Pittsburgh Pirates (Football) Team History

1933

Pittsburgh Pirates (Football) Team Formation

In May 1933, in anticipation of the repeal of some of Pennsylvania’s restrictive laws in the fall of that year, Rooney applied for a franchise with the NFL. His request was granted on May 19, 1933, and the Pittsburgh Professional Football Club, Inc. joined the NFL in exchange for a US$2,500 franchise fee (roughly $45,000 in today’s dollars). The new team was known as the Pirates in reference to their baseball club landlords at Forbes Field. Before settling on Forbes, Rooney considered playing at Greenlee Field, which housed the city’s Negro League baseball club. Since the blue laws were not repealed until November’s general election, the team was forced to play its first four home games on Wednesday nights.

In May 1933, in anticipation of the repeal of some of Pennsylvania’s restrictive laws in the fall of that year, Rooney applied for a franchise with the NFL. His request was granted on May 19, 1933, and the Pittsburgh Professional Football Club, Inc. joined the NFL in exchange for a US$2,500 franchise fee (roughly $47,000 in today’s dollars). The new team was known as the Pirates in reference to their baseball club landlords at Forbes Field.

In early 1940, Rooney decided that he had had enough of the copycat Pirates moniker. He worked with the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette to run a contest to find a new name for the team. Former coach Joe Bach led the panel which selected the name Steelers from amongst the entries. The new name paid homage to the city’s largest industry of producing steel.

Summary

Article Name

Pittsburgh Pirates (Football) Team History

Team Description

Pittsburgh’s football team shared the same nickname as the city’s baseball team, the Pirates, from 1933 to 1940.

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Sports Team History

Team Name

Pittsburgh Pirates

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Pittsburgh Pirates (Football) Team History

Pittsburgh Pirates (Football) Team Formation

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