1933 Pittsburgh Pirates (NFL) season

The 1933 Pittsburgh Pirates was the debut season of the team that would eventually become the Pittsburgh Steelers. The team was founded after Pennsylvania relaxed its blue laws that, prior to 1933, prohibited sporting events from taking place on Sundays, when most NFL games took place. The new squad was composed largely of local semi-pro players, many of whom played for sports promoter Art Rooney. Rooney became the Pirates owner, paying the NFL a $2,500 fee to join the league. Except for a brief period in 1940 and '41, Rooney would remain the franchise's principal owner until his death in 1988. The Rooney family has retained a controlling interest ever since. The team 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.

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 team finished 3–6–2 for the season.

Pittsburgh Pirates 1933 team photo

Regular season

Schedule
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
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

Week 1 (Wednesday September 20, 1933): New York Giants
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
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
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
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
1 2 3 4 Total
Pirates 0 0 0 0 0
Packers 7 20 13 7 47

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
1 2 3 4 Total
Pirates 0 0 0 0 0
Reds 0 0 0 0 0

at Redland Field, Cincinnati

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

Scoring drives:

  • none

Week 7 (Sunday October 29, 1933): at Boston Redskins
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
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
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
1 2 3 4 Total
Pirates 0 0 0 6 6
Eagles 6 0 13 6 25

at Baker Bowl, Philadelphia

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

Scoring drives:

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