1939_Pittsburgh_Pirates_(NFL)_season
1939 Pittsburgh Pirates (NFL) season
NFL team season
The 1939 Pittsburgh Pirates season was the franchise's seventh season as a professional football club in the National Football League (NFL). The Pirates brought John McNally back for his third year, however, after finishing with a 2–9 record, Owner Art Rooney provided him with support by signing Walt Kiesling during the offseason. Despite this, the Pirates experienced their worst season yet, placing last in the league with a 1–9–1 record. The team just barely tallied a number in the win column, but during Week 11, they beat the Philadelphia Eagles. It was their first win at home in 9 games at Forbes Field (Week 10, 1937). It was also the final season for the franchise before becoming the "Steelers" the following season.
| 1939 Pittsburgh Pirates season | |
|---|---|
| Owner | Art Rooney |
| Head coach | John McNally, Walt Kiesling |
| Home field | Forbes Field |
| Local radio | KDKA |
| Results | |
| Record | 1–9–1 |
| Division place | 4th (tied) NFL Eastern |
| Playoff finish | Did not qualify |
| Pro Bowlers | Byron Gentry |
1939 NFL draft
| Draft order | Player name | Position | College | Notes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Round | Choice | Overall | ||||
| 1 | 2 | 2 | Sidney "Sid" Luckman | Quarterback | Columbia | Traded pick to Chicago |
| 2 | 1 | 11 | Clarence "Pug" Manders | Fullback | Drake | Traded pick to Brooklyn |
| 3 | 2 | 17 | Billy Patterson | Back | Baylor | Played 1 season for Steelers in 1940 |
| 4 | 1 | 26 | Hugh McCullough | Defensive back | Pittsburgh | Played 1 season for Pirates in 1939 |
| 5 | 2 | 32 | Ernie Wheeler | Back | North Dakota State | Played for Cards and Steelers in 1939 |
| 6 | 1 | 41 | Sam Boyd | End | Baylor | Played 3 seasons for Pirates/Steelers |
| 7 | 2 | 52 | Eddie Palumbo | Back | Detroit | |
| 8 | 1 | 61 | Ole Nelson | End | Michigan State | |
| 9 | 2 | 72 | Steve Petro | Guard | Pittsburgh | Played for Dodgers |
| 10 | 1 | 81 | Jack Lee | Back | Carnegie Mellon | |
| 11 | 2 | 92 | Lou Tomasetti | Back | Bucknell | |
| 12 | 1 | 101 | Denny Cochran | Back | Saint Louis | Played 3 seasons for Pirates/Steelers |
| 13 | 2 | 112 | Fabian Hoffman | End | Pittsburgh | |
| 14 | 1 | 121 | Ed Clary | Back | South Carolina | |
| 15 | 2 | 132 | John Tosi | Center | Niagara | |
| 16 | 1 | 141 | Al Lezouski | Guard | Pittsburgh | |
| 17 | 2 | 152 | Ed Longhi | Center | Notre Dame | |
| 18 | 1 | 161 | Dave Shirk | End | Kansas | |
| 19 | 2 | 172 | Frank Peters | End | Washington | |
| 20 | 1 | 181 | Tom Sheldrake | End | Washington | |
Pittsburgh's 1939 Draft (like many of the Steelers drafts from these days) was useless. The one player that played longer 1 season was Sam Boyd who played just 3 seasons for the Pirates/Steelers. The Pirates also traded their first two picks to Chicago and Brooklyn. The Bears would draft future Hall of Famer, QB Sid Luckman, and the Dodgers would select Clarence "Pug" Manders who eventually played 9 years of pro ball.
Schedule
| Game | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Recap | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | September 14 | at Brooklyn Dodgers | L 7–12 | 0–1 | Ebbets Field | Recap | |
| 2 | September 24 | Chicago Cardinals | L 0–10 | 0–2 | Forbes Field | Recap | |
| 3 | October 2 | Chicago Bears | L 0–32 | 0–3 | Forbes Field | Recap | |
| 4 | October 8 | New York Giants | L 7–14 | 0–4 | Forbes Field | Recap | |
| 5 | October 15 | at Washington Redskins | L 14–44 | 0–5 | Griffith Stadium | Recap | |
| 6 | October 22 | Washington Redskins | L 14–21 | 0–6 | Forbes Field | Recap | |
| 7 | October 29 | at Cleveland Rams | T 14–14 | 0–6–1 | Cleveland Municipal Stadium | Recap | |
| 8 | November 6 | at Brooklyn Dodgers | L 13–17 | 0–7–1 | Ebbets Field | Recap | |
| 9 | November 19 | at New York Giants | L 7–23 | 0–8–1 | Polo Grounds | Recap | |
| 10 | November 23 | at Philadelphia Eagles | L 14–17 | 0–9–1 | Philadelphia Municipal Stadium | Recap | |
| 11 | November 26 | Philadelphia Eagles | W 24–12 | 1–9–1 | Forbes Field | Recap | |
| Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text. | |||||||
Game summaries
Week 1 (Thursday September 14, 1939): Brooklyn Dodgers
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pirates | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| Dodgers | 3 | 7 | 0 | 2 | 12 |
at Ebbets Field, Brooklyn, New York
- Game time:
- Game weather:
- Game attendance: 19,444
- Referee:
Scoring Drives:
Week 2 (Sunday, September 24, 1939): Chicago Cardinals
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cardinals | 7 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 10 |
| Pirates | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
at Forbes Field, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
- Game time:
- Game weather:
- Game attendance: 19,008
- Referee:
Scoring Drives:
- Chicago Cardinals – Goldberg 4 run (Monahan kick)
- Chicago Cardinals – FG Monahan 32
Week 3 (Monday October 2, 1939): Chicago Bears
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bears | 0 | 13 | 13 | 6 | 32 |
