Steagles

The Steagles were the team created by the temporary merger of Pennsylvania's two National Football League (NFL) teams, the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Philadelphia Eagles, during the 1943 season. The two franchises were compelled to field a single combined team because both had lost many players to military service during World War II. The league's official record book refers to the team as "Phil-Pitt Combine",^[1] but the unofficial "Steagles", despite never being registered by the NFL, has become the enduring moniker.^[2]

History

The prospect of a unified Pittsburgh-Philadelphia team actually predated World War II by several years. The Pennsylvania Keystoners were a team that was proposed in 1939, conceived with the intention of the Steelers and Eagles owners buying into one of the two teams, then spinning the other off to an ownership group in Boston, Massachusetts. League officials rejected the plan, though it resulted in a convoluted ownership "two-step" that left Eagles owner Bert Bell with a share in the Steelers franchise.

America entered World War II on December 7, 1941, with the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Most of the young men who were of the age to play professional football were also of the age to fight for their country. Six hundred NFL players joined the armed forces.

With the country now at war, President Franklin D. Roosevelt esteemed entertainment and sports as a much-needed diversion. He issued an inspirational letter to Commissioner of Baseball Kenesaw Mountain Landis which focused on the importance of Major League Baseball to Americans' morale. The address made no mention of football, as baseball was still widely referred to as America's pastime and had not yet been surpassed in popularity by football. However at its 1943 annual spring meeting, the NFL decided to follow baseball's lead and continue play. Other football leagues, such as the 1940–41 American Football League, Dixie League and the American Association, decided to suspend operations instead, leaving the NFL and its West Coast counterpart, the Pacific Coast Professional Football League, as the only leagues playing professional football at the time.

Draft deferments

The young men who remained in the States to play football were mostly those who were deferred from the draft. The Steagles players were either unfit for military service for physical or dependency reasons, age, or were active servicemen who had obtained leave to play. Three types of draft deferments defined 1943 NFL players. The first group was called III-A. If a man had persons dependent upon him for support, such as a wife, parent, grandparent, brother, or sister, the draft board would not make him a priority until other possible candidates had been taken. In late 1943, with increasing manpower requirements, the government defined a man classified as III-A as a married father whose child or children was born or conceived prior to the attack on Pearl Harbor. The cutoff date for birth was September 15, 1942, precisely nine months and one week after Pearl Harbor. The second group of draft deferments, II-As, II-Bs, and II-Cs, consisted of those men who worked in critical civilian occupations, war industries producing and preparing ammunition, weapons and materials, or agriculture. The third group (IV-Fs), were those men deemed unfit for military service due to ailments such as chronic ulcers, improperly-healed injuries, defects of the extremities, bad hearing, and partial blindness.

Most NFL football players wanted to do their patriotic duty and serve their country, and for a man fit to play football, an IV-F classification was an embarrassment. One Steagle and future Hall of Famer, Bill Hewitt, quit in the middle of the season. He could not take the ridicule and subsequent guilt feelings anymore.^{[citation needed]} Hewitt was good enough to be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1971. However, the players were not making the decisions on who could or could not fight.

Many men could lead normal lives and even play football, but the military had deemed them unfit; numerous NFL players in 1943 had medical problems that kept them out of the military. Tony Bova, the Steagles' leading receiver with 17 receptions, was blind in one eye and partially blind in the other. Steagles guard Ed Michaels was nearly deaf and center Ray Graves was deaf in one ear.^[3] One starting defensive end was blind in one eye and nearly legally blind in the other. The Steagles tailback John Butler made his first start one day after being classified IV-F by his draft board for poor eyesight and bad knees. Placekicker and punter Troy Smith had a prosthetic leg.

1943 NFL spring meetings

Even with these deferments, NFL rosters were hurting. The Cleveland Rams suspended operations and the Pittsburgh Steelers had only six men left under contract while the Philadelphia Eagles had only sixteen. The 1943 NFL Draft did not help much. Most players drafted went off to the war instead of joining NFL teams. Further exacerbating the issue was the continued insistence of George Preston Marshall and other NFL owners on continuing the ten-year-old ban on black players, which disqualified potential replacement players such as Kenny Washington. The league nearly ceased operations before the 1943 season, but it continued. ^{[citation needed]}

Steelers' owner Art Rooney knew that the league needed at least eight teams to survive.^{[citation needed]} Rooney's idea was to merge the Steelers with the Eagles.^[4] This idea came quickly to him since two years earlier he thought about combining the two teams into the Pennsylvania Keystoners. Eagles' owner Alexis Thompson, who was serving in the US Army as a corporal, was not as keen on the plan since he at least had 16 players under contract. However, Thompson remembered how Rooney in 1941 swapped cities with him which allowed him to keep the Eagles in Philadelphia close to his New York City home. This led to an agreement on combining the teams.

The league approved the merger by a vote of 5–4.^[5] However, several owners expressed fears that the merger would produce a team with an unfair advantage. The merger had a slight lean in favor of Philadelphia based on stipulations imposed by Thompson. The team would be known as the Philadelphia Eagles and be based in Philadelphia. Rooney had very little leverage, bringing only six players to the table. However, he was successful in landing two home games in Pittsburgh, while Philadelphia would host four. The team was also to wear the Eagles' green and white colors instead of Pittsburgh's black and gold.^[6] This event officially marked the only time in the Steelers history (other than in 1941 when green and white were used as well as black and gold^[7]) that the team colors were something other than black and gold. The league also stated that helmets were mandated for the first time^[8] and that the league would expand in 1944 with the Boston Yanks paying $50,000 for entry into the league.^[9]

1943 season

Philadelphia's Greasy Neale and Pittsburgh's Walt Kiesling would be co-head coaches because each coach refused to be demoted.^[10] This led to several problems: the first being that the two men hated each other. Secondly, Kiesling's own players did not like him; so asking the Eagles players to like him was too much to ask. However, Neale took advantage when Kiesling was delayed en route to camp which was held at St. Joseph's College in Philadelphia.^[11] By the time Keisling arrived, Neale already had the offense learning the T-formation, which was all the rage in those days because of its success in college football that was used by Frank Leahy at Notre Dame and by Red Blaik at Army. This conflict led to Neale serving as the team's offensive coordinator; while Kiesling served as the defensive coordinator. They would then split head coaching duties. According to defensive back Ernie Steele, the situation between the two coaches got so bad that Kiesling and Neale walked off the field after a heated argument during practice before a game. They returned for the game; but the players were nonetheless stunned. However, after the Steagles' in 1943 and Card-Pitt in 1944, Pittsburgh reverted to using the single-wing formation through 1952, becoming the last NFL team to ever use it as its primary offensive set.

