune said. “That’s the one thing I could never figure out.”