Joe Trees
Encyclopedia
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 benefactor to the university and its athletic department. His hobbies included philanthropy
, scientific research and agriculture
. His 2600 acres (10.5 km²) estate in Gibsonia, Pennsylvania
was devoted to a large extent to fruit trees.
in Westmoreland County
, where his grandfather, Thomas Trees, had established a flour mill and a sawmill after immigrating from England
. His parents, Isaac and Lucy Johnston Trees, later operated the mills and, as a youth, Joe worked in them.
). While playing in practice games against the Western University of Pennsylvania (WUP), now named the University of Pittsburgh
, Trees impressed Bert Smyers
, the founder and captain of the WUP football team. In order to facilitate Trees to switch schools and play football for WUP, Smyers helped to arranged for various classes at the university to pay for Trees' room, board, and tuition. Thus in 1891, Trees became Pitt's first subsidized athlete as a star 210 pound tackle on Pitt's football team
.
Trees graduated from the university with a degree in mechanical engineering
in 1895. Trees, also participated in the universities track and field
team, and in 1894, additionally served as an Assistant Librarian at the university.
. The club in 1893 was suspected heavily of secretly paying its players, making them professionals. Documents discovered a half a century later showed that on November 21, 1892 "Pudge" Heffelfinger
, an all-American guard
from Yale
, was paid $500 (US dollars) to play for Allegheny against the rivial, Pittsburgh Athletic Club
. It is unknown if Trees was paid by Allegheny to play football with the club.
In 1894 Trees jumped to the Pittsburgh Athletic Club. That year, during a game against Allegheny, quarterback
, A. S. Valentine
, was thrown out of the game after coming to the aid of James Van Cleve
during a fight against Trees. After several appeals, Valentine left the field reportedly "crying like a baby" by the local media. During a second game that season, Trees was thrown out of a game for punching Allegheny's Sport Donnelly. Trees never liked Donnelly, during games when the two lined-up against each other, Donnelly would pull Trees' the long flowing hair. Joe would usually defend hiself with a strenuous poke at Donnelly, and often enedd up on the sideline as in this game.
. He and his partner Mike Benedum, decided to buy a lease in Pleasants County, West Virginia
, and this was the start of their career together. Their first well came in 1896 and six more soon gushed from the same lease. Benedum and Trees developed a dozen other rich pools in West Virginia
with varying success up to 1900. Superstition
played a big part in their decisions of where to drill. In one instance, a blind farmer once told them he had envisioned oil gushing out of a hill on his farm and shooting up over a tree. Trees and Benedum then decided to drill on that spot. As a result a well gushed just as the blind man had dreamed. Another time the two men heard of a natural rock-formation arrow which legend said pointed to treasure. Benedum sighted along the arrow while Trees moved back and forth in a straight line from it. They drilled the chosen spot and again struck oil.
Over the years, the men developed oil fields for Marie of Romania
in Ploiești
. Those fields were taken over by Nazi Germany
during World War II and became a target of the war's oil campaign
, such as Operation Tidal Wave. Ploieşti was captured by Soviet troops in August 1944. Trees and Benedum also founded wells in Illinois
, West Texas
, Mexico
, Colombia
, and throughout South America. Their West Texas discoveries were among the most significant in his career. Untouched and despised by other oil men, this area has since poured out a billion barrels, with reserves estimated at another billion.
and the other, Merle, died at age 10 in a traffic accident in Pittsburgh. After the death of his wife, Joe married, in 1929, his secretary, the former Edith Lehm. The couple had a son, Joe Benedum Trees.
throughout his life. He served on and, for a time, became president of University of Pittsburgh's Board of Trustees. An important benefactor for the University of Pittsburgh and its athletic department, in 1912 he donated $100,000 for the construction of the original Trees Gymnasium and Trees Stadium/Field that sat near the site of the present day Veterans Administration Hospital in Oakland
. Today, a short distance from those now demolished original structures, two university facilities bear his name: Trees Field
and Trees Hall
, a multipurpose recreation and varsity athletics facility that opened in 1962. Trees also donated funds to the Pitt Band, $75,000 to the construction of Eberly Hall
, and purchased $200,000 worth of bonds to help pay for the construction of Pitt Stadium
. Until his death, his generosity to the university earned him the reputation as "a true Pitt man" and "Call on Joe" became a byword when the university was in need.
