1939 Pittsburgh Pirates (NFL) season explained

Team:Pittsburgh Pirates (NFL)
Year:1939
Record:1–9–1
Division Place:4th (tied) NFL Eastern
Coach:John McNally, Walt Kiesling
Owner:Art Rooney
Stadium:Forbes Field
Radio:KDKA
Playoffs:Did not qualify
Pro Bowlers:Byron Gentry
Next:1940 (Steelers)
Teamdisplay:Pittsburgh Pirates
Shortnavlink:Pirates seasons

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.

Offseason

1939 NFL draft

See main article: 1939 NFL draft.

Pittsburgh Pirates 1939 NFL Draft selections
Draft orderPlayer namePositionCollegeNotes
RoundChoiceOverall
122Sidney "Sid" LuckmanQuarterbackColumbiaTraded pick to Chicago
2111Clarence "Pug" MandersDrakeTraded pick to Brooklyn
3217Billy PattersonBackBaylorPlayed 1 season for Steelers in 1940
4126Hugh McCulloughDefensive backPittsburghPlayed 1 season for Pirates in 1939
5232Ernie WheelerBackNorth Dakota StatePlayed for Cards and Steelers in 1939
6141Sam BoydEndBaylorPlayed 3 seasons for Pirates/Steelers
7252Eddie PalumboBackDetroit
8161Ole NelsonEndMichigan State
9272Steve PetroGuardPittsburghPlayed for Dodgers
10181Jack LeeBackCarnegie Mellon
11292Lou TomasettiBackBucknell
121101Denny CochranBackSaint LouisPlayed 3 seasons for Pirates/Steelers
132112Fabian HoffmanEndPittsburgh
141121Ed ClaryBackSouth Carolina
152132John TosiCenterNiagara
161141Al LezouskiGuardPittsburgh
172152Ed LonghiCenterNotre Dame
181161Dave ShirkEndKansas
192172Frank PetersEndWashington
201181Tom SheldrakeEndWashington
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

Schedule

GameDateOpponentResultRecordVenueRecap
1at Brooklyn DodgersL 7–120–1Ebbets FieldRecap
2September 24 Chicago CardinalsL 0–100–2Forbes FieldRecap
3Chicago BearsL 0–320–3Forbes FieldRecap
4October 8 New York GiantsL 7–140–4Forbes FieldRecap
5October 15at Washington RedskinsL 14–440–5Griffith StadiumRecap
6October 22Washington RedskinsL 14–210–6Forbes FieldRecap
7October 29at Cleveland RamsT 14–140–6–1Cleveland Municipal StadiumRecap
8at Brooklyn DodgersL 13–170–7–1Ebbets FieldRecap
9November 19at New York GiantsL 7–230–8–1Polo GroundsRecap
10November 23at Philadelphia EaglesL 14–170–9–1Philadelphia Municipal StadiumRecap
11November 26Philadelphia EaglesW 24–121–9–1Forbes FieldRecap
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Game summaries

at Ebbets Field, Brooklyn, New York

Scoring Drives:

at Forbes Field, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Scoring Drives:

at Forbes Field, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Scoring Drives:

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]

at Forbes Field, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Scoring Drives:

at Griffith Stadium, Washington, DC

Scoring Drives:

at Forbes Field, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Scoring Drives:

at Cleveland Municipal Stadium, Cleveland, Ohio

Scoring Drives:

at Ebbets Field, Brooklyn, New York

Scoring Drives:

at Polo Grounds, New York, NY

Scoring Drives:

at Shibe Park, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Scoring Drives:

at Forbes Field, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Scoring Drives:

Notes and References

  1. http://www.profootballresearchers.org/Coffin_Corner/22-03-851.pdf Ten interesting things about the 1939 NFL season that I couldn't fit into my other article about that season