1933 Pittsburgh Pirates (NFL) season

Inaugural season of NFL team Pittsburgh Steelers November 2013 March 2026 Pittsburgh Pirates (NFL) 1933 3–6–2 5th Eastern Division Art Rooney Forrest Douds Forbes Field Did not qualify none true Pittsburgh Pirates Pirates seasons thumb|right|400px|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.Tom Bennett et al. (eds.), The NFL's Official Encyclopedic History of Professional Football. New York: Macmillan Publishing Co., 1977; p. 200. Rooney named the team "Pirates." Home games were scheduled for Forbes Field, stadium used by the baseball Pirates. 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. Rooney slyly circumvented the law by providing the superintendent of police with free box seats. 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 Game Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance Recap Sources — September 13 Cincinnati Reds Postponed due to rain "Portsmouth Invades Cincinnati for Game," Green Bay Press Gazette, Sept. 16, 1933, p. 15. 1 September 20, 1933 New York Giants L 2–23 0–1 Forbes Field 20,000 Recap 2 September 27, 1933 Chicago Cardinals W 14–13 1–1 Forbes Field 5,000 Recap 3 October 4, 1933 Boston Redskins L 6–21 1–2 Forbes Field 15,000 Recap 4 October 11, 1933 Cincinnati Reds W 17–3 2–2 Forbes Field 5,000 Recap 5 October 15 at Green Bay Packers L 0–47 2–3 City Stadium 4,000 Recap 6 October 22 at Cincinnati Reds T 0–0 2–3–1 Redland Field 900 Recap 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. 7 October 29 at Boston Redskins W 16–14 3–3–1 Fenway Park 7,500 Recap 8 November 5 at Brooklyn Dodgers T 3–3 3–3–2 Ebbets Field 15,000 Recap 9 November 12 Brooklyn Dodgers L 0–32 3–4–2 Forbes Field 12,000 Recap 10 November 19 at Philadelphia Eagles L 6–25 3–5–2 Baker Bowl 6,000 Recap — Bye 11 December 3 at New York Giants L 3-27 3–6–2 Polo Grounds 10,000 Recap Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text. Roster 1933 Pittsburgh Pirates final roster Backs 29 Angelo Brovelli RB/CB/S/K 27 James Clark RB/CB 36 Tony Holm FB/LB 38 Walt Holmer RB/CB/S 37 Mose Kelsch FB/LB/K 39 Elmer Schwartz FB/LB 21 Harp Vaughan RB/CB/S Ends/Receivers 22 Ted Dailey 30 Paul Moss 20 Bill Sortet 40 Ray Tesser Linemen 44 Corrie Artman T/DT 34 Larry Critchfield G/DG 28 Nick DeCarbo G/DG 46 Forrest Douds T/DT 35 Clarence Janecek G/DG 45 Ray Kemp T/DT 32 Mose Lantz C/MG 33 Cap Oehler C/MG 48 Jess Quatse T/DT 43 Don Rhodes T/DT Rookies in italics Standings Game summaries Week 1 (Wednesday September 20, 1933): New York Giants Giants 0 7 0 16 Pirates 0 0 0 2 at Forbes Field, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Game time: Game weather: Game attendance: 20,000 Referee: TV announcers: Scoring drives: New York – Strong 33 interception (Strong kick) Pittsburgh – Safety, Strong punt blocked out of end zone by Oehler New York – Newman 5 run (Strong kick) New York – FG Newman 39 New York – Burnett 37 pass from Newman (kick failed) Week 2 (Wednesday September 27, 1933): Chicago Cardinals Cardinals 6 7 0 0 Pirates 0 7 0 7 at Forbes Field, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Game time: Game weather: Game attendance: 5,000 Referee: TV announcers: Scoring drives: Chicago Cardinals – McNally 51 intercepted lateral (kick failed) Chicago Cardinals – Moe 35 pass from Lillard (Lillard kick) Pittsburgh – Kottler 99 interception (Kelsch