# Rolling Rock Myth **URL:** \ **Category:** Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports\ **Created:** [March 30, 2001, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rolling-rock-myth/60142 "2001-03-30T18:01:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Blackbeard3220](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b19c9b/32.png) [@Blackbeard3220](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blackbeard3220)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2001, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rolling-rock-myth/60142/1 "2001-03-30T18:01:08Z")
Hey All, I’m a native of Latrobe, Pennsylvania. It’s the birthplace of golf legend Arnold Palmer and famous children’s television personality Mr. Rogers. The banana split was invented here and the first professional football game was played here. Our steel production during WWII was so high that we were near the top of Germany’s ‘To Bomb’ list. But our claim to fame these days is Rolling Rock, a fine beer with a consistent taste, thank you very much. The mysterious ‘33’ is discussed in my town more than any other single subject. There are as many theories as barstools. From the year of Prohibition to the Mason’s number of the brewery’ founder, I’ve heard them all. I’m afraid Cecil got hosed. The management of the Latrobe Brewing Company, past and present, is notorious for ‘revealing’ what the 33 means every few years, with a different answer each time. The fact is, no one is sure what it stands for, and the people who did (if anyone ever did) are long gone and haven’t left behind any statements. Keep theorizing though! ---
**Author:** ![Arnold\_Winkelried](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Arnold\_Winkelried](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arnold_Winkelried)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2001, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rolling-rock-myth/60142/2 "2001-03-30T19:00:34Z")
Welcome to the SDMB, and thank you for posting your comment. Please include a link to Cecil’s column if it’s on the straight dope web site. To include a link, it can be as simple as including the web page location in your post (make sure there is a space **before** and **after** the text of the URL). Cecil’s column can be found on-line at this link: [Why is there a “33” on Rolling Rock beer labels?](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a2_044.html) * * * moderator, «[**Comments on Cecil’s Columns**](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/forumdisplay.php?forumid=1)» ---
**Author:** ![Arnold\_Winkelried](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Arnold\_Winkelried](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arnold_Winkelried)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2001, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rolling-rock-myth/60142/3 "2001-03-30T19:07:05Z")
Blackbeard3220, this subject has already been discussed in several threads, that you may be interested in reading: [Rolling Rock Beer 33](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=61123) [Rolling Rock “33”](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=54704) [Rolling Rock’s 33](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=38357) [The Rolling Rock “33”](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=279) I will note that Cecil expressed his typical skepticism in his article, which uses the cautionary sentence fragment ``if M. Tito is to be believed". Being a Straight Dope reader, I would be remiss in my duties if I did not apply the same skepticism. With which other explanations (made by the Latrobe Brewing company) are you cognizant? Where did you find out about these explanations? ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2001, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rolling-rock-myth/60142/4 "2001-04-01T03:59:40Z")
**Blackbeard** You(rightly or wrongly) lost your claim to being the home of Professional Football in 1992, from [this](http://www.pahouse.net/petrarca/pr/1999-00/055061699.htm) I am currently interested in where the name _Rolling Rock_ came from as used for the name of the beer. Can you provide any help? Preferrably printed sources, rather than bar-stool ones. Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![Blackbeard3220](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b19c9b/32.png) [@Blackbeard3220](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blackbeard3220)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2001, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rolling-rock-myth/60142/5 "2001-04-01T15:37:46Z")
Not quite true. What actually occured in 1992, was that the NFL stopped recognizing Latrobe as the birthplace of professional football. But to be quite honest, who really cares what the NFL has to say? The best evidence suggests that the first professional football game was played here. The fact that the NFL chooses not to recognize it as such does not reverse history and take the game away. The evidence for the ‘other’ game played close to Pittsburgh is very shaky, and the unprovable nature is probably the reason why the NFL is choosing to ignore it. This is something like saying that the Battle of Gettysburg never took place because the American Society of Civil War Enthusiasts proclaimed that it was actually fought in Chambersburg. In any case, its just a stupid game where grown men throw a ball around and pat each other on the butt, so let’s get to a more important topic: beer. This page ([http://www.beer.com/brands/us/rollingrock/latrobebrew.html](http://www.beer.com/brands/us/rollingrock/latrobebrew.html)), officially released by Latrobe Brewing Company, may be your best ‘written’ source about the origins of the name. In researching this and other alcohol related topics, however, you would be well advised that ‘written’ sources are usually just ‘bar-stool’ sources committed to paper. Brewing, now as ever, is something of a mysterious art, prone to legends and myths which serve marketers well. Written sources based on the tounge-in-cheek responses of management are often less accurate than the ‘bar-stool’ stories of Latrobe, PA. Keep in mind that our bar stools are inhabited by the people that have actually been brewing the stuff for decades, and not easily manipulated academics. I have a feeling that the name Rolling Rock was simply made up. It portrays the streams around here nicely. As for the origins of the ‘33’, I’m personally inclined to refer to this story: My brother caddied for Mr. Tito, and when asked by him what the ‘33’ stands for, Mr. Tito responded, “The only man who really knows is dead.” (edited to fix link - include a space **before** and **after** the URL to have it become a valid link) [Edited by Arnold Winkelried on 04-01-2001 at 01:55 PM] ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2001, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rolling-rock-myth/60142/6 "2001-04-03T01:16:56Z")
Funny, and here I had thought that Latrobe’s claim to fame is that it’s the location of the Benedictine Archabbey of North America. ---
**Author:** ![Blackbeard3220](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b19c9b/32.png) [@Blackbeard3220](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blackbeard3220)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2001, 12:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rolling-rock-myth/60142/7 "2001-04-03T12:21:28Z")
Yeah. It always seemed to me that we have a disproportionate amount of distinction for such a small town, but it could just be prejudice. ---
**Author:** ![C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b2d939/32.png) [@C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C_K_Dexter_Haven)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2001, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rolling-rock-myth/60142/8 "2001-04-03T13:44:04Z")
Football was actually invented in Football, New Mexico, in 1804, by Little Abner Doubleday. ---
**Author:** ![Billdo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/billdo/32/315_2.png) [@Billdo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Billdo)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2001, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rolling-rock-myth/60142/9 "2001-04-03T23:17:00Z")
Isn’t that the town that was founded by the father of the famous author James Fenimore Football? ---
**Author:** ![andros](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e480ec/32.png) [@andros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/andros)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2001, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rolling-rock-myth/60142/10 "2001-04-03T23:52:00Z")
Nah, it was founded by Juan Fútbol de Oñate, one of Coronado’s lieutenants. ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2001, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rolling-rock-myth/60142/11 "2001-04-08T01:23:54Z")
It was MY understanding that it was it was founded by that great buccaneer and Terror of the Spanish Main, \*\*Jean LaFoot. ---
**Author:** ![eunoia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eunoia/32/97_2.png) [@eunoia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eunoia)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2001, 5:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rolling-rock-myth/60142/12 "2001-04-14T05:50:09Z")
This may be considered extraneous information, but then again… There is a French beer called Export 33 (a pale brew with a pleasant herbal flavour) and European beers are often sold in 33cl (330ml, about 11 ounces). Could this be another case of a U.S. brewery taking the name of a well-established Euro-brew as in the case of Budweiser Budvar? in reference to: [http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a2\_044.html](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a2_044.html) and others