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1939 Pittsburgh Pirates (NFL) 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
OwnerArt Rooney
Head coachJohn McNally, Walt Kiesling
Home fieldForbes Field
Local radioKDKA
Results
Record1–9–1
Division place4th (tied) NFL Eastern
Playoff finishDid not qualify
Pro BowlersByron Gentry

Offseason edit

1939 NFL draft edit

Pittsburgh Pirates 1939 NFL Draft selections
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.

Regular season edit

Schedule edit

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 edit

Week 1 (Thursday September 14, 1939): Brooklyn Dodgers edit

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:

  • Brooklyn – FG Kercheval 27
  • Pittsburgh – Platukis 30 pass from Wheeler (Niccolai kick)
  • Brooklyn – Parker 10 run (Kinard kick)
  • Brooklyn – Safety, Wheeler tackled in end zone by Hill

Week 2 (Sunday, September 24, 1939): Chicago Cardinals edit

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 edit

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 edit

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 edit

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 edit

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:

  • Washington – Millner 56 pass from Filchock (Russell kick)
  • Washington – Farkas 40 pass from Filchock (Russell kick)
  • Pittsburgh – Boyd pass from McDonough (Niccolai kick)
  • Washington – Irwin 25 run (Farkas kick)
  • Pittsburgh – Brumbaugh pass from McDonough (Niccolai kick)

Week 7 (Sunday October 29, 1939): Cleveland Rams edit

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 edit

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:

  • Brooklyn – Schwartz 9 pass from Parker (Kinard kick)
  • Pittsburgh – FG Niccolai 25
  • Pittsburgh – FG Niccolai 37
  • Brooklyn – Parker 28 run (Kinard kick)
  • Brooklyn – FG Parker 28
  • Pittsburgh – Sortet 22 pass from McCullough (Niccolai kick)

Week 9 (Sunday November 19, 1939): New York Giants edit

1 2 3 4 Total
Pirates 0 0 0 7 7
Giants 7 7 3 7 24

at Polo Grounds, New York, NY

  • 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 edit

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 edit

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:

  • Pittsburgh – FG Niccolai 28
  • Pittsburgh – Johnston 2 run (Niccolai kick)
  • Pittsburgh – Tomasetti 1 run (Niccolai kick)
  • Pittsburgh – Platukis 37 pss from Brumbaugh (Niccolai kick)
  • Philadelphia – O'Brien 2 run (kick blocked)
  • Philadelphia – Bukant 3 run (kick blocked)

Standings edit

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.

References edit

  1. ^ Ten interesting things about the 1939 NFL season that I couldn't fit into my other article about that season April 28, 2012, at the Wayback Machine by John Hogrogian.

