1933 Pittsburgh Pirates (NFL) season

Last updated

1933 Pittsburgh Pirates season
Owner Art Rooney
Head coach Forrest Douds
Home stadium Forbes Field
Results
Record3–6–2
Division place5th Eastern Division
PlayoffsDid not qualify
Pittsburgh Pirates 1933 team photo 1933 Pittsburgh Pirates (NFL).jpg
Pittsburgh Pirates 1933 team photo

The 1933 Pittsburgh Pirates season marked the debut of the team known today as the Pittsburgh Steelers. The team was established by Arthur Rooney Sr., a former boxer and semi-pro football player, who paid the National Football League (NFL) its $2,500 expansion fee with winnings from successful weekend gambling at the Saratoga Race Track in New York. [1]

Contents

Rooney named the team "Pirates" and made use of black-and-gold team colors as a means of attaching his fledgling team to the Pittsburgh Pirates of baseball's National League. [1] Home games were scheduled for Forbes Field, stadium used by the baseball Pirates. [1] The new squad was composed largely of local semi-pro players.

Rooney quickly ran into Pennsylvania's blue laws, which prohibited professional sports from taking place on Sundays, when most NFL games took place. [1] Rooney slyly circumvented the law by providing the superintendent of police with free box seats. [1]

Except for a brief period in 1940 and 1941, Rooney would remain the franchise's principal owner until his death in 1988. The Rooney family has retained a controlling interest ever since.

The Pirates took the field for the first time on September 20 against the New York Giants at Forbes Field, losing 23–2. The following week, the team got its first win, defeating the Chicago Cardinals at home 14–13.

The team finished 3–6–2 for the season.

Regular season

Schedule

GameDateOpponentResultRecordVenueAttendanceRecapSources
September 13 Cincinnati Reds Postponed due to rain [2]
1September 20 New York Giants L 2–230–1 Forbes Field 20,000 Recap
2September 27 Chicago Cardinals W 14–131–1Forbes Field5,000 Recap
3October 4 Boston Redskins L 6–211–2Forbes Field15,000 Recap
4October 11 Cincinnati Reds W 17–32–2Forbes Field5,000 Recap
5October 15at Green Bay Packers L 0–472–3 City Stadium 4,000 Recap
6October 22at Cincinnati Reds T 0–02–3–1 Redland Field 900 Recap [3]
7October 29at Boston Redskins W 16–143–3–1 Fenway Park 7,500 Recap
8November 5at Brooklyn Dodgers T 3–33–3–2 Ebbets Field 15,000 Recap
9November 12 Brooklyn Dodgers L 0–323–4–2Forbes Field12,000 Recap
10November 19at Philadelphia Eagles L 6–253–5–2 Baker Bowl 6,000 Recap
Bye
11December 3at New York Giants L 3-273–6–2 Polo Grounds 10,000 Recap
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Standings

NFL Eastern Division
WLTPCTDIVPFPASTK
New York Giants 1130.7867–1244101W7
Brooklyn Dodgers 541.5562–2–19354L2
Boston Redskins 552.5002–310397T1
Philadelphia Eagles 351.3751–277158L2
Pittsburgh Pirates 362.3331–5–167208L3
Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings until 1972.

Game summaries

Week 1 (Wednesday September 20, 1933): New York Giants

1234Total
Giants0701623
Pirates00022

at Forbes Field, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Scoring drives:

Week 2 (Wednesday September 27, 1933): Chicago Cardinals

1234Total
Cardinals670013
Pirates070714

at Forbes Field, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Scoring drives:

Week 3 (Wednesday October 4, 1933): Boston Redskins

1234Total
Redskins707721
Pirates00066

at Forbes Field, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Scoring drives:

Week 4 (Wednesday October 11, 1933): Cincinnati Reds

1234Total
Reds30003
Pirates7001017

at Forbes Field, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Scoring drives:

Week 5 (Sunday October 15, 1933): at Green Bay Packers

1234Total
Pirates00000
Packers72013747

at City Stadium, Green Bay, Wisconsin

Scoring drives:

Week 6 (Sunday October 22, 1933): at Cincinnati Reds

1234Total
Pirates00000
Reds00000

at Redland Field, Cincinnati, Ohio

Scoring drives:

Week 7 (Sunday October 29, 1933): at Boston Redskins

1234Total
Pirates097016
Redskins700714

at Fenway Park, Boston, Massachusetts

Scoring drives:

Week 8 (Sunday November 5, 1933): at Brooklyn Dodgers

1234Total
Pirates00033
Dodgers30003

at Ebbets Field, Brooklyn, New York

Scoring drives:

Week 9 (Sunday November 12, 1933): Brooklyn Dodgers

1234Total
Dodgers6713632
Pirates00000

at Forbes Field, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Scoring drives:

Week 10 (Sunday November 19, 1933): at Philadelphia Eagles

1234Total
Pirates00066
Eagles6013625

at Baker Bowl, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Scoring drives:

Week 12 (Sunday December 3, 1933): at New York Giants

1234Total
Pirates03003
Giants0072027

at Polo Grounds, New York City

Scoring drives:

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Tom Bennett et al. (eds.), The NFL's Official Encyclopedic History of Professional Football. New York: Macmillan Publishing Co., 1977; p. 200.
  2. "Portsmouth Invades Cincinnati for Game," Green Bay Press Gazette, Sept. 16, 1933, p. 15.
  3. Lou Smith, "Reds in Scoreless Tie in Game With Pirates: Wet Field Slows Up Pro Contest: Only Handful of Fans at Redland Field," Cincinnati Enquirer, Oct. 23, 1933, pp. 13–14.