411 REFERENCE · Wikipedia
1963 Pittsburgh Steelers season
Reference material by Wikipedia contributors. This retains its source identity and is not 411 news reporting.
Steelers 31st US football season
August 2023
March 2026
Pittsburgh Steelers 1963 7–4–3 4th NFL Eastern Art Rooney Buddy Parker Forbes Field (four games) Pitt Stadium (three games) Did not qualify Steelers seasons
The 1963 Pittsburgh Steelers season was the team's 31st in the National Football League (NFL). The Steelers won seven games, lost four, and tied three to finish fourth in the Eastern Conference. It was also their final season of splitting home games between Forbes Field and Pitt Stadium before moving all of their home games to the latter for the next six seasons.
In the second game of the season, the Steelers shut out the New York Giants 31–0 in the home opener at Pitt Stadium.https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=YMZaAAAAIBAJ&sjid=L2wDAAAAIBAJ&pg=5587%2C3717761 Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Sell Jack Steelers shut out Giants, 31-0 September 23, 1963 1 The Giants had won the conference title the previous two seasons and four of the last five, but were without hall of fame quarterback Y. A. Tittle.
Because tie games were not included in NFL standings at the time (for winning percentage), the Steelers had a chance to win the conference title and advance to their first-ever NFL Championship Game. They needed to defeat the Giants at Yankee Stadium in the season finale,https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=3dUiAAAAIBAJ&sjid=-U4EAAAAIBAJ&pg=6231%2C6142409 Pittsburgh Press Livingston Pat Steelers battle Giants for title December 15, 1963 1, sports but lost 33–17 and fell to fourth;https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=csZaAAAAIBAJ&sjid=OmwDAAAAIBAJ&pg=5370%2C2554603 Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Sell Jack Giants end Steeler hopes, 33-17 December 16, 1963 1https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=xsAbAAAAIBAJ&sjid=_U4EAAAAIBAJ&pg=6176%2C170552 Pittsburgh Press Livingston Pat Gifford turns tide for Giants December 16, 1963 35 it was their last winning season until 1972.
This year marked the debut of the Steelers' trademark black helmets with their logo on one side of the helmet. They had used the logo previously on yellow helmets, but 1963 was the first season in which their now-signature look was used full-time in the regular season.http://www.gridiron-uniforms.com/1963.html 1963 NFL season at Gridiron Uniform Database 2013-11-10 https://web.archive.org/web/20131016223614/http://www.gridiron-uniforms.com/1963.html 2013-10-16 dead
Prior to the season in May, defensive tackle Big Daddy Lipscomb died of an overdose of heroin at age 31;https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=ahoNAAAAIBAJ&sjid=KWwDAAAAIBAJ&pg=1416%2C1730082 Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Associated Press Grid star Lipscomb dies, narcotics use suspected May 11, 1963 1https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=CQ8nAAAAIBAJ&sjid=_-IDAAAAIBAJ&pg=6938%2C1705662 Eugene Register-Guard Oregon Associated Press Lipscomb dies under mysterious circumstances May 10, 1963 2Bhttps://news.google.com/newspapers?id=sEoqAAAAIBAJ&sjid=7k4EAAAAIBAJ&pg=1988%2C5475105 Pittsburgh Press UPI Heroin caused Lipscomb death May 15, 1963 1https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=95I8AAAAIBAJ&sjid=7SkMAAAAIBAJ&pg=3264%2C38439191 