1939, pittsburgh, pirates, season, 1939, pittsburgh, pirates, season, franchise, seventh, season, professional, football, club, national, football, league, pirates, brought, john, mcnally, back, third, year, however, after, finishing, with, record, owner, roon. 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 seasonOwnerArt RooneyHead coachJohn McNally Walt KieslingHome fieldForbes FieldLocal radioKDKAResultsRecord1 9 1Division place4th tied NFL EasternPlayoff finishDid not qualifyPro BowlersByron Gentry 1938 Pirates seasons 1940 Steelers Contents 1 Offseason 1 1 1939 NFL draft 2 Regular season 2 1 Schedule 2 2 Game summaries 2 2 1 Week 1 Thursday September 14 1939 Brooklyn Dodgers 2 2 2 Week 2 Sunday September 24 1939 Chicago Cardinals 2 2 3 Week 3 Monday October 2 1939 Chicago Bears 2 2 4 Week 4 Sunday October 8 1939 New York Giants 2 2 5 Week 5 Sunday October 15 1939 Washington Redskins 2 2 6 Week 6 Sunday October 22 1939 Washington Redskins 2 2 7 Week 7 Sunday October 29 1939 Cleveland Rams 2 2 8 Week 8 Monday November 6 1939 Brooklyn Dodgers 2 2 9 Week 9 Sunday November 19 1939 New York Giants 2 2 10 Week 10 Thursday November 23 1939 Philadelphia Eagles 2 2 11 Week 11 Sunday November 26 1939 Philadelphia Eagles 3 Standings 4 ReferencesOffseason edit1939 NFL draft edit Main article 1939 NFL Draft Pittsburgh Pirates 1939 NFL Draft selections Draft order Player name Position College NotesRound Choice Overall1 2 2 Sidney Sid Luckman Quarterback Columbia Traded pick to Chicago2 1 11 Clarence Pug Manders Fullback Drake Traded pick to Brooklyn3 2 17 Billy Patterson Back Baylor Played 1 season for Steelers in 19404 1 26 Hugh McCullough Defensive back Pittsburgh Played 1 season for Pirates in 19395 2 32 Ernie Wheeler Back North Dakota State Played for Cards and Steelers in 19396 1 41 Sam Boyd End Baylor Played 3 seasons for Pirates Steelers7 2 52 Eddie Palumbo Back Detroit8 1 61 Ole Nelson End Michigan State9 2 72 Steve Petro Guard Pittsburgh Played for Dodgers10 1 81 Jack Lee Back Carnegie Mellon11 2 92 Lou Tomasetti Back Bucknell12 1 101 Denny Cochran Back Saint Louis Played 3 seasons for Pirates Steelers13 2 112 Fabian Hoffman End Pittsburgh14 1 121 Ed Clary Back South Carolina15 2 132 John Tosi Center Niagara16 1 141 Al Lezouski Guard Pittsburgh17 2 152 Ed Longhi Center Notre Dame18 1 161 Dave Shirk End Kansas19 2 172 Frank Peters End Washington20 1 181 Tom Sheldrake End WashingtonPittsburgh 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 Regular season editSchedule edit Game Date Opponent Result Record Venue Recap1 September 14 at Brooklyn Dodgers L 7 12 0 1 Ebbets Field Recap2 September 24 Chicago Cardinals L 0 10 0 2 Forbes Field Recap3 October 2 Chicago Bears L 0 32 0 3 Forbes Field Recap4 October 8 New York Giants L 7 14 0 4 Forbes Field Recap5 October 15 at Washington Redskins L 14 44 0 5 Griffith Stadium Recap6 October 22 Washington Redskins L 14 21 0 6 Forbes Field Recap7 October 29 at Cleveland Rams T 14 14 0 6 1 Cleveland Municipal Stadium Recap8 November 6 at Brooklyn Dodgers L 13 17 0 7 1 Ebbets Field Recap9 November 19 at New York Giants L 7 23 0 8 1 Polo Grounds Recap10 November 23 at Philadelphia Eagles L 14 17 0 9 1 Philadelphia Municipal Stadium Recap11 November 26 Philadelphia Eagles W 24 12 1 9 1 Forbes Field RecapNote Intra division opponents are in bold text Game summaries edit Week 1 Thursday September 14 1939 Brooklyn Dodgers edit 1 2 3 4 TotalPirates 0 7 0 0 7Dodgers 3 7 0 2 12at Ebbets Field Brooklyn New York Game time Game weather Game attendance 19 444 Referee Scoring Drives Brooklyn FG Kercheval 27 Pittsburgh Platukis 30 pass from Wheeler Niccolai kick Brooklyn Parker 10 run Kinard kick Brooklyn Safety Wheeler tackled in end zone by HillWeek 2 Sunday September 24 1939 Chicago Cardinals edit 1 2 3 4 TotalCardinals 7 0 0 3 10Pirates 0 0 0 0 0at 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 32Week 3 Monday October 2 1939 Chicago Bears edit 1 2 3 4 TotalBears 0 13 13 6 32Pirates 0 0 0 0 0at 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 edit 1 2 3 4 TotalGiants 0 0 14 0 14Pirates 0 7 0 0 7at 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 edit 1 2 3 4 TotalPirates 7 7 0 0 14Redskins 13 6 19 6 44at 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 edit 1 2 3 4 TotalRedskins 14 0 7 0 21Pirates 0 7 0 7 14at Forbes Field Pittsburgh Pennsylvania Game time Game weather Game attendance 8 602 Referee Scoring Drives Washington Millner 56 pass from Filchock Russell kick Washington Farkas 40 pass from Filchock Russell kick Pittsburgh Boyd pass from McDonough Niccolai kick Washington Irwin 25 run Farkas kick Pittsburgh Brumbaugh pass from McDonough Niccolai kick Week 7 Sunday October 29 1939 Cleveland Rams edit 1 2 3 4 TotalPirates 0 7 7 0 14Rams 7 0 0 7 14at 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 edit 1 2 3 4 TotalPirates 0 3 3 7 13Dodgers 0 7 7 3 17at Ebbets Field Brooklyn New York Game time Game weather Game attendance 8 951 Referee Scoring Drives Brooklyn Schwartz 9 pass from Parker Kinard kick Pittsburgh FG Niccolai 25 Pittsburgh FG Niccolai 37 Brooklyn Parker 28 run Kinard kick Brooklyn FG Parker 28 Pittsburgh Sortet 22 pass from McCullough Niccolai kick Week 9 Sunday November 19 1939 New York Giants edit 1 2 3 4 TotalPirates 0 0 0 7 7Giants 7 7 3 7 24at Polo Grounds New York NY 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 edit 1 2 3 4 TotalPirates 0 0 0 14 14Eagles 0 7 3 7 17at 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 edit 1 2 3 4 TotalEagles 0 0 6 6 12Pirates 3 14 7 0 24at Forbes Field Pittsburgh Pennsylvania Game time Game weather Game attendance 8 788 Referee Scoring Drives Pittsburgh FG Niccolai 28 Pittsburgh Johnston 2 run Niccolai kick Pittsburgh Tomasetti 1 run Niccolai kick Pittsburgh Platukis 37 pss from Brumbaugh Niccolai kick Philadelphia O Brien 2 run kick blocked Philadelphia Bukant 3 run kick blocked Standings editNFL Eastern Divisionviewtalkedit W L T PCT DIV PF PA STKNew York Giants 9 1 1 900 7 0 1 168 85 W4Washington Redskins 8 2 1 800 6 1 1 242 94 L1Brooklyn Dodgers 4 6 1 400 3 4 1 108 219 L3Pittsburgh Pirates 1 9 1 100 1 7 114 216 W1Philadelphia Eagles 1 9 1 100 1 6 1 105 200 L2Note Tie games were not officially counted in the standings until 1972 dd References edit 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 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title 1939 Pittsburgh Pirates NFL season amp oldid 1189239770, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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