Another difficult issue at the time was that the Steelers and Eagles were bitter intrastate rivals (much like the NHL's Pittsburgh Penguins-Philadelphia Flyers rivalry of today) and usually both teams ended up near the bottom of the standings each year. The Steagles were the only professional sports team where all the players held full-time war jobs as it was a requirement of the team.^[12] Playing football was seen as an extracurricular activity. All of the 22 players on the roster kept full-time jobs in defense plants. One of Pittsburgh's players, Ted Doyle, worked at Westinghouse Electric and figured out later that his work assisted the Manhattan Project, which was America's effort to build the first atomic bomb, according to Matthew Algeo's book Last Team Standing.

As the season got underway, fans and newspapers began calling the team the Steagles, a combination of Steelers and Eagles. It had a nice ring to it and was fair to both cities. Steagles eventually became the common name used for the team throughout most of the country, except in Philadelphia, where the writers and even the team insisted on being called the Philadelphia Eagles. Chet Smith, the sports editor of the Pittsburgh Press, was initially the one who wrote in a column the moniker Steagles for the merged team,^[13] in a June 23, 1943 column.^[14]

Slowly, the team began to come together, and jumped out to a 2–0 start after defeating the Brooklyn Dodgers and New York Giants at Shibe Park. Against New York, the Steagles fumbled ten times (still an NFL record as of 2021), but managed to win 28–14. The team stumbled on the road, though, and after seven games sported a 3–3–1 mark, with their third win and the tie coming against the defending-champion Washington Redskins; the team regrouped with two at Pittsburgh's Forbes Field, against the Chicago Cardinals on Halloween Night and over the Detroit Lions on Nov. 21. Going into the season's final week, the 5-3-1 Steagles, with still a shot at the division championship, met Don Hutson and the Green Bay Packers in front of 35,000 fans at Shibe Park. Green Bay would go on to win the game 38–28, however, putting Phil-Pitt at 5-4-1, one game behind Washington and New York.

Aftermath

Legacy

The Steagles 1943 season was the Philadelphia franchise's first winning season in its history and the second for Pittsburgh's.^[15]

The next season, 1944, the NFL was back on solid footing. The Army had declared that it had enough soldiers and men over 26 years of age would not be drafted, though the league had another problem. With the Cleveland Rams back in operation, the expansion Boston Yanks team in the fold and the Eagles and Steelers back in their separate ways, the NFL had 11 teams, which created a nightmare with divisions and scheduling. NFL Commissioner Elmer Layden begged for two teams to combine again in 1944. Ten teams made for a perfect league and eleven seemed impossible. The Steelers were still short of players due to the war. Pittsburgh owner Art Rooney was unhappy with the "Phil-Pitt" arrangement, but wanted to keep it intact. However, Philadelphia refused. The team merged with the Chicago Cardinals for the 1944 season, creating a team known as Card-Pitt. This "Card-Pitt" team was derisively called "carpet" due to going winless, and the commentary that "every team walked all over them".^[16] The war ended by the time the 1945 NFL season started, and with the Brooklyn Tigers and the aforementioned Boston franchise permanently merging, there was an even number of ten teams to the delight of owners.

The Eagles, now having enough players back from the war, resumed their traditional operation and continued under Neale, who took home back-to-back coach of the year awards as Philadelphia won consecutive NFL championships in 1948 and 1949.

Individually, the Steagles' Jack Hinkle ended the season with 571 rushing yards. He lost the rushing title to New York's Bill Paschal by one yard. Against those very Giants Hinkle was not given credit for a 37-yard run (they gave it to John Butler). Hinkle did not complain about not winning the NFL rushing crown.^[15] Tony Bova, a half-blind 4-F, led the team in receiving with 417 yards.

In popular culture

The 1971 film The Steagle starring Richard Benjamin takes its name from the Steagles football team. In the opening scene, the protagonist of the film, a bookish college professor, explains the history and meaning of the term to a pair of loudly arguing sports fans on a commuter train, and draws an admiring look from an Asian woman who is a fellow passenger. The film concerns the personality change which overcomes the protagonist during the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962, and the film's title implicitly references the transient nature of the Steagles team, existing for only one brief season during a national crisis.

60th anniversary

The Steelers celebrated the 60th anniversary of the Steagles on August 17, 2003, during the pregame and halftime ceremonies at Heinz Field.

Six of the nine surviving members of that team were honored at halftime. Those members were quarterback Allie Sherman, running back and defensive back Ernie Steele, center Ray Graves, and tackles Al Wistert, Vic Sears, and Bucko Kilroy. End Tom Miller, tackle Ted Doyle and halfback John Hinkle were unable to attend.^[17] Wistert was the last surviving player of the combine and died in 2016. All three of the surviving players belonged to the Eagles. Ted Doyle, who died in 2006, was the last surviving Steeler player from the team.^[18]

In addition the Steelers recreated the Steagles era in their "Turn Back the Clock" ceremonies, including broadcasting in black and white on the Jumbotron and airing World War II footage during the national anthem. All live entertainment reflected the 1940s.^[17] During the festivities the Steelers gave each of the six members a replica Steagles jersey to wear. The jerseys worn by honorees were later given back to the Steelers and sold to help benefit a local charity. The Steelers also painted the south end zone in plain diagonal white lines, a common practice in the NFL until the 1960s. The Steelers later kept the "plain" design in the south end zone permanently. The Eagles won the game 21–16.