Baltimore Afro-American Maryland New law may result in freedom July 27, 1963 1 his final game was the Pro Bowl in January 1963, in which he was named the lineman of the game.https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=C5xRAAAAIBAJ&sjid=HmwDAAAAIBAJ&pg=6872%2C1899844 Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Associated Press East stars score 30-20 upset in Pro Bowl January 14, 1963 22https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=4RQrAAAAIBAJ&sjid=mpwFAAAAIBAJ&pg=3990%2C5717946 Reading Eagle Pennsylvania UPI Jim Brown helps Sherman defeat Lombardi January 14, 1963 14
Roster
1963 Pittsburgh Steelers 15 Ed Brown quarterback P
14 Bill Nelsen y
12 Terry Nofsinger 42 Dick Hoak
35 John Henry Johnson
33 Theron Sapp 85 Gary Ballman
86 John Burrell wide receiver
25 Roy Curry y
84 Buddy Dial
23 Red Mack 40 Preston Carpenter
88 John Powers tight end 63 Art Anderson T
71 Charlie Bradshaw offensive tackle T
77 Dan James American football T
72 Ray Lemek G
51 Buzz Nutter C
62 Mike Sandusky G
68 Ron Stehouwer G 73 Frank Atkinson American football y DT
78 John Baker DE
74 Lou Cordileone DT
75 Joe Krupa DT
79 Lou Michaels DE/K
70 Ernie Stautner DE 66 Myron Pottios MLB
50 John Reger OLB
56 Bob Rowley y OLB
36 Andy Russell American football y OLB
67 Bob Schmitz OLB 24 Jim Bradshaw y FS
44 Willie Daniel CB
43 Glenn Glass CB
27 Dick Haley SS
26 Brady Keys CB
28 Clendon Thomas FS
Regular season
Schedule
Game Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance 1 September 15 at Philadelphia Eagles T 21–21 0–0–1Franklin Field58,205 2 September 22 New York Giants W 31–0 1–0–1Pitt Stadium46,068 3 September 29 St. Louis Cardinals W 23–10 2–0–1Forbes Field28,225 4 October 5, 1963 at Cleveland Browns L 23–35 2–1–1Cleveland Stadium84,684 5 October 13 at St. Louis Cardinals L 23–24 2–2–1Busch Stadium (I)23,715 6 October 20 Washington Redskins W 38–27 3–2–1Pitt Stadium41,987 7 October 27 Dallas Cowboys W 27–21 4–2–1Forbes Field19,047 8 November 3 at Green Bay Packers L 14–33 4–3–1Milwaukee County Stadium46,293 9 November 10 Cleveland Browns W 9–7 5–3–1Pitt Stadium54,497 10 November 17 at Washington Redskins W 34–28 6–3–1D.C. Stadium49,219 11 November 24 Chicago Bears T 17–17 6–3–2Forbes Field36,465 12 December 1 Philadelphia Eagles T 20–20 6–3–3Forbes Field15,721 13 December 8 at Dallas Cowboys W 24–19 7–3–3Cotton Bowl24,136 14 December 15 at New York Giants L 17–33 7–4–3Yankee Stadium (I)63,240
Game summaries
Week 1 (Sunday September 15, 1963): Philadelphia Eagles
Steelers 0 6 0 15 Eagles 7 0 7 7
at Franklin Field, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Game time:
Game weather:
Game attendance: 58,205
Referee: Bill Downes
TV announcers:
Scoring Drives:
Philadelphia – McDonald 13 pass from Jurgensen (Clark kick)
Pittsburgh – FG Michaels 38
Pittsburgh – FG Michaels 50
Philadelphia – Smith 6 pass from Jurgensen (Clark kick)
Pittsburgh – FG Michaels 17
Pittsburgh – Johnson 1 run (kick failed)
Philadelphia – McDonald 75 pass from Jurgensen (Clark kick)
Pittsburgh – Johnson 11 pass from Brown (kick failed)
Week 2 (Sunday September 22, 1963): New York Giants
Giants 0 0 0 0 Steelers 0 10 0 21
at Pitt Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Game time:
Game weather:
Game attendance: 46,068
Referee:
TV announcers:
Scoring Drives:
Pittsburgh – Hoak 1 run (Michaels kick)
Pittsburgh – FG Michaels 11
Pittsburgh – Hoak 2 pass from Brown (Michaels kick)
