The Steelers celebrated the 60th anniversary of the Steagles on August 17, 2003 during the pregame and halftime ceremonies at Six of the nine surviving members of that team were honored at halftime. One Steagle and future 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. Lex Thompson, who owned the Eagles, was not as keen on the plan since he at least had 16 players under contract. 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. Thompson remembered 1941 and how Rooney actually swapped cities with him, allowing him to keep the Eagles in Philadelphia, close to his New York City home. Sports were a much-needed diversion. The league's official record book refers to the team as "Phil-Pitt Combine", but the unofficial "Steagles", despite never being registered by the NFL, has become the enduring moniker.
The prospect of a unified Pittsburgh-Philadelphia team actually predated World War II by several years. In many ways 1943 was a major success. The young men who remained in the States to play football were by and large deferred from the draft. It is possible their pick ended up with this team via another team with whom they made a trade. The final game, at home in Shibe Park against the Green Bay Packers, would make or break the season. Playing football and being ridiculed was added embarrassment. The Philadelphia Eagles had 16. He figured with a war going on there were better things to cry about. In the early 1940s there was patriotic gravitation to serve and fight for the country. 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. Three types of deferments defined 1943 NFL players. The cutoff date for birth was September 15, 1942, precisely nine months and one week after the attack on Pearl Harbor.The second group consisted of those men who worked in the war industry, producing and preparing ammunition, weapons and materials.
Hewitt was good enough to be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1971.The next season, 1944, the NFL was back on solid footing. The first group was called 3-As. In the New York game the Steagles fumbled the ball 10 times, still an NFL record, but managed to win 28-14.
Total NFL attendance experienced a huge spike, averaging 24,000 per game. The team would be known as the Philadelphia Eagles and be based in Philly. Total attendance was 129,000, a record for both Pittsburgh and Philadelphia. To learn more or opt-out, read our In 1943 America was entrenched in World War II, both in European and Japanese theaters. The Boston Yanks paid $50,000 for entry into the league. The league's owners could not resolve these issues during the spring meeting.Commissioner Elmer Layden begged for two teams to combine again in 1944. The Steelers and Eagles had combined for a 13-65-7 record in the previous four seasons, so not much was expected of the two teams playing together. The second group. Common ailments were ulcers, perforated eardrums, partial blindness or deafness and even flat feet.Even with these deferments, NFL rosters were hurting. Asking the Eagles to like him was too much to ask.As the season got underway, fans and newspapers, everywhere but in Philadelphia, began calling the team the Steagles, a combination of Steelers and Eagles.
The Cardinals were chosen since they recorded an 0-10 record in 1943. Those members were quarterback In addition the Steelers recreated the Steagles era in their "Turn Back the Clock" ceremonies, including broadcasting in black and white on the 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. At the annual spring meeting, the NFL decided to play through the roster adversity for much the same reasons that Major League Baseball continued to play. At the time baseball far surpassed football as America's game (that since has reversed). Nobody in professional football expected much from the team. President Roosevelt wrote an inspirational decree on how important it was to the country for baseball to continue. He lost the rushing title to New York's Bill Paschal by one yard.