Draft

Player selections

The table shows the Eagles selections and the Steelers selections and what picks they had that were traded away and the team that ended up with that pick. It is possible their pick ended up with this team via another team with whom they made a trade. Not shown are acquired picks that were traded away.

Philadelphia Eagles						Pittsburgh Steelers
Round	Pick	Player	Position	School		Round	Pick	Player	Position	School
1	2	Joe Muha	Fullback	VMI		1	7	Bill Daley	Fullback	Minnesota
2	12	Lamar "Racehorse" Davis	Back	Georgia		2	no pick
3	17	Roy "Monk" Gafford	Back	Auburn		3	22	Jack Russell	End	Baylor
4	27	Bob Kennedy	Back	Washington State		4	no pick
5	32	Al "Ox" Wistert	Tackle	Michigan		5	37	Harry Connolly	Back	Boston College
6	42	Bruno Banducci	Guard	Stanford		6	47	Lou Sossamon	Center	South Carolina
7	52	Walt Harrison	Center	Washington		7	57	Al Ratto	Center	St. Mary's (CA)
8	62	Bruce Alford	End	Texas Christian		8	67	Ray Curry	End	St. Mary's (CA)
9	72	Rocco Canale	Guard	Boston College		9	77	Ed Murphy	End	Holy Cross
10	82	Bill Conoly	Tackle	Texas		10	87	Dick Dwelle	Back	Rice
11	92	John Billman	Guard	Minnesota		11	97	Al Wukits	Center	Duquesne
12	102	Jack Donaldson	Tackle	Pennsylvania		12	107	Joe Repko	Tackle	Boston College
13	112	Bill Erickson	Center	Georgetown (DC)		13	117	Pete Boltrek	Tackle	North Carolina State
14	122	George Weeks	End	Alabama		14	127	Mort Shiekman	Guard	Pennsylvania
15	132	Russ Craft	Back	Alabama		15	137	Milt Crain	Back	Baylor
16	142	Paul Darling	Back	Iowa State		16	147	Max Kielbasa	Back	Duquesne
17	152	Walt Gorinski	Back	Louisiana State		17	157	Nick Skorich	Guard	Cincinnati
18	162	Bob Friedman	Tackle	Washington		18	167	Jackie Field	Back	Texas
19	172	Johnny Bezemes	Back	Holy Cross		19	177	Felix Bucek	Guard	Texas A&M
20	182	Chet Mutryn	Back	Xavier		20	187	Johnny Welsh	Back	Pennsylvania
21	192	Baptiste Manzini	Center	St. Vincent's		21	197	Tony Compagno	Back	St. Mary's (CA)
22	202	Bernie Gillespie	End	Scranton		22	207	Willie Zapalac	Back	Texas A&M
23	212	Jay "Mule" Lawhon	Tackle	Arkansas		23	217	George Bain	Tackle	Oregon State
24	222	Vince Zachem	Center	Morehead State		24	227	Harry Wynne	Tackle	Arkansas
25	232	Joe Schwarting	End	Texas		25	237	Joe Cibulas	Tackle	Duquesne
26	242	Bob Neff	Tackle	Notre Dame		26	247	Bill Yambrick	Center	Western Michigan
27	252	Art Macioszczyk	Back	Western Michigan		27	257	Jack Freeman	Guard	Texas
28	262	Jim Arata	Tackle	Xavier		28	267	Joe Goode	Back	Duquesne
29	272	Wally Scott	End	Texas		29	277	Jack Durishan	Tackle	Pittsburgh
30	282	Stan Jaworowski	Tackle	Georgetown (DC)		30	287	Fritz Lobpries	Guard	Texas
31	no pick					31	292	Art Jones	Back	Haverford
31	no pick					32	297	Bob Ruman	Back	Arizona

Exhibitions

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Venue	Attendance	Reference
1	September 11	Green Bay Packers	L 10–28	0–1	Forbes Field	18,000	[19]
2	September 16	Chicago Bears	L 7–20	0–2	Shibe Park	30,000	[20]

Regular season

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Venue	Attendance	Reference
1	October 2	Brooklyn Dodgers	W 17–0	1–0	Shibe Park	11,131	[21]
2	October 9	New York Giants	W 28–14	2–0	Shibe Park	15,340	[22]
3	October 17	at Chicago Bears	L 21–48	2–1	Wrigley Field	21,744	[23]
4	October 24	at New York Giants	L 14–42	2–2	Polo Grounds	42,681	[24]
5	October 31	Chicago Cardinals	W 34–13	3–2	Forbes Field	16,351	[25]
6	November 7	Washington Redskins	T 14–14	3–2–1	Shibe Park	32,694	[26]
7	November 14	at Brooklyn Dodgers	L 7–13	3–3–1	Ebbets Field	7,613	[27]
8	November 21	Detroit Lions	W 35–34	4–3–1	Forbes Field	23,338	[28]
9	November 28	at Washington Redskins	W 27–14	5–3–1	Griffith Stadium	35,540	[29]
10	December 5	Green Bay Packers	L 28–38	5–4–1	Shibe Park	34,294	[30]
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Standings

NFL Eastern Division
view talk edit	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	PF	PA	STK
Washington Redskins	6	3	1	.667	2–3–1	229	137	L3
New York Giants	6	3	1	.667	5–1	197	170	W4
Phil-Pitt	5	4	1	.556	3–2–1	225	230	L1
Brooklyn Dodgers	2	8	0	.200	1–5	65	234	L2

Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings until 1972.