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...
player at the University of Pittsburgh
University of Pittsburgh
The University of Pittsburgh, commonly referred to as Pitt, is a state-related research university located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded as Pittsburgh Academy in 1787 on what was then the American frontier, Pitt is one of the oldest continuously chartered institutions of...
, the first athlete to receive an athletic subsidization at the school, and, possibly, an early professional 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...
player. He later made millions of dollars in the oil industry and became a trustee and significant benefactor to the university and its athletic department. His hobbies included philanthropy
Philanthropy
Philanthropy etymologically means "the love of humanity"—love in the sense of caring for, nourishing, developing, or enhancing; humanity in the sense of "what it is to be human," or "human potential." In modern practical terms, it is "private initiatives for public good, focusing on quality of...
, scientific research and agriculture
Agriculture
Agriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...
. His 2600 acres (10.5 km²) estate in Gibsonia, Pennsylvania
Gibsonia, Pennsylvania
Gibsonia is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in Allegheny County in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania, north of the city of Pittsburgh. It had a population of 2,733 at the 2010 census. Its ZIP Code is 15044.-Geography:...
was devoted to a large extent to fruit trees.
Early life
Trees was born near Delmont, PennsylvaniaDelmont, Pennsylvania
Delmont is a borough in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 2,497 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Delmont is located at ....
in Westmoreland County
Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 369,993 people, 149,813 households, and 104,569 families residing in the county. The population density was 361 people per square mile . There were 161,058 housing units at an average density of 157 per square mile...
, where his grandfather, Thomas Trees, had established a flour mill and a sawmill after immigrating from England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. His parents, Isaac and Lucy Johnston Trees, later operated the mills and, as a youth, Joe worked in them.
College football
Trees first attended Indiana Normal School (now Indiana University of PennsylvaniaIndiana University of Pennsylvania
Indiana University of Pennsylvania is a public university in Indiana County, Pennsylvania, USA. The university is northeast of Pittsburgh. It is the largest university in the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education and is the commonwealth's fifth largest university...
). While playing in practice games against the Western University of Pennsylvania (WUP), now named the University of Pittsburgh
University of Pittsburgh
The University of Pittsburgh, commonly referred to as Pitt, is a state-related research university located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded as Pittsburgh Academy in 1787 on what was then the American frontier, Pitt is one of the oldest continuously chartered institutions of...
, Trees impressed Bert Smyers
Bert Smyers
Bertrand "Bert" Hunter Smyers was an attorney and, along with fellow student John Scott, founder of the University of Pittsburgh's football program...
, the founder and captain of the WUP football team. In order to facilitate Trees to switch schools and play football for WUP, Smyers helped to arranged for various classes at the university to pay for Trees' room, board, and tuition. Thus in 1891, Trees became Pitt's first subsidized athlete as a star 210 pound tackle on Pitt's football team
Pittsburgh Panthers football
Pittsburgh Panthers football is the intercollegiate football team of the University of Pittsburgh, often referred to as "Pitt", located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Traditionally the most popular sport at the university, Pitt football has played at the highest level of American college football...
.
Trees graduated from the university with a degree in mechanical engineering
Mechanical engineering
Mechanical engineering is a discipline of engineering that applies the principles of physics and materials science for analysis, design, manufacturing, and maintenance of mechanical systems. It is the branch of engineering that involves the production and usage of heat and mechanical power for the...
in 1895. Trees, also participated in the universities track and field
Track and field
Track and field is a sport comprising various competitive athletic contests based around the activities of running, jumping and throwing. The name of the sport derives from the venue for the competitions: a stadium which features an oval running track surrounding a grassy area...
team, and in 1894, additionally served as an Assistant Librarian at the university.