kick) Pittsburgh – Moss 11 pass from Tanguay (Kelsch kick) Week 3 (Wednesday October 4, 1933): Boston Redskins Redskins 7 0 7 7 Pirates 0 0 0 6 at Forbes Field, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Game time: Game weather: Game attendance: 15,000 Referee: TV announcers: Scoring drives: Boston – Battles 70 punt return (Musick kick) Boston – Musick 1 run (Musick kick) Boston – Holmer 1 run (LaPresta kick) Pittsburgh – Brovelli 1 run (kick failed) Week 4 (Wednesday October 11, 1933): Cincinnati Reds Reds 3 0 0 0 Pirates 7 0 0 10 at Forbes Field, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Game time: Game weather: Game attendance: 5,000 Referee: TV announcers: Scoring drives: Cincinnati – FG Clark 12 Pittsburgh – Westfall 2 run (Brovelli kick) Pittsburgh – FG Kelsch 36 Pittsburgh – Vaughan 3 run (Westfall kick) Week 5 (Sunday October 15, 1933): at Green Bay Packers Pirates 0 0 0 0 Packers 7 20 13 7 at City Stadium, Green Bay, Wisconsin Game time: Game weather: Game attendance: 4,000 Referee: TV announcers: Scoring drives: Green Bay – Hinkle 1 run (Monnett kick) Green Bay – Monnett 7 run (kick failed) Green Bay – Goldenberg 67 interception (Grove kick) Green Bay – Goldenberg 3 run (Monnett kick) Green Bay – Bruder 52 run (Herber kick) Green Bay – Monnett 12 run (kick failed) Green Bay – Englemann 40 lateral from Monnett after 9 pass from Herber (Monnett kick) Week 6 (Sunday October 22, 1933): at Cincinnati Reds Pirates 0 0 0 0 Reds 0 0 0 0 at Redland Field, Cincinnati, Ohio Game time: Game weather: Game attendance: 900 Referee: TV announcers: Scoring drives: none Week 7 (Sunday October 29, 1933): at Boston Redskins Pirates 0 9 7 0 Redskins 7 0 0 7 at Fenway Park, Boston, Massachusetts Game time: Game weather: Game attendance: 7,500 Referee: TV announcers: Scoring drives: Boston – Battles 5 run (Musick kick) Pittsburgh – Moss 30 pass from Holm (kick failed) Pittsburgh – FG Engebretsen 21 Pittsburgh – Westfall 60 pass from Holm (Brovelli kick) Boston – Weller run (Musick kick) Week 8 (Sunday November 5, 1933): at Brooklyn Dodgers Pirates 0 0 0 3 Dodgers 3 0 0 0 at Ebbets Field, Brooklyn, New York Game time: Game weather: Game attendance: 15,000 Referee: TV announcers: Scoring drives: Brooklyn – FG Hickman 30 Pittsburgh – FG Kelsch 15 Week 9 (Sunday November 12, 1933): Brooklyn Dodgers Dodgers 6 7 13 6 Pirates 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 Pirates 0 0 0 6 Eagles 6 0 13 6 at Baker Bowl, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Game time: Game weather: Game attendance: 6,000 Referee: TV announcers: Scoring drives: Philadelphia – Hanson run (kick failed) Philadelphia – Carter pass from Kirkman (Kirkman kick) Philadelphia – Carter pass from Kirkman (kick failed) Pittsburgh – Brovelli run (kick failed) Philadelphia – Woodruff run (kick failed) Week 12 (Sunday December 3, 1933): at New York Giants Pirates 0 3 0 0 Giants 0 0 7 20 at Polo Grounds, New York City Game time: Game weather: Game attendance: 10,000 Referee: TV announcers: Scoring drives: Pittsburgh – FG Kelsch 14 New York – Krause 20 pass from Strong (Strong kick) New York – Badgro 25 pass from Newman (kick failed) New York – Richards 14 pass from Newman (Richards kick) New York – Richards 22 run (Krause pass from Newman) References Category:Pittsburgh Steelers seasons 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