NFL Western Division
view talk edit	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	PF	PA	STK
Chicago Bears	8	1	1	.889	5–0–1	303	157	W1
Green Bay Packers	7	2	1	.778	4–1–1	264	172	W3
Detroit Lions	3	6	1	.333	2–4	178	218	L2
Chicago Cardinals	0	10	0	.000	0–6	95	238	L10

Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings until 1972.

Game summaries

Week 1: vs. Brooklyn Dodgers

Week One: Dodgers (0–0) at Steagles (0–0) – Game information

Saturday, October 2, 1943 Game weather: Referee: Samuel A. Weiss (Duquesne)[21] Game attendance: 11,131[31] at Shibe Park in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Game coverage: Pro Football Reference, Pittsburgh Press recap Starting lineups[21] Steagles Position Dodgers Bill Hewitt Left end Ray Wehba Vic Sears Left tackle Frank "Bruiser" Kinard Elbie Schultz Left guard Lew Jones Al Wukits Center Bill Conkright Ed Michaels Right guard Jake Fawcett Al Wistert Right tackle Herm Schmarr Larry Cabrelli Right end Keith Ranspot Roy Zimmerman Quarterback Joe Setcavage John Butler Left halfback George Cafego Jack Hinkle Right halfback Merl Condit Ben Kish Fullback Clarence "Pug" Manders Steagles substitutions: Bova, Miller, Doyle, Kilroy, Paschka, Conti, Frank, Graves, Masters, Gauer, Steele, Thurbon, McCullough and Sherman. Dodgers substitutions: Kowalski, Webb, Sergienko, Davis, Mooney, Grandinette, Owens, Gutknecht, Svendsen, Martin, McAdams, Bill Brown and Marek.

	1	2	3	4	Total
Dodgers	0	0	0	0	0
Steagles	10	7	0	0	17

The Steagles held the Dodgers to minus 33 rushing yards; this was the second lowest rushing total posted by a single team in an NFL game to that point. It currently ranks as the third-lowest rushing output in league history.^[32]

Scoring drives and statistics:

1st quarter Steagles – Zimmerman 32 yard field goal Steagles – Butler 10 yard run (Zimmerman kick) 2nd quarter Steagles – Steele 10 yard run (Zimmerman kick) 3rd quarter No scoring 4th quarter No scoring Steagles Game statistics[21] Dodgers 10 First downs 8 50–202 Rushes–yards 23–(−33) 98 Passing yards 126 4–16–0 Passes 14–34–3 21 Punt return yards 26 0 Kickoff return yards 93 3–43.3 Punts 5–42.8 4–3 Fumbles–lost 3–2 3–37 Penalties–yards 0–0

Week 2: vs. New York Giants

Week Two: New York Giants (0–0) at Steagles (1–0) – Game information

Saturday, October 9, 1943 Game weather: Referee: Carl Rebele (Penn State)[33] Game attendance: 15,340[22] at Shibe Park in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Game coverage: Pro Football Reference, Pittsburgh Press recap Starting lineups[22] Steagles Position Giants Bill Hewitt Left end Neal Adams Vic Sears Left tackle Frank Cope Elbie Schultz Left guard Len Younce Ray Graves Center Bill Piccolo Ed Michaels Right guard Chuck Avedisian Ted Doyle Right tackle Al Blozis Larry Cabrelli Right end Bill Walls Roy Zimmerman Quarterback Leland Shaffer Jack Hinkle Left halfback Emery Nix John Butler Right halfback Ward Cuff Ben Kish Fullback Bill Paschal Steagles substitutions: Wukits, Conti, Paschka, Frank, Miller, Bova, Sherman, Steele, Thurbon, Gauer and Masters. Giants substitutions: Dubzinski, Hein, Marone, Leemans, Roberts, Carroll, Pritko, Brown, Karcis, Kinscherf and Liebel.

	1	2	3	4	Total
Giants	14	0	0	0	14
Steagles	0	7	0	21	28

Despite setting a league record by fumbling the ball ten times, the Steagles overcame the Giants on the strength of three fourth-quarter touchdowns. The mark of ten fumbles in a game by one team has since been matched three times, but it has never been topped.^[34]

Scoring drives and statistics:

1st quarter Giants – Younce 30 yard interception return (Cuff kick) Giants – Paschal 1 yard run (Cuff kick) 2nd quarter Steagles – Steele 1 yard run (Zimmerman kick) 3rd quarter No scoring 4th quarter Steagles – Thurbon 11 yard pass from Zimmerman (Zimmerman kick) Steagles – Miller 31 yard pass from Zimmerman (Zimmerman kick) Steagles – Sherman 4 yard run (Paschka kick) Steagles Game statistics[22] Giants 14 First downs 6 43–191 Rushes–yards 33–42 112 Passing yards 50 5–13–3 Passes 6–14–3 83 Return yards 76 22 Punt avg. 42.8 10–5 Fumbles–lost 2–0 6–50 Penalties–yards 5–35

Week 3: at Chicago Bears

Week Three: Steagles (2–0) at Bears (2–0–1) – Game information

Saturday, October 17, 1943 Game weather: Referee: Tom Dowd (Georgetown)[23] Game attendance: 21,744[35] at Wrigley Field in Chicago, Illinois Game coverage: Pro Football Reference, Pittsburgh Press recap Starting lineups[23] Steagles Position Bears Bill Hewitt Left end Jim Benton Vic Sears Left tackle Bill Steinkemper Elbie Schultz Left guard Dan Fortmann Ray Graves Center Bulldog Turner Ed Michaels Right guard George Musso Al Wistert Right tackle Al Hoptowit Larry Cabrelli Right end George Wilson Roy Zimmerman Quarterback Bob Snyder Ernie Steele Left halfback Harry Clarke John Butler Right halfback Dante Magnani Ben Kish Fullback Bill Osmanski Steagles substitutions: Bova, Miller, Reutt, Doyle, Kilroy, Conti, Paschka, Wukits, Sherman, Masters, Gauer, Hinkle and Laux. Bears substitutions: Berry, Pool, Sigillo, Babartsky, Digris, Logan, Ippolito, Matuza, Mundee, Famighetti, Nolting, McEnulty, Vodicka, Luckman and McLean.