Possible professional career
In 1892 and 1893, Trees played football on the side for the then-amateur Allegheny Athletic AssociationAllegheny 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...
. The club in 1893 was suspected heavily of secretly paying its players, making them professionals. Documents discovered a half a century later showed that on November 21, 1892 "Pudge" Heffelfinger
William Heffelfinger
-External links:...
, an all-American guard
Guard (American football)
In American and Canadian football, a guard is a player that lines up between the center and the tackles on the offensive line of a football team....
from Yale
YALE
RapidMiner, formerly YALE , is an environment for machine learning, data mining, text mining, predictive analytics, and business analytics. It is used for research, education, training, rapid prototyping, application development, and industrial applications...
, was paid $500 (US dollars) to play for Allegheny against the rivial, Pittsburgh Athletic Club
Pittsburgh Athletic Club (football)
The Pittsburgh Athletic Club football team, established in 1891, was based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. In 1892 the intense competition between two Pittsburgh-area clubs, the Allegheny Athletic Association and the Pittsburgh Athletic Club, led to William Heffelfinger becoming the first known...
. It is unknown if Trees was paid by Allegheny to play football with the club.
In 1894 Trees jumped to the Pittsburgh Athletic Club. That year, during a game against Allegheny, 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 James Van Cleve
James Van Cleve
James M. Van Cleve was the fourth ever known person to be paid to play football. Only Pudge Heffelfinger, Sport Donnelly and Peter Wright were professionals before him. Van Cleve's contract was with the Allegheny Athletic Association for $50 per game for the entire 1893 season.In 1894, during a...
during a fight against Trees. After several appeals, Valentine left the field reportedly "crying like a baby" by the local media. During a second game that season, Trees was thrown out of a game for punching Allegheny's Sport Donnelly. Trees never liked Donnelly, during games when the two lined-up against each other, Donnelly would pull Trees' the long flowing hair. Joe would usually defend hiself with a strenuous poke at Donnelly, and often enedd up on the sideline as in this game.
Oil industry
During his summer vacations from college Joe worked for Standard OilStandard Oil
Standard Oil was a predominant American integrated oil producing, transporting, refining, and marketing company. Established in 1870 as a corporation in Ohio, it was the largest oil refiner in the world and operated as a major company trust and was one of the world's first and largest multinational...
. He and his partner Mike Benedum, decided to buy a lease in Pleasants County, West Virginia
Pleasants County, West Virginia
As of the census of 2000, there were 7,514 people, 2,887 households, and 2,136 families residing in the county. The population density was 58 people per square mile . There were 3,214 housing units at an average density of 25 per square mile...
, and this was the start of their career together. Their first well came in 1896 and six more soon gushed from the same lease. Benedum and Trees developed a dozen other rich pools in West Virginia
West Virginia
West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian and Southeastern regions of the United States, bordered by Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Ohio to the northwest, Pennsylvania to the northeast and Maryland to the east...
with varying success up to 1900. Superstition
Superstition
Superstition is a belief in supernatural causality: that one event leads to the cause of another without any process in the physical world linking the two events....
played a big part in their decisions of where to drill. In one instance, a blind farmer once told them he had envisioned oil gushing out of a hill on his farm and shooting up over a tree. Trees and Benedum then decided to drill on that spot. As a result a well gushed just as the blind man had dreamed. Another time the two men heard of a natural rock-formation arrow which legend said pointed to treasure. Benedum sighted along the arrow while Trees moved back and forth in a straight line from it. They drilled the chosen spot and again struck oil.
Over the years, the men developed oil fields for Marie of Romania
Marie of Romania
Marie of Romania was Queen consort of Romania from 1914 to 1927, as the wife of Ferdinand I of Romania.-Early life:...
in Ploiești
Ploiesti
Ploiești is the county seat of Prahova County and lies in the historical region of Wallachia in Romania. The city is located north of Bucharest....