Pittsburgh – Johnson 1 run (Michaels kick)
Pittsburgh – Dial 46 pass from Brown (Michaels kick)
Week 3 (Sunday September 29, 1963): St. Louis Cardinals
Cardinals 7 0 3 0 Steelers 3 3 0 17
at Forbes Field, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Game time:
Game weather:
Game attendance: 28,225
Referee:
TV announcers:
Scoring Drives:
St. Louis – Triplett 63 run (Bakken kick)
Pittsburgh – FG Michaels 21
Pittsburgh – FG Michaels 40
St. Louis – FG Bakken 28
Pittsburgh – Hoak 1 run (Michaels kick)
Pittsburgh – FG Michaels 21
Pittsburgh – Ferguson 4 run (Michaels kick)
Week 4 (Saturday October 5, 1963): Cleveland Browns
Steelers 3 17 3 0 Browns 7 7 7 21
at Cleveland Municipal Stadium, Cleveland, Ohio
Game time:
Game weather:
Game attendance: 84,684
Referee:
TV announcers:
Scoring Drives:
Pittsburgh – FG Michaels 18
Cleveland – Brown 8 run (Groza kick)
Pittsburgh – FG Michaels 8
Pittsburgh – Dial 24 pass from Brown (Michaels kick)
Cleveland – Collins 15 pass from Ryan (Groza kick)
Pittsburgh – Dial 41 pass from Brown (Michaels kick)
Cleveland – Ryan 13 run (Groza kick)
Pittsburgh – FG Michaels 8
Cleveland – Collins 20 pass from Ryan (Groza kick)
Cleveland – Krietling 19 pass from Ryan (Groza kick)
Week 5 (Sunday October 13, 1963): St. Louis Cardinals
Steelers 3 17 3 0 Cardinals 3 0 7 14
at Busch Stadium, St. Louis, Missouri
Game time:
Game weather:
Game attendance: 23,715
Referee:
TV announcers:
Scoring Drives:
St. Louis – FG Bakken 44
Pittsburgh – FG Michaels 45
Pittsburgh – Mack 83 pass from Brown (Michaels kick)
Pittsburgh – FG Michaels 47
Pittsburgh – Brown 1 run (Michaels kick)
Week 6 (Sunday October 20, 1963): Washington Redskins
Redskins 3 14 7 3 Steelers 7 10 7 14
at Pitt Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Game time:
Game weather:
Game attendance: 41,987
Referee:
TV announcers:
Pittsburgh – Brown 1 run (Michaels kick)
Washington – FG Khayat 49
Pittsburgh – Hoak 8 run (Michaels kick)
Pittsburgh – FG Michaels 9
Washington – Snead 1 run (Khayat kick)
Washington – James 36 pass from Snead (Khayat kick)
Washington – James 5 run (Khayat kick)
Pittsburgh – Hoak 1 run (Michaels kick)
Washington – FG Khayat 15
Pittsburgh – Haley 24 interception return (Michaels kick)
Pittsburgh – Dial 4 pass from Brown (Michaels kick)
Week 7 (Sunday October 27, 1963): Dallas Cowboys
Cowboys 7 7 7 0 Steelers 0 6 7 14
at Forbes Field, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Game time:
Game weather:
Game attendance: 19,047
Referee:
TV announcers:
Scoring Drives:
Dallas – Clarke 5 pass from Meredith (Baker kick)
Dallas – Folkins 35 pass from Meredith (Baker kick)
Pittsburgh – Dial 83 pass from Browns (kick failed)
Dallas – Howton 13 pass from Meredith (Baker kick)
Pittsburgh – Dial 25 pass from Brown (Tracy kick)
Pittsburgh – Dial 14 pass from Brown (Tracy kick)
Pittsburgh – Mack 85 pass from Brown (Michaels kick)Dallas Cowboys at Pittsburgh Steelers - October 27th, 1963
Week 8 (Sunday November 3, 1963): Green Bay Packers
Steelers 7 0 0 7 Packers 3 6 14 10
at Milwaukee County Stadium, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Game time:
Game weather:
Game attendance:
Referee:
TV announcers:
Scoring Drives:
Pittsburgh – Hoak 2 run (Michaels kick)
Green Bay – FG Kramer 23
Green Bay – FG Kramer 36
Green Bay – FG Kramer 12
Green Bay – Taylor 1 run (Kramer kick)
Green Bay – Pitts 2 run (Kramer kick)
Green Bay – FG Kramer 37
Pittsburgh – Mack 33 pass from Brown (Michaels kick)
Green Bay – Pitts 1 run (Kramer kick)