	1	2	3	4	Total
Steagles	7	0	0	14	21
Bears	7	28	7	6	48

Scoring drives and statistics:

1st quarter Steagles – Steele 60 yard pass from Zimmerman(Zimmerman kick) Bears – Magnani 96 yard kick return (Snyder kick) 2nd quarter Bears – Wilson 16 yard pass from Luckman (Snyder kick) Bears – Magnani 13 yard run (Snyder kick) Bears – Nolting 3 yard run (Snyder kick) Bears – McEnulty 10 yard pass from Luckman (Snyder kick) 3rd quarter Bears – Clarke 81 yard fumble return (Snyder kick) 4th quarter Bears – Pool 17 yard pass from Luckman (kick failed) Steagles – Bova 51 yard pass from Zimmerman (Zimmerman kick) Steagles – Butler 1 yard run (Zimmerman kick) Steagles Game statistics[23][35] Bears 12 First downs 15 30–60 Rushes–yards 46–205 109 Passing yards 176 6–24–2 Passes 13–25–2 130 Return yards 183 3–36.7 Punt avg. 5–37 2–1 Fumbles–lost 2–1 7–76.5 Penalties–yards 15–108.5

Week 4: at New York Giants

Week Four: Steagles (2–1) at New York Giants (1–1) – Game information

Sunday, October 24, 1943 Game weather: Referee: Carl Rebele (Penn State)[24] Game attendance: 42,681[24] at the Polo Grounds in New York City Game coverage: Pro Football Reference, Pittsburgh Press recap, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette recap Starting lineups[24] Steagles Position Giants Bill Hewitt Left end Neal Adams Vic Sears Left tackle Frank Cope Elbie Schultz Left guard Len Younce Ray Graves Center Bill Piccolo Enio Conti Right guard Chuck Avedisian Bucko Kilroy Right tackle Al Blozis Larry Cabrelli Right end Bill Walls Roy Zimmerman Quarterback Leland Shaffer John Butler Left halfback Emery Nix Jack Hinkle Right halfback Ward Cuff Charlie Gauer Fullback Bill Paschal Steagles substitutions: Bova, Miller, Doyle, Wistert, Michaels, Paschka, Canale, Wukits, Kish, Thurbon, Sherman, Steele, Sader and Laux. Giants substitutions: Pritko, Liebel, V. Adams, Carroll, Visnick, Marone, Roberts, Dubzinski, Hein, Leemans, Brown, Trocolor, Kinscherf, Sulaitis, Barker and Karcis.

	1	2	3	4	Total
Steagles	0	0	0	14	14
Giants	14	14	14	0	42

Scoring drives and statistics:

1st quarter Giants – Adams 34 yard blocked punt return (Cuff kick) Giants – Walls 31 yard pass from Nix (Cuff kick) 2nd quarter Giants – Paschal 4 yard run (Cuff kick) Giants – Liebel 6 yard pass from Leemans (Cuff kick) 3rd quarter Giants – Blozis 35 yard blocked punt return (Cuff kick) Giants – Paschal 1 yard run (Cuff kick) 4th quarter Steagles – Kish 4 yard pass from Sherman (Lauxkick) Steagles – Wukits 2 yard fumble return (Laux kick) Steagles Game statistics[24] Giants 10 First downs 12 38–64 Rushes–yards 30–72 168 Passing yards 127 13–32–1 Passes 10–17–0 47 Punt return yards 60 13–35 Punts 6–49 4–1 Fumbles–lost 1–0 5–19 Penalties–yards 2–10

Week 5: vs. Chicago Cardinals

Week Five: Chicago Cardinals (0–5) at Steagles (2–2) – Game information

Sunday, October 31, 1943 Game weather: Referee: Carl Rebele (Penn State)[25] Game attendance: 16,351[25] at Forbes Field in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Game coverage: Pro Football Reference, Pittsburgh Press recap, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette recap Starting lineups[25] Steagles Position Cardinals Tony Bova Left end Eddie Rucinski Vic Sears Left tackle Cliff Duggan Elbie Schultz Left guard Conway Baker Ray Graves Center Vaughn Stewart Ed Michaels Right guard Gordon Wilson Ted Doyle Right tackle Chet Bulger Tom Miller Right end Don Currivan Roy Zimmerman Quarterback Walt Rankin John Butler Left halfback Walt Masters Jack Hinkle Right halfback Johnny Hall Ben Kish Fullback John Grigas Steagles substitutions: Hewitt, Cabrelli, Bucko Kilroy, Wistert, Conti, Canale, Paschka, Wukits, Gauer, Steele, Steward, Thurbon, Sherman, Laux and Sader. Cardinals substitutions: Wager, Rexer, Robnett, Albrecht, Clarence Booth, Ghersanich, Cahill, Stokes, Puplis, Morrow, Smith, Martin.

