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1933 Pittsburgh Pirates (NFL) season

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Pittsburgh Pirates 1933 team photo
1933 Pittsburgh Pirates season
OwnerArt Rooney
Head coachForrest Douds
Home fieldForbes Field
Results
Record3–6–2
Division place5th Eastern Division
Playoff finishDid not qualify

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]

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

[edit]

Schedule

[edit]
Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Recap
1 September 20 New York Giants L 2–23 0–1 Forbes Field Recap
2 September 27 Chicago Cardinals W 14–13 1–1 Forbes Field Recap
3 October 4 Boston Redskins L 6–21 1–2 Forbes Field Recap
4 October 11 Cincinnati Reds W 17–3 2–2 Forbes Field Recap
5 October 15 at Green Bay Packers L 0–47 2–3 City Stadium Recap
6 October 22 at Cincinnati Reds T 0–0 2–3–1 Redland Field Recap
7 October 29 at Boston Redskins W 16–14 3–3–1 Fenway Park Recap
8 November 5 at Brooklyn Dodgers T 3–3 3–3–2 Ebbets Field Recap
9 November 12 Brooklyn Dodgers L 0–32 3–4–2 Forbes Field Recap
10 November 19 at Philadelphia Eagles L 6–25 3–5–2 Baker Bowl Recap
11 Bye
12 December 3 at New York Giants L 3-27 3–6–2 Polo Grounds Recap
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Standings

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NFL Eastern Division
W L T PCT DIV PF PA STK
New York Giants 11 3 0 .786 7–1 244 101 W7
Brooklyn Dodgers 5 4 1 .556 2–2–1 93 54 L2
Boston Redskins 5 5 2 .500 2–3 103 97 T1
Philadelphia Eagles 3 5 1 .375 1–2 77 158 L2
Pittsburgh Pirates 3 6 2 .333 1–5–1 67 208 L3
Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings until 1972.

Game summaries

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

[edit]
1 2 3 4 Total
Giants 0 7 0 16 23
Pirates 0 0 0 2 2

at Forbes Field, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

  • Game time:
  • Game weather:
  • Game attendance: 20,000
  • Referee:
  • TV announcers:

Scoring drives:

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

[edit]
1 2 3 4 Total
Cardinals 6 7 0 0 13
Pirates 0 7 0 7 14

at Forbes Field, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

  • Game time:
  • Game weather:
  • Game attendance: 5,000
  • Referee:
  • TV announcers:

Scoring drives:

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

[edit]
1 2 3 4 Total
Redskins 7 0 7 7 21
Pirates 0 0 0 6 6

at Forbes Field, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

  • Game time:
  • Game weather:
  • Game attendance: 15,000
  • Referee:
  • TV announcers:

Scoring drives:

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

[edit]
1 2 3 4 Total
Reds 3 0 0 0 3
Pirates 7 0 0 10 17

at Forbes Field, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

  • Game time:
  • Game weather:
  • Game attendance: 5,000
  • Referee:
  • TV announcers:

Scoring drives:

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

[edit]
1 2 3 4 Total
Pirates 0 0 0 0 0
Packers 7 20 13 7 47

at City Stadium, Green Bay, Wisconsin

  • Game time:
  • Game weather:
  • Game attendance: 4,000
  • Referee:
  • TV announcers:

Scoring drives:

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

[edit]
1 2 3 4 Total
Pirates 0 0 0 0 0
Reds 0 0 0 0 0

at Redland Field, Cincinnati, Ohio

  • Game time:
  • Game weather:
  • Game attendance:
  • Referee:
  • TV announcers:

Scoring drives:

  • none

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

[edit]
1 2 3 4 Total
Pirates 0 9 7 0 16
Redskins 7 0 0 7 14

at Fenway Park, Boston, Massachusetts

  • Game time:
  • Game weather:
  • Game attendance: 7,500
  • Referee:
  • TV announcers:

Scoring drives:

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

[edit]
1 2 3 4 Total
Pirates 0 0 0 3 3
Dodgers 3 0 0 0 3

at Ebbets Field, Brooklyn, New York

  • Game time:
  • Game weather:
  • Game attendance: 15,000
  • Referee:
  • TV announcers:

Scoring drives:

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

[edit]
1 2 3 4 Total
Dodgers 6 7 13 6 32
Pirates 0 0 0 0 0

at Forbes Field, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

  • Game time:
  • Game weather:
  • Game attendance: 12,000
  • Referee:
  • TV announcers:

Scoring drives:

  • Brooklyn – Kelly 15 run (kick failed)
  • Brooklyn – Kelly 70 punt return (Hickman kick)
  • Brooklyn – Nash 61 pass from Cagle (kick failed)
  • Brooklyn – Kelly 2 run (Kelly kick)
  • Brooklyn – Fishel 7 run (kick failed)

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

[edit]
1 2 3 4 Total
Pirates 0 0 0 6 6
Eagles 6 0 13 6 25

at Baker Bowl, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

  • Game time:
  • Game weather:
  • Game attendance: 6,000
  • Referee:
  • TV announcers:

Scoring drives:

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

[edit]
1 2 3 4 Total
Pirates 0 3 0 0 3
Giants 0 0 7 20 27

at Polo Grounds, New York City

  • Game time:
  • Game weather:
  • Game attendance: 10,000
  • Referee:
  • TV announcers:

Scoring drives:

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c d e Tom Bennett et al. (eds.), The NFL's Official Encyclopedic History of Professional Football. New York: Macmillan Publishing Co., 1977; p. 200.
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