Looking for a solution to the problem, Duquesne manager William Chase Temple went out and signed up replacement players.
Temple succeeded, and he received excellent results, when it was noticed that some of the replacements actually ended up being even more talented than the original contracted stars.
Due to the high payroll, Temple eventually took over the payments to the athletes, thus becoming the first individual professional football team owner.
The leaders of the Greensburg Athletic Association opposed the game and did their best to discourage their players from taking part in it.
The Washington & Jefferson Presidents football team also followed by disallowing their players from taking part in the game.
Berry was forced to rely heavily on his own Latrobe team, which fielded Eddie Wood, Doggie Trenchard, Harry Ryan, George Krebs, Bill Hammer, Jack Gass and Grennie Lewis.
Part of the blame was due to many Pittsburghers considering the football season over with the Thanksgiving Day games.
However most of the blame went to the leaders of the Greensburg Athletic Association, who were accused of spreading rumors that various star players would not appear in the game.