1934 Pittsburgh Pirates (NFL) season

2nd season of NFL team Pittsburgh Steelers November 2013 March 2026 Pittsburgh Pirates (NFL) 1934 2–10 5th NFL Eastern Luby DiMeolo Art Rooney Forbes Field Did not qualify Pittsburgh Pirates Pirates seasons thumb|right|400px|Official team photo of the 1934 Pittsburgh Pirates. The 1934 Pittsburgh Pirates season was the team's second season following its formation during the previous year. The team, which would later be renamed the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1940, began the season with a new head coach, Luby DiMeolo. Despite the change in leadership, the Pirates once again finished in 5th place in the NFL's Eastern Division. The Pirates endured a dismal 2–10 season, during which they were shut out in six games and scored more than 10 points in only two games. A notable storyline from the season was the arrival of All-Pro and future Hall of Famer Johnny Blood, who joined the team for one season after playing with the Green Bay Packers. However, McNally's time with the Pirates had little impact, and he returned to the Packers the following season. Another defining feature of the 1934 Pirates was their "jailbird" uniforms. These uniforms, which featured horizontal stripes, were mocked by opponents and fans alike, as the team was frequently compared to convicts. While the modern-day Pittsburgh Steelers wore a throwback version of these uniforms from 2012 to 2016 (albeit with updated black and gold colors, leading to the "bumblebee" nickname), the original "jailbird" uniforms were only used during the 1934 season due to widespread ridicule. Regular season Schedule Week Date Opponent Result Record 1 September 9 Cincinnati Reds W 13–0 1–0 2 September 16 Boston Redskins L 0–7 1–1 3 September 26 Philadelphia Eagles L 0–17 1–2 4 October 3 New York Giants L 12–14 1–3 5 October 7 at Philadelphia Eagles W 9–7 2–3 6 October 10 Chicago Bears L 0–28 2–4 7 October 14 at Boston Redskins L 0–39 2–5 8 October 21 at New York Giants L 7–17 2–6 9 October 28 at Brooklyn Dodgers L 3–21 2–7 10 November 4 at Detroit Lions L 7–40 2–8 11 November 11 at St. Louis Gunners L 0–6 2–9 12 November 18 Brooklyn Dodgers L 0–10 2–10 Standings Game summaries Week 1 (Sunday September 9, 1934): Cincinnati Reds Reds 0 0 0 0 Pirates 0 7 0 6 at Forbes Field, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Game time: Game weather: Game attendance: 14,164 Referee: TV announcers: Scoring drives: Pittsburgh – Clark 27 lateral from Sorlet after pass from Heller (Kelsch kick) Pittsburgh – FG Kelsch 13 Pittsburgh – FG Niccolai 13 Week 2 (Sunday September 16, 1934): Boston Redskins Redskins 0 0 7 0 Pirates 0 0 0 0 at Forbes Field, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Game time: Game weather: Game attendance: 17,171 Referee: TV announcers: Scoring drives: Boston – Malone 16 pass from Hokuf (Battles kick) Week 3 (Wednesday September 26, 1934): Philadelphia Eagles Eagles 0 7 7 3 Pirates 0 0 0 0 at Forbes Field, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Game time: Game weather: Game attendance: 11,559 Referee: TV announcers: Scoring drives: Philadelphia – Hanson 16 run (Hanson kick) Philadelphia – Hanson 34 pass from Kirkman (Hajek kick) Philadelphia – FG Wiener 17 Week 4 (Wednesday October 3, 1934): New York Giants Giants 7 0 7 0 Pirates 6 6 0 0 at Forbes Field, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Game time: Game weather: Game attendance: 13,020 Referee: TV announcers: Scoring drives: New York – Badgro 25 pass from Newman (Newman kick) Pittsburgh – Skladany 28 pass from Heller (kick failed) Pittsburgh – Heller 2 run (kick failed) New York – Strong 7 run (Newman kick) Week 5 (Sunday October 7, 1934): Philadelphia Eagles Pirates 3 0 0 6 Eagles 0 0 0 7 at Baker Bowl, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Game time: Game weather: Game attendance: 9,000 Referee: TV announcers: Scoring drives: Pittsburgh – FG Niccolai 28 Pittsburgh – Brovelli 5 run (kick blocked) Philadelphia – Gonya 4 pass from Barnhardt (Kirkman kick) Week 6 (Wednesday October 10, 1934): Chicago Bears Bears 7 7 0 14 Pirates 0 0 0 0 at Forbes Field, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Game time: Game weather: Game attendance: 19,386 Referee: TV announcers: Scoring drives: Chicago – Ronzani 6 pass from Burmbaugh (Manders kick) Chicago – Feathers 82 run (Manders kick) Chicago – Molesworth 2 run (Manders kick) Chicago – Johnsos 3 pass from Molesworth (Manders kick) Week 7 (Sunday October 14, 1934): Boston Redskins Pirates 0 0 0 0 Redskins 13 6 20 0 at Fenway Park, Boston, Massachusetts