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1933 Pittsburgh Pirates season
Head Coach Forrest Douds
Home Field Forbes Field
Results
Record 3–6–2
Place 5th Eastern Division
Playoff Finish did not qualify
Timeline
Previous season Next season
N/A 1934

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 principle owner until his death in 1988. The Rooney family has retained a controlling interest ever since. The team would take 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 would get its first win, defeating the Chicago Cardinals at home 14–13.

The team would finish 3–6–2 for the season.

Regular season[]

Schedule[]

Week Date Opponent Result Game Site
1 September 20, 1933 New York Giants L 23–2 Forbes Field
2 September 27, 1933 Chicago Cardinals W 14–13 Forbes Field
3 October 4, 1933 Boston Redskins L 21–6 Forbes Field
4 October 11, 1933 Cincinnati Reds W 17–3 Forbes Field
5 October 15, 1933 Green Bay Packers L 47–0 City Stadium
6 October 22, 1933 Cincinnati Reds T 0–0 Redland Field
7 October 29, 1933 Boston Redskins W 16–14 Fenway Park
8 November 5, 1933 Brooklyn Dodgers T 3–3 Ebbets Field
9 November 12, 1933 Brooklyn Dodgers L 32–0 Forbes Field
10 November 19, 1933 Philadelphia Eagles L 25–6 Baker Bowl
11 December 3, 1933 New York Giants L 27–3 Polo Grounds

Standings[]

NFL Eastern
W L T PCT PF PA STK
New York Giants 11 3 0 .786 244 101 W-7
Brooklyn Dodgers 5 4 1 .556 93 54 L-2
Boston Redskins 5 5 2 .500 103 97 T-1
Philadelphia Eagles 3 5 1 .375 77 158 L-2
Pittsburgh Pirates 3 6 2 .333 67 208 L-3

Game summaries[]

Week 2 (Wednesday September 20, 1933): New York Giants[]

1 2 3 4 OT
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 3 (Wednesday September 27, 1933): Chicago Cardinals[]

1 2 3 4 OT
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:

  • Chicago CardinalsMcNally 51 intercepted lateral (kick failed)
  • Chicago CardinalsMoe 35 pass from Lillard (Lillard kick)
  • PittsburghKottler 99 interception (Kelsch kick)
  • PittsburghMoss 11 pass from Tanguay (Kelsch kick)

Week 4 (Wednesday October 4, 1933): Boston Redskins[]

1 2 3 4 OT
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:

  • BostonBattles 70 punt return (Musick kick)
  • BostonMusick 1 run (Musick kick)
  • BostonHolmer 1 run (LaPresta kick)
  • PittsburghBrovelli 1 run (kick failed)

Week 5 (Wednesday October 11, 1933): Cincinnati Reds[]

1 2 3 4 OT
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:

  • Cincinnati – FG Clark 12
  • PittsburghWestfall 2 run (Brovelli kick)
  • Pittsburgh – FG Kelsch 36
  • PittsburghVaughn 3 run (Westfall kick)

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

1 2 3 4 OT
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): Cincinnati Reds[]

1 2 3 4 OT
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): Boston Redskins[]

1 2 3 4 OT
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:

  • BostonBattles 5 run (Musick kick)
  • PittsburghMoss 30 pass from Holm (kick failed)
  • Pittsburgh – FG Engebretsen 21
  • PittsburghWestfall 60 pass from Holm (Brovelli kick)
  • BostonWeller run (Musick kick)

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

1 2 3 4 OT
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:

  • Brooklyn – FG Hickman 30
  • Pittsburgh – FG Kelsch 15

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

1 2 3 4 OT
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:

  • BrooklynKelly 15 run (kick failed)
  • BrooklynKelly 70 punt return (Hickman kick)
  • BrooklynNash 61 pass from Cagle (kick failed)
  • BrooklynKelly 2 run (Kelly kick)
  • BrooklynFishel 7 run (kick failed)

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

1 2 3 4 OT
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:

  • PhiladelphiaHanson run (kick failed)
  • PhiladelphiaCarter pass from Kirkman (Kirkman kick)
  • PhiladelphiaCarter pass from Davis (kick failed)
  • PittsburghBrovelli run (kick failed)
  • PhiladelphiaWoodruff run (kick failed)

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

1 2 3 4 OT
Pirates 0 3 0 0 3
Giants 0 0 7 20 27



at Polo Grounds, New York, New York

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

Scoring drives:

References[]

Eastern Division Western Division
Boston Chicago Bears
Brooklyn Chicago Cardinals
New York Cincinnati
Philadelphia Green Bay
Pittsburgh Portsmouth
NFL Championship
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