	1	2	3	4	Total
Cardinals	0	13	0	0	13
Steagles	21	0	0	13	34

Scoring drives and statistics:

1st quarter Steagles – Kish 86 yard interception return (Zimmerman kick) Steagles – Bova 31 yard pass from Zimmerman (Zimmerman kick) Steagles – Hinkle fumble recovery in end zone (Zimmerman kick) 2nd quarter Cardinals – Currivan 35 yard pass from Masters (kick failed) Cardinals – Hall 67 yard pass from Cahill (Stokes kick) 3rd quarter No scoring 4th quarter Steagles – Thurbon 3 yard run (kick failed) Steagles – Bova 26 yard pass from Zimmerman (Zimmerman kick) Steagles Game statistics[25] Cardinals 16 First downs 9 54–167 Rushes–yards 28–31 74 Passing yards 173 4–10–1 Passes 8–21–3 45 Punt return yards 17 5–33 Punts 7–36.3 75 Kickoff return yards 28 4–2 Fumbles–lost 2–2 6–82 Penalties–yards 6–59

Week 6: vs. Washington Redskins

Week Six: Washington Redskins (4–0) at Steagles (3–2) – Game information

Sunday, November 7, 1943 Game weather: Referee: Samuel A. Weiss (Duquesne)[26] Game attendance: 32,694[26] at Shibe Park in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Game coverage: Pro Football Reference, Pittsburgh Press recap, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette recap Starting lineups[26] Steagles Position Redskins Tony Bova Left end Bob Masterson Vic Sears Left tackle Willie Wilkin Elbie Schultz Left guard Dick Farman Ray Graves Center George Smith Ed Michaels Right guard Steve Slivinski Ted Doyle Right tackle Lou Rymkus Larry Cabrelli Right end Joe Aguirre Roy Zimmerman Quarterback Ray Hare John Butler Left halfback Sammy Baugh Jack Hinkle Right halfback Wilbur Moore Ben Kish Fullback Bob Seymour Steagles substitutions: Hewitt, Miller, Kilroy, Wistert, Canale, Conti, Paschka, Wukits, Gauer, Steward, Thurbon, Steele and Sherman. Redskins substitutions: Lapka, Zeno, Pasqua, Shugart, Fiorentino, Leon, Hayden, Seno, Dunn and Farkas.

	1	2	3	4	Total
Redskins	0	0	7	7	14
Steagles	0	0	7	7	14

The 1942 NFL Champion Washington Redskins come to Philadelphia with a 13 regular season game winning streak, and for 1943 scoring an avg of 30 points per game and allowing on 6 a game.

Scoring drives and statistics:

1st quarter No scoring 2nd quarter No scoring 3rd quarter Steagles – Cabrelli 24 yard interception return (Zimmerman kick) Redskins – Moore 25 yard pass from Baugh (Masterson kick) 4th quarter Steagles – Rymkus 4 yard blocked punt return (Masterson kick) Redskins – Steele 35 yard pass from Zimmerman (Zimmerman kick) Steagles Game statistics[26] Redskins 10 First downs 11 44–80 Rushes–yards 23–62 89 Passing yards 147 5–17–3 Passes 15–30–3 32 Punt return yards 47 11–31.5 Punts 5–48.6 56 Kickoff return yards 52 2–0 Fumbles–lost 6–3 7–79 Penalties–yards 6–60

Week 7: at Brooklyn Dodgers

Week Seven: Steagles (3–2–1) at Brooklyn Dodgers (1–6) – Game information

Sunday, November 14, 1943 Game weather: Referee: Samuel A. Weiss (Duquesne)[27] Game attendance: 7,613[27] at Ebbets Field in Brooklyn, New York Game coverage: Pro Football Reference, Pittsburgh Press recap, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette recap Starting lineups[27] Steagles Position Dodgers Tony Bova Left end Ray Wehba Vic Sears Left tackle Frank "Bruiser" Kinard Gordon Paschka Left guard Jake Fawcett Ray Graves Center Bud Svendsen Ed Michaels Right guard Lew Jones Ted Doyle Right tackle George Sergienko Larry Cabrelli Right end Andy Kowalski John Butler Quarterback Tillie Manton Bob Thurbon Left halfback Ken Heineman Jack Hinkle Right halfback Merl Condit Ben Kish Fullback Clarence "Pug" Manders Steagles substitutions: Gauer, Miller, Kilroy, Wistert, Conti, Schultz, Wukits, Zimmerman, Steele and Steward. Dodgers substitutions: Ranspot, Webb, Davis, Matisi, Grandinette, Martin, Setcavage, McAdams and Sachse.

	1	2	3	4	Total
Steagles	7	0	0	0	7
Dodgers	0	7	6	0	13

Scoring drives and statistics:

1st quarter Steagles – Thurbon 3 yard run (Paschka kick) 2nd quarter Dodgers – Manders 2 yard run (Kinard kick) 3rd quarter Dodgers – Condit 65 yard pass from Heineman (kick failed) 4th quarter No scoring Steagles Game statistics[27] Redskins 10 First downs 11 44–80 Rushes–yards 23–62 89 Passing yards 147 5–17–3 Passes 15–30–3 32 Punt return yards 47 11–31.5 Punts 5–48.6 56 Kickoff return yards 52 2–0 Fumbles–lost 6–3 7–79 Penalties–yards 6–60

Week 8: vs. Detroit Lions

Week Seven: Detroit Lions (3–5–1) at Steagles (3–3–1) – Game information

Sunday, November 21, 1943 Game weather: Referee: Ronald Gibb[28] Game attendance: 23,338[28] at Forbes Field in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Game coverage: Pro Football Reference, Pittsburgh Press recap, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette recap Starting lineups[28] Steagles Position Lions Tony Bova Left end Bill Fisk Vic Sears Left tackle Ted Pavelec Elbie Schultz Left guard Riley Matheson Ray Graves Center Gerry Conlee Ed Michaels Right guard Anthony Rubino Bucko Kilroy Right tackle Al Kaporch Larry Cabrelli Right end Jack Matheson Roy Zimmerman Quarterback Bill Callihan John Butler Left halfback Frank Sinkwich Jack Hinkle Right halfback Arthur Van Tone Ben Kish Fullback Harry Hopp Steagles substitutions: Gauer, Miller, Wistert, Doyle, Gordon Paschka, Conti, Wukits, Steward, Steele, Thurbon and Laux. Lions substitutions: Kuczynski, Wickett, Batinski, Rockenbach, Lio, Evans, Hackney, Mathews, Keene and Fenenbock.