Week 9 (Sunday November 10, 1963): Cleveland Browns
Browns 0 7 0 0 Steelers 0 0 2 7
at Pitt Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Game time:
Game weather:
Game attendance: 54,497
Referee:
TV announcers:
Scoring Drives:
Cleveland – Collins 4 pass from Ryan (Groza kick)
Pittsburgh – Safety, Brown tackled by Schmitz in end zone
Pittsburgh – Ballman 9 pass from Brown (Michaels kick)
Week 10 (Sunday November 17, 1963): Washington Redskins
Steelers 7 7 10 10 Redskins 7 7 0 14
at D.C. Stadium, Washington, DC
Game time:
Game weather:
Game attendance: 42,219
Referee:
TV announcers:
Scoring Drives:
Washington – Crabb 53 interception return (Khayat kick)
Pittsburgh – Johnson 3 run (Michaels kick)
Washington – Mitchell 19 pass from Snead (Khayat kick)
Pittsburgh – Ballman 67 pass from Brown (Khayat kick)
Pittsburgh – Johnson 1 run (Michaels kick)
Pittsburgh – FG Michaels 27
Washington – Mitchell 20 pass from Barnes (Khayat kick)
Pittsburgh – FG Michaels 18
Washington – Richter 21 pass from Snead (Khayat kick)
Pittsburgh – Ballman 92 kickoff return (Michaels kick)
Week 11 (Sunday November 24, 1963): Chicago Bears
Bears 7 7 0 3 Steelers 0 14 0 3
at Forbes Field, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Game time:
Game weather:
Game attendance: 36,465
Referee:
TV announcers:
Scoring Drives:
Chicago – Galimore 1 run (Jencks kick)
Pittsburgh – Hoak 6 run (Michaels kick)
Chicago – Bull 1 run (Jencks kick)
Pittsburgh – Curry 31 pass from Brown (Michaels kick)
Pittsburgh – FG Michaels 11
Chicago – FG Leclerc 18
Week 12 (Sunday December 1, 1963): Philadelphia Eagles
Eagles 0 14 3 3 Steelers 0 3 0 17
at Forbes Field, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Game time:
Game weather:
Game attendance: 15,721
Referee:
TV announcers:
Scoring Drives:
Pittsburgh – FG Michaels 10
Philadelphia – Retzlaff 24 pass from Hill (Clark kick)
Philadelphia – Brown 14 run (Clark kick)
Philadelphia – FG Clark 23
Pittsburgh – Ballman 57 pass from Brown (Michaels kick)
Philadelphia – FG Clark 40
Pittsburgh – Ballman 8 pass from Brown (Michaels kick)
Pittsburgh – FG Michaels 24
Week 13 (Sunday December 8, 1963): Dallas Cowboys
Steelers 0 17 0 7 Cowboys 9 0 10 0
at Cotton Bowl, Dallas, Texas
Game time:
Game weather:
Game attendance: 24,136
Referee:
TV announcers:
Scoring Drives:
Dallas – FG Baker 53
Dallas – Meredith 2 run (kick failed)
Pittsburgh – Dial 55 pass from Brown (Michaels kick)
Pittsburgh – Carpenter 28 pass from Brown (Michaels kick)
Pittsburgh – FG Michaels 24
Dallas – FG Baker 46
Dallas – Meredith 4 run (Baker kick)
Pittsburgh – Sapp 24 run (Michaels kick)
Week 14 (December 15, 1963): New York Giants
Steelers 0 3 14 0 Giants 9 7 14 3
at Yankee Stadium, The Bronx, New York
Game time:
Game weather:
Game attendance: 63,240
Referee:
TV announcers:
Scoring Drives:
New York Giants – FG Chandler 34
New York Giants – Shotner 41 pass from Tittle (kick failed)
New York Giants – Morrison 3 pass from Tittle (Chandler kick)
Pittsburgh – FG Michaels 27
Pittsburgh – Ballman 21 pass from Brown (Michaels kick)
New York Giants – Morrison 22 pass from Tittle (Chandler kick)
New York Giants – Morrison 1 run (Chandler kick)
Pittsburgh – Dial 40 pass from Brown (Michaels kick)
New York Giants – FG Chandler 41
Standings
References
External links
1963 Pittsburgh Steelers season at Pro-Football-Reference.com
1963 Pittsburgh Steelers at JT-SW.com
Category:Pittsburgh Steelers seasons
Pittsburgh Steelers
Pittsburgh Steel