1959 Pittsburgh Steelers season
NFL team season
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The 1959 Pittsburgh Steelers season marked the franchise's 27th year in the National Football League (NFL). The team finished with a record of 6 wins, 5 losses and 1 tie, one fewer win than the previous season. Much of the decline could be attributed to a lack of fresh blood up and down the roster. The team didn't have a draft choice until the eighth round, where it selected Purdue University halfback Tom Barnett at the 81st overall pick. None of the two running backs the Steelers drafted played a single snap with the Steelers, with J.W. Brodnax going to the 1960 Denver Broncos, and Charley Tolar going to the 1960–1966 Houston Oilers.
| 1959 Pittsburgh Steelers season | |
|---|---|
| Head coach | Buddy Parker |
| Home stadium | Forbes Field |
| Results | |
| Record | 6–5–1 |
| Division place | 4th NFL Eastern |
| Playoffs | Did not qualify |
Regular season
In 1959 the Steelers offered seats at four price levels — $6.00, $5.00, $4.00, and $3.00.[1] No season prices for the six game slate were published.[1]
Schedule
| Game | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance | Recap | Sources | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | September 26 | Cleveland Browns | W 17–7 | 1–0 | Forbes Field | 33,844 | Recap | ||
| 2 | October 4 | Washington Redskins | L 17–23 | 1–1 | Forbes Field | 26,750 | Recap | ||
| 3 | October 11 | at Philadelphia Eagles | L 24–28 | 1–2 | Franklin Field | 27,343 | Recap | ||
| 4 | October 18 | at Washington Redskins | W 27–6 | 2–2 | Griffith Stadium | 28,218 | Recap | ||
| 5 | October 25 | New York Giants | L 16–21 | 2–3 | Forbes Field | 33,596 | Recap | ||
| 6 | November 1 | at Chicago Cardinals | L 24–45 | 2–4 | Soldier Field | 23,187 | Recap | ||
| 7 | November 8 | Detroit Lions | T 10–10 | 2–4–1 | Forbes Field | 24,614 | Recap | ||
| 8 | November 15 | at New York Giants | W 14–9 | 3–4–1 | Yankee Stadium | 66,786 | Recap | ||
| 9 | November 22 | at Cleveland Browns | W 21–20 | 4–4–1 | Cleveland Stadium | 68,563 | Recap | ||
| 10 | November 29 | Philadelphia Eagles | W 31–0 | 5–4–1 | Forbes Field | 22,191 | Recap | ||
| 11 | December 6 | at Chicago Bears | L 21–27 | 5–5–1 | Wrigley Field | 41,476 | Recap | ||
| 12 | December 13 | Chicago Cardinals | W 35–20 | 6–5–1 | Forbes Field | 19,011 | Recap | ||
| Note: Intra-conference opponents are in bold text. | |||||||||
Game summaries
Week 1 (Saturday September 26, 1959): Cleveland Browns
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Browns | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| Steelers | 0 | 0 | 10 | 7 | 17 |
at Forbes Field, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
- Game time:
- Game weather:
- Game attendance: 33,844
- Referee:
- TV announcers:
Scoring drives:
Week 2 (Sunday October 4, 1959): Washington Redskins
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Redskins | 3 | 6 | 14 | 0 | 23 |
| Steelers | 0 | 0 | 10 | 7 | 17 |
at Forbes Field, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
- Game time:
- Game weather:
- Game attendance: 26,750
- Referee:
- TV announcers:
Scoring drives:
- Washington – FG Baker 25 WSH 3–0
- Washington – FG Baker 47 WSH 3–0
- Washington – FG Baker 48 WSH 9–0
- Washington – Anderson 70 pass from Gugliemi (Baker kick) WSH 16–0
- Pittsburgh – FG Layne 32 WSH 16–3
- Washington – Walton 26 pass from Gugliemi (Baker kick)WSH 23–3
- Pittsburgh – Brewster 30 pass from Layne (Layne kick) WSH 23-10
- Pittsburgh – Krutko 2 run (Layne kick) WSH 23–17
Week 3 (Sunday October 11, 1959): Philadelphia Eagles
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Steelers | 7 | 3 | 7 | 7 | 24 |
| Eagles | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 28 |
at Franklin Field, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- Game time:
- Game weather:
- Game attendance: 27,343
- Referee: Bud Brubaker
- TV announcers:
Scoring drives:
- Steelers – Bobby Layne 10 run (Layne kick), PIT 7–0
- Eagles – Billy Ray Barnes 3 run (Walston kick), TIE 7–7
- Eagles – Art Powell 58 punt return (Walston kick), PHI 14–7
- Steelers – FG Bobby Lane 12, PHI 14–10
- Eagles – Norm Van Brocklin 1 run (Walston kick), PHI 21–10
- Steelers – Tom Tracy 11 pass from Layne (Layne kick), PHI 21–17
- Eagles – Tommy McDonald 18 pass from Van Brocklin (Walston kick), PHI 28–17
- Steelers – Jimmy Orr 17 pass from Layne (Layne kick), PHI 28–24
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
|---|---|---|---|
| Steelers | Passing | Bobby Layne | 18/33, 209 Yds, 2 TD, INT |
| Rushing | Tom Tracy | 11 Rush, 33 Yds | |
| Receiving | Tom Tracy | 4 Rec, 70 Yds, TD | |
| Eagles | Passing | Norm Van Brocklin | 13/27, 172 Yds, TD, 2 INT |
| Rushing | Clarence Peaks | 14 Rush, 42 Yds | |
| Receiving | Tommy McDonald | 4 Rec, 66 Yds, TD |
Week 4 (Sunday October 18, 1959): Washington Redskins
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Steelers | 14 | 7 | 0 | 6 | 27 |
| Redskins | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
at Griffith Stadium, Washington, DC
- Game time:
- Game weather:
- Game attendance: 28,218
- Referee:
- TV announcers:
Scoring drives:
Week 5 (Sunday October 25, 1959): New York Giants
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Giants | 14 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 21 |
| Steelers | 10 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 16 |
at Forbes Field, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
- Game time:
- Game weather:
- Game attendance: 33,596
- Referee:
- TV announcers:
Scoring drives:
- Pittsburgh – FG Layne 37
- New York Giants – Gifford 77 pass from Conerly (Summerall kick)
- New York Giants – Gifford 28 pass from Conerly (Summerall kick)
- Pittsburgh – Dial 35 pass from Layne (Layne kick)
- Pittsburgh – FG Layne 19
- New York Giants – Huff 5 fumble run (Summerall kick)
- Pittsburgh – FG Layne 17