. Those fields were taken over by Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
during World War II and became a target of the war's oil campaign
Oil Campaign of World War II
The Allied Oil Campaign of World War II was directed at facilities supplying Nazi Germany with petroleum, oil, and lubrication products...
, such as Operation Tidal Wave. Ploieşti was captured by Soviet troops in August 1944. Trees and Benedum also founded wells in Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
, West Texas
West Texas
West Texas is a vernacular term applied to a region in the southwestern quadrant of the United States that primarily encompasses the arid and semi-arid lands in the western portion of the state of Texas....
, Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
, Colombia
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
, and throughout South America. Their West Texas discoveries were among the most significant in his career. Untouched and despised by other oil men, this area has since poured out a billion barrels, with reserves estimated at another billion.
Family
Trees married Claudine Willison on November 22, 1894. The couple had two sons, both of whom were killed: Joseph Graham Trees as an aviator during World War IWorld War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
and the other, Merle, died at age 10 in a traffic accident in Pittsburgh. After the death of his wife, Joe married, in 1929, his secretary, the former Edith Lehm. The couple had a son, Joe Benedum Trees.
Legacy
Trees remained closely tied to his alma materAlma mater
Alma mater , pronounced ), was used in ancient Rome as a title for various mother goddesses, especially Ceres or Cybele, and in Christianity for the Virgin Mary.-General term:...
throughout his life. He served on and, for a time, became president of University of Pittsburgh's Board of Trustees. An important benefactor for the University of Pittsburgh and its athletic department, in 1912 he donated $100,000 for the construction of the original Trees Gymnasium and Trees Stadium/Field that sat near the site of the present day Veterans Administration Hospital in Oakland
Oakland (Pittsburgh)
Oakland is the academic, cultural, and healthcare center of Pittsburgh and is Pennsylvania's third largest "Downtown". Only Center City Philadelphia and Downtown Pittsburgh can claim more economic and social activity than Oakland...
. Today, a short distance from those now demolished original structures, two university facilities bear his name: Trees Field
Trees Field
Trees Field was a facility consisting of athletic fields located at the upper campus of the University of Pittsburgh located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The facility contained both a baseball and softball fields, which were often individually referred to as "Trees Field", as well as two adjacent...
and Trees Hall
Trees Hall
Joseph C. Trees Hall is a multipurpose student, staff, faculty recreational facility on the campus of the University of Pittsburgh in the Oakland section of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Designed by the architectural firm of Deeter & Ritchey, Trees Hall first opened in 1962, and a second phase of...
, a multipurpose recreation and varsity athletics facility that opened in 1962. Trees also donated funds to the Pitt Band, $75,000 to the construction of Eberly Hall
Eberly Hall
Eberly Hall is an academic building on the campus of the University of Pittsburgh in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. Designed by architect Benno Janssen and dedicated in 1921, Eberly Hall was originally named Alumni Hall, and is still sometimes referred to as "Old Alumni Hall"...
, and purchased $200,000 worth of bonds to help pay for the construction of Pitt Stadium
Pitt Stadium
Pitt Stadium was a stadium located on the campus of the University of Pittsburgh in the Oakland section of Pittsburgh in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania from 1925 to 1999. It served primarily as the home of the University of Pittsburgh's football team, the Pittsburgh Panthers...
. Until his death, his generosity to the university earned him the reputation as "a true Pitt man" and "Call on Joe" became a byword when the university was in need.
See also
- Trees HallTrees HallJoseph C. Trees Hall is a multipurpose student, staff, faculty recreational facility on the campus of the University of Pittsburgh in the Oakland section of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Designed by the architectural firm of Deeter & Ritchey, Trees Hall first opened in 1962, and a second phase of...
- Texon, TexasTexon, TexasTexon is a small unincorporated town in Reagan County, Texas, United States, in the western part of the state. The town is noted for its boom as an oil town and subsequent near abandonment.-Population and location:...