	1	2	3	4	Total
Lions	0	13	7	14	34
Steagles	7	7	7	14	35

Scoring drives and statistics:

1st quarter Steagles – Butler 4 yard run (Zimmerman kick) 2nd quarter Steagles – Hinkle 1 yard run (Zimmerman kick) Lions – Mathews 98 yard kick return (Lio kick) Lions – Hopp 88 yard run (kick failed) 3rd quarter Steagles – Thurbon 2 yard run (Zimmerman kick) Lions – Hackney 7 yard run (Lio kick) 4th quarter Lions – Hopp 88 yard lateral from Mathews (Lio kick) Steagles – Cabrelli 7 yard pass from Zimmerman (Zimmerman kick) Steagles – Zimmerman 2 yard run (Zimmerman kick) Lions – Van Tone 71 yard pass from Fenenbock (Lio kick) Steagles Game statistics[28] Lions 17 First downs 12 48–262 Rushes–yards 33–160 83 Passing yards 194 10 Yards off laterals 25 7–13–1 Passes 10–22–4 0 Punt return yards 9 4–40.75 Punts 2–32.5 101 Kickoff return yards 167 2–1 Fumbles–lost 3–1 3–35 Penalties–yards 4–40

Week 9: at Washington Redskins

Week Nine: Steagles (4–3–1) at Washington Redskins (6–0–1) – Game information

Sunday, November 28, 1943 Game weather: Referee: Carl Rebele (Penn State)[29] Game attendance: 35,540[29] at Griffith Stadium in Washington, DC Game coverage: Pro Football Reference, Pittsburgh Press recap, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette recap Starting lineups[29] Steagles Position Redskins Tony Bova Left end Bob Masterson Vic Sears Left tackle Lou Rymkus Elbie Schultz Left guard Clyde Shugart Ray Graves Center George Smith Ed Michaels Right guard Steve Slivinski Bucko Kilroy Right tackle Joe Pasqua Larry Cabrelli Right end Joe Aguirre Roy Zimmerman Quarterback Ray Hare John Butler Left halfback Sammy Baugh Jack Hinkle Right halfback Wilbur Moore Ben Kish Fullback Bob Seymour Steagles substitutions: Miller, Wistert, Doyle, Paschka, Conti, Canale, Wukits, Sherman, Thurbon, Steward and Steele. Redskins substitutions: Piasecky, Wilkin, Fiorentino, Zeno, Ribar, Leon, Conkright, Seno, Cafego and Farkas.

	1	2	3	4	Total
Steagles	7	0	7	13	27
Washington	0	0	7	7	14

Scoring drives and statistics:

1st quarter Steagles – Thurbon 6 yard run (Zimmerman kick) 2nd quarter No scoring 3rd quarter Steagles – Thurbon 5 yard run (Zimmerman kick) Redskins – Masterson 4 yard pass from Baugh (Masterson kick) 4th quarter Steagles – Steele 47 yard run (Zimmerman kick failed) Steagles – Hinkle 1 yard run (Zimmerman kick) Redskins – Aguirre 12 yard pass from Baugh (Aguirre kick) Steagles Game statistics[29] Redskins 19 First downs 10 64–297 Rushes–yards 20–58 82 Passing yards 211 6–13–1 Passes 14–28–2 13 Punt return yards 61 6–29.7 Punts 7–39.5 59 Kickoff return yards 81 4–2 Fumbles–lost 1–0 5–30 Penalties–yards 10–60

Week 10: vs. Green Bay Packers

Week Ten: Green Bay Packers (6–2–1) at Steagles (5–3–1) – Game information

Sunday, December 5, 1943 Game weather: Referee: Tow Dowd (Holy Cross)[30] Game attendance: 34,294[30] at Shibe Park in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Game coverage: Pro Football Reference, Pittsburgh Press recap, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette recap Starting lineups[30] Steagles Position Packers Tony Bova Left end Don Hutson Vic Sears Left tackle Baby Ray Elbie Schultz Left guard Bill Kuusisto Ray Graves Center Charley Brock Ed Michaels Right guard Pete Tinsley Bucko Kilroy Right tackle Chet Adams Larry Cabrelli Right end Harry Jacunski Roy Zimmerman Quarterback Larry Craig John Butler Left halfback Tony Canadeo Jack Hinkle Right halfback Lou Brock Ben Kish Fullback Ted Fritsch Steagles substitutions: Miller, Gauer, Doyle, Wistert, Paschka, Conti, Wukits, Sherman, Thurbon, Steward and Steele. Packers substitutions: Mason, Evans, Berezney, Goldenberg, Flowers, Falkenstein, Laws, Starret, Uram, Lankas, Kahler and Comp.

	1	2	3	4	Total
Packers	14	3	7	14	38
Steagles	14	0	0	14	28

Scoring drives and statistics:

1st quarter Packers – Canadeo 35 yard run (Hutson kick) Steagles – Hinkle 38 yard run (Zimmerman kick) Packers – Canadeo 13 yard pass from Brock (Hutson kick) Steagles – Bova 48 yard pass from Zimmerman (Zimmerman kick) 2nd quarter Packers – Hutson 25 yard field goal 3rd quarter Packers – Comp 4 yard run (Hutson kick) 4th quarter Packers – Hutson 12 yard pass from Comp (Hutson kick) Steagles – Bova 13 yard pass from Sherman (Zimmerman kick) Steagles – Steele 4 yard run (Zimmerman kick) Packers – Hutson 23 yard pass from Comp (Hutson kick) Steagles Game statistics[36] Packers 10 First downs 8 40–142 Rushes–yards 38–175 176 Passing yards 103 7–18–6 Passes 9–23–2 57 Punt return yards 8 3–36 Punts 5–39 176 Kickoff return yards 63 4–2 Fumbles–lost 0–0 2–10 Penalties–yards 8–55

Roster

## = Eagles player ## = Steelers player

Positions key E N/A B N/A HB N/A TB N/A DB N/A T N/A G N/A FB N/A C N/A DE N/A MG N/A DT N/A LB N/A K N/A QB N/A HC Head coach

Players and coaches of the 1943 Phil/Pitt "Steagles":^[37][38][39]

#	Player	Pos.	GP	GS	Ht.	Wt.	Age	Yrs.	College	Draft status
—	Greasy Neale	co-HC (offense)					53	3rd	West Virginia Wesleyan
—	Walt Kiesling	co-HC (defense)					40	5th	St. Thomas (MN)
85	Tony Bova	E/B	10	6	6–1	190	26	1	St. Francis (PA)	4-F (eyesight)
27	John Butler	HB/TB	10	10	5–10	185	25	R	Tennessee	4-F (eyesight, knees)
84	Larry Cabrelli	E/DB	10	9	5–11	194	26	2	Colgate	4-F (knee)
75	Rocco Canale	T/OG	4	0	5–11	240	26	R	Boston College	1-A (active duty Army)
67	Enio "Ed" Conti	OG	10	1	5–11	204	30	2	Arkansas / Bucknell	3-A (father)
72	Ted Doyle	T/OG	10	4	6–2	224	29	5	Nebraska	3-A (father)
61	Joe Frank	T	2	0	6–1	217	28	2	Georgetown (DC)
32	Charlie Gauer	FB/E	9	1	6–2	213	22	R	Colgate	4-F (ulcers, knee)
52	Ray Graves	C	10	9	6–1	205	25	1	Tennessee / Tenn. Wesleyan	4-F (hearing)
82	Bill Hewitt	E/DE	6	4	6–4	190	34	1	Michigan	4-F (perforated eardrum)
43	Jack Hinkle	B	10	9	5–9	190	26	11	Syracuse	4-F (ulcers)
76	Frank "Bucko" Kilroy	OG/MG/T/DT	9	4	6–2	243	22	R	Notre Dame / Temple	1-A (active duty Merchant Marine)
44	Ben Kish	B	10	9	6–0	207	26	3	Pittsburgh	4-F (head injury)
15	Ted Laux	HB/DB	4	0	5–10	185	25	R	St. Joseph's (PA)
31	Bob Masters	HB/E	3	0	5–11	200	32	6	Baylor
25	Hugh McCullough	TB/HB	1	0	6–0	185	27	4	Oklahoma
60	Ed Michaels	OG	10	9	5–11	205	29	R	Villanova	4-F (hearing)
89	Tom Miller	DE/E	10	1	6–2	202	25	R	Hampden-Sydney	4-F (hearing)
61	Gordon Paschka	FB/OG	10	1	6–0	220	23	R	Minnesota	3-A (father)
81	Ray Reutt	E	1	0	6–0	195	26	R	VMI
33	Steve Sader	FB	2	0	5–11	180	26	R	none
71	Eberle "Elbie" Schultz	T/OG	10	9	6–4	252	26	3	Oregon State	3-A (father)
79	Vic Sears	T/DT	10	10	6–3	223	26	2	Oregon State	4-F (ulcers)
10	Allie Sherman	QB	8	0	5–11	170	25	R	Brooklyn	4-F (perforated eardrums)
37	Ernie Steele	HB/DB	10	1	6–0	187	26	1	Washington	3-A (father)
36	Dean Steward	HB	6	0	6–0	210	20	R	Ursinus	1-A (drafted in 1944)
49	Bob Thurbon	HB	9	1	5–10	176	25	R	Pittsburgh	4-F (reason unknown)
70	Al Wistert	T/OG/DT	9	2	6–1	214	23	R	Michigan	4-F (osteomyelitis)
50	Al Wukits	C/LB/OG	10	1	6–3	218	26	R	Duquesne	4-F (hernia)
7	Roy Zimmerman	QB/B/K	10	9	6–2	201	25	3	San Jose State	3-C (father, farmer)

References

Sources

• Algeo, Matthew (2006), Last Team Standing: How the Steelers and the Eagles—"The Steagles"—Saved Pro Football During World War II. Philadelphia: Da Capo Press. ISBN 978-0-306-81472-3

Further reading

• Coenen, Craig R. (2005), From sandlots to the Super Bowl: the National Football League, 1920–1967. Knoxville, TN: The University of Tennessee Press. ISBN 1-57233-447-9
• DeVito, Carlo (2006). Wellington: the Maras, the Giants, and the City of New York. Chicago: Triumph Books. ISBN 978-1-57243-872-9
• Didinger, Ray; with Lyons, Robert S. (2005), The Eagles Encyclopedia. Philadelphia: Temple University Press. ISBN 1-59213-449-1
• Hession, Joseph (1987). The Rams : Five Decades of Football. San Francisco: Foghorn Press.
• Layden, Elmer; with Snyder, Ed (1969). It Was a Different Game: The Elmer Layden Story. Englewood Cliffs, NJ:Prentice-Hall, Inc.
• Lyons, Robert S. (2010). On Any Given Sunday, A Life of Bert Bell. Philadelphia: Temple University Press. ISBN 978-1-59213-731-2
• MacCambridge, Michael (2005), America's Game. New York: Anchor Books ISBN 978-0-307-48143-6
• Rooney, Dan; with Halaas, David F. and Masich, Andrew E. (2007). My 75 Years with the Pittsburgh Steelers and the NFL. Cambridge, MA: Da Capo Press. ISBN 978-0-7867-2603-5
• Ruck, Rob; with Paterson, Maggie Jones and Weber, Michael P. (2010) Rooney: A Sporting Life. Lincoln, Neb.: University of Nebraska Press. ISBN 978-0-8032-2283-0

External links

• Steagles: When the Steelers and Eagles were One in the Same
• Steagles to be Honored
• Blood Brothers: The 1943 Steagles became an unlikely product of the war years
• The 'Steagles,' a ragtag NFL team that involved Greasy Neale
• World War II Steagles to be honored at tonight's game
• Fox Sports on MSN: Amazing Sports Stories
• The Steagles: Hybrid Team Zany Moment in Steelers' Past