Break out the cake and candles to the Pittsburgh Steelers. Today is their 91st birthday. While the team didn’t play their first game until September, 1933, Art Rooney, “The Chief,” officially bought the franchise on July 8, 1933.
The price for an NFL franchise back then? A cool $2,500, or just over $79,000 in today’s money. No small sum considering the country was in the midst of The Great Depression. Not to mention professional football wasn’t anything like what it is today. Not only was it less popular than baseball, it was looked down upon compared to the “purity” of amateur college football.
A change in Pennsylvania laws was the catalyst for Rooney’s purchase. Gone were many of the state’s “Blue Laws” that prohibited a slew of activity on Sundays, including sporting events (it’s still the reason you can’t buy a car on Sundays). However, the law wasn’t officially repealed until the November elections, forcing the team to play most of their home games that year on Wednesdays.
From 1933 to 1939, the team was called the Pittsburgh Pirates. Like many pro teams of the era, Rooney attempted to capitalize on the popularity of the baseball team to drum up support. The results were middling, attendance was light, and most years, the team lost money. Contrary to popular lore, Rooney didn’t use race track winnings to buy the team. But those big days helped carry the team through their toughest years.
Pittsburgh played its first game on Sept. 20, 1933, a home game against the New York Giants. Commissioner Joseph Carr attended to honor the team’s debut. The result was ugly, a 23-2 loss, but the team scored their first points. It came in unconventional fashion, a blocked punt by John “Cap” Oehler that rolled through the end zone for a safety.
The team’s first win came the following week, 14-13 over the Chicago Cardinals. They scored their first touchdown, again doing so in notable fashion. Martin “Butch” Kottler returned an interception 99 yards in the second quarter for a touchdown, cutting into the Cardinals’ early 13-0 lead. Pittsburgh completed the comeback in the fourth quarter with their first offensive touchdown, end/receiver Paul Moss catching an 11-yard pass from Bill Tanguay. Portly kicker Mose Kelsch, regarded as the NFL’s first true specialist, kicked the game-winning extra point.
Under head coach Forrest “Jap” Douds, the Pirates/Steelers finished the season 3-6-2, a respectable record for a first-year team. Other notable moments from the year include an upset win on the road over the Boston Redskins and a 3-3 tie to the talented Brooklyn Dodgers, though Pittsburgh would be blown out by them the following week. The team rostered one of only two Black players in the NFL during the year in OT Ray Kemp, appearing in five games. Besides Cardinals RB Joe Lillard, no other Black player would play in the NFL until Kenny Washington in 1946. Pittsburgh wouldn’t reintegrate until 1952.
Over the years, we’ve written plenty on this era of the team. One largely forgotten given their lousy track records, appearing in only one playoff game over their first 38 years. But the Steelers preserved and powered through plenty of trials and errors, turning the corner when Chuck Noll was hired in 1969. If you’d like to read more history about this era, there are links below. And a happy birthday to the Steelers. Now go get them a gift.