Game time: Game weather: Game attendance: 15,515 Referee: TV announcers: Scoring drives: Boston – Malone pass from Hokuf (kick failed) Boston – Battles run (Wright kick) Boston – Battles 19 run (kick failed) Boston – Wright 59 run (Wright kick) Boston – Pinckert run (kick failed) Boston – McPhail 14 fumble return (McPhail kick) Week 8 (Sunday October 21, 1934): New York Giants Pirates 0 0 0 7 Giants 3 0 7 7 at Polo Grounds, New York, New York Game time: Game weather: Game attendance: 11,000 Referee: TV announcers: Scoring drives: New York – FG Strong 44 New York – Strong 2 run (Strong kick) New York – Smith 3 run (Molenda kick) Pittsburgh – Sortet 21 pass from Vaughn (Kelsck kick) Week 9 (Sunday October 28, 1934): Brooklyn Dodgers Pirates 3 0 0 0 Dodgers 7 0 0 14 at Ebbets Field, Brooklyn, New York Game time: Game weather: Game attendance: 8,000 Referee: TV announcers: Scoring drives: Brooklyn – Grossman 72-yard punt return (Kercheval kick) Pittsburgh – FG Niccolai 50 yards Brooklyn – Grossman 26-yard pass from Cagle (Kercheval kick) Brooklyn – Kercheval 15-yard pass from Montgomery (Kercheval kick) This game was the first in NFL history in which neither team committed a single penalty.http://www.profootballhof.com/history/2013/10/24/fact-or-fiction-theres-never-been-a-nfl-game-without-any-penalties/ Fact or Fiction? There's never been a NFL game without any penalties Pro Football Hall of Fame October 27, 2013 Week 10 (Sunday November 4, 1934): Detroit Lions Pirates 7 0 0 6 Lions 7 13 13 7 at University of Detroit Stadium, Detroit, Michigan Game time: Game weather: Game attendance: 6,000 Referee: TV announcers: Scoring drives: Pittsburgh – Skladany 62 pass from Vaughn (Niccolai kick) Detroit – F. Christensen 1 run (Clark kick) Detroit – Clark 45 run (kick failed) Detroit – Ebding 37 pass from Caddel (Clark kick) Week 11 (Sunday November 11, 1934): St. Louis Gunners Pirates 0 0 0 0 Gunners 0 6 0 0 at Sportsman's Park, St. Louis, Missouri Game time: Game weather: Game attendance: 13,678 Referee: TV announcers: Scoring drives: St. Louis – FG Senn 35 St. Louis – FG Alford 12 Week 12 (Sunday November 18, 1934): Brooklyn Dodgers Dodgers 0 0 10 0 Pirates 0 0 0 0 at Forbes Field, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Game time: Game weather: Game attendance: 9,087 Referee: TV announcers: Scoring drives: Brooklyn – Kercheval 23 pass from Cagle (Kercheval kick) Brooklyn – FG Kercheval 22 References Roster Player Age Pos G GS Wt Ht College/Univ Birth Date Yrs Angelo Brovelli 24 B 5 5 193 6’0 St. Mary's (CA) August 21, 1910 1 Ben Ciccone 25 C 11 0 197 5’10 Duquesne October 10, 1909 R James Clark – B 9 3 170 5’9 Pittsburgh unknown 1 Jack Dempsey 22 T 1 1 225 6’2 Bucknell March 12, 1912 R Jap Douds 29 T-G-C 11 8 216 5’10 Washington & Jefferson April 21, 1905 4 Norm Greeney 24 G 11 3 212 5’11 Notre Dame May 7, 1910 1 Warren Heller 24 HB-TB 12 12 195 5’11 Pittsburgh November 24, 1910 R George Kavel 24 HB 1 1 170 5’11 Carnegie Mellon March 3, 1910 R Mose Kelsch 37 FB-HB 8 0 223 5’10 none January 31, 1897 1 Zvonimir Kvaternik 23 G 1 0 210 5’11 Kansas October 18, 1911 R Jim Levey 28 B 1 1 156 5’10 none September 13, 1906 R Basilio Marchi 25 G-C 5 4 220 6’2 NYU July 14, 1909 R Harry Marker 24 B 1 0 155 5’6 West Virginia September 17, 1910 R Johnny Blood 31 TB-HB-WB-BB-DB 5 1 188 6’1 N.D., St. John's (MN), Wis-River Falls November 27, 1903 9 Buster Mott 25 B 1 0 193 5’8 Georgia June 21, 1909 1 Armand Niccolai 23 T-G 12 12 226 6’2 Duquesne November 8, 1911 R Cap Oehler 24 C-LB 12 12 204 6’0 Purdue August 5, 1910 1 Bill Potts – HB 1 0 200 Villanova unknown R Jess Quatse 26 T 12 12 226 5’11 Pittsburgh April 4, 1908 1 Alex Rado 23 HB-DB 8 4 200 6’1 West Virginia Tech July 19, 1911 R Peter Rajkovich 23 FB-LB 3 3 190 5’10 Detroit Mercy January 17, 1911 R Dave Ribble 27 G-T 10 8 225 6’1 Hardin-Simmons March 28, 1907 2 Jack Roberts 24 B 6 0 210 6’0 Georgia September 27, 1910 2 Pete Saumer 24 B 3 0 195 6’1 St. Olaf April 30, 1910 R Joe Skladany 23 E 12 12 210 5’10 Pittsburgh May 25, 1911 R Ben Smith 23 E-BB-DE 11 10 208 6’3 Alabama June 16, 1911 1 Bill Snyder 23 G 5 0 230 6’2 Ohio October 29, 1911 R Bill Sortet 22 E 12 1 187 6’1 West Virginia June 25, 1912 1 Ray Tesser 22 E-DE 12 1 204 6’2 Carnegie Mellon June 2, 1912 1 Harp Vaughan 31 B 11 7 150 5’7 none November 19, 1903 1 Henry Weinberg 24 G-T 8 1 190 5’7 Duquesne March 4, 1910 R Silvio Zaninelli 21 B 11 11 207 5’10 Duquesne December 9, 1913 R Category:Pittsburgh Steelers seasons Pittsburgh Pirates Category:1934 in sports in Pennsylvania Category:1930s in Pittsburgh