| Pirates | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
at Forbes Field, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
- Game time:
- Game weather:
- Game attendance: 10,325
- Referee:
Scoring Drives:
- Chicago Bears – Omanski 21 run (Stydahar kick)
- Chicago Bears – Manske 24 pass from Masterson (kick failed)
- Chicago Bears – Maniaci 75 run (kick failed)
- Chicago Bears – Maniaci 4 run (Manders kick)
- Chicago Bears – MacLeod 29 pass from Patterson (kick failed)
Between this game and the next, the Pirates shoehorned in a midseason exhibition game against the McKeesport Olympics, in McKeesport on October 4. The Pirates won that game, 9–6.[1]
Week 4 (Sunday October 8, 1939): New York Giants
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Giants | 0 | 0 | 14 | 0 | 14 |
| Pirates | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
at Forbes Field, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
- Game time:
- Game weather:
- Game attendance: 9,663
- Referee:
Scoring Drives:
- Pittsburgh – Johnson 1 run (Niccolai kick)
- New York – Cuff 20 pass from Danowski (Cuff kick)
- New York – Cuff 5 pass from Danowski (Cuff kick)
Week 5 (Sunday October 15, 1939): Washington Redskins
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pirates | 7 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 14 |
| Redskins | 13 | 6 | 19 | 6 | 44 |
at Griffith Stadium, Washington, DC
- Game time:
- Game weather:
- Game attendance: 25,982
- Referee:
Scoring Drives:
- Washington – German 15 run (kick failed)
- Pittsburgh – Francis run (Niccolai kick)
- Washington – German 14 run (Russell kick)
- Pittsburgh – McDonough 3 pass from Tomasetti (Niccolai kick)
- Washington – Farkas 11 run (kick blocked)
- Washington – Farkas 99 pass from Filchock (kick failed)
- Washington – Todd 19 pass from Filchock (Todd kick)
- Washington – Todd 60 run (kick failed)
- Washington – Justice 33 run (kick failed)
Week 6 (Sunday October 22, 1939): Washington Redskins
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Redskins | 14 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 21 |
| Pirates | 0 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 14 |
at Forbes Field, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
- Game time:
- Game weather:
- Game attendance: 8,602
- Referee:
Scoring Drives:
Week 7 (Sunday October 29, 1939): Cleveland Rams
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pirates | 0 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 14 |
| Rams | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 14 |
at Cleveland Municipal Stadium, Cleveland, Ohio
- Game time:
- Game weather:
- Game attendance: 11,579
- Referee:
Scoring Drives:
- Cleveland – Hall 88 run (Spadaccini kick)
- Pittsburgh – McCullough 9 run (Niccolai kick)
- Pittsburgh – Boyd 27 pass from McCullough (Niccolai kick)
- Cleveland – Drake 3 run (Spadaccini kick)
Week 8 (Monday November 6, 1939): Brooklyn Dodgers
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pirates | 0 | 3 | 3 | 7 | 13 |
| Dodgers | 0 | 7 | 7 | 3 | 17 |
at Ebbets Field, Brooklyn, New York
- Game time:
- Game weather:
- Game attendance: 8,951
- Referee:
Scoring Drives:
Week 9 (Sunday November 19, 1939): New York Giants
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pirates | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 7 |
| Giants | 7 | 7 | 3 | 7 | 24 |
- Game time:
- Game weather:
- Game attendance: 19,372
- Referee:
Scoring Drives:
- New York – Soar 2 run (Strong kick)
- New York – FG Barnum 37
- New York – FG Barnum 28
- New York – FG Strong 24
- Pittsburgh – Brumbaugh 19 run (Niccolai kick)
- New York – Miller 21 run (Barnum kick)
Week 10 (Thursday November 23, 1939): Philadelphia Eagles
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pirates | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 14 |
| Eagles | 0 | 7 | 3 | 7 | 17 |
at Shibe Park, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- Game time:
- Game weather:
- Game attendance: 20,000
- Referee:
Scoring Drives:
- Philadelphia – Carter 65 pass from O'Brien (Murray kick)
- Philadelphia – FG Murray 32
- Pittsburgh – Brumbaugh 1 run (Niccolai kick)
Week 11 (Sunday November 26, 1939): Philadelphia Eagles
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eagles | 0 | 0 | 6 | 6 | 12 |
| Pirates | 3 | 14 | 7 | 0 | 24 |
at Forbes Field, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
- Game time:
- Game weather:
- Game attendance: 8,788
- Referee:
Scoring Drives:
| NFL Eastern Division | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W | L | T | PCT | DIV | PF | PA | STK | ||
| New York Giants | 9 | 1 | 1 | .900 | 7–0–1 | 168 | 85 | W4 | |
| Washington Redskins | 8 | 2 | 1 | .800 | 6–1–1 | 242 | 94 | L1 | |
| Brooklyn Dodgers | 4 | 6 | 1 | .400 | 3–4–1 | 108 | 219 | L3 | |
| Pittsburgh Pirates | 1 | 9 | 1 | .100 | 1–7 | 114 | 216 | W1 | |
| Philadelphia Eagles | 1 | 9 | 1 | .100 | 1–6–1 | 105 | 200 | L2 | |
- Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings until 1972.
- Ten interesting things about the 1939 NFL season that I couldn't fit into my other article about that season Archived April 28, 2012, at the Wayback Machine by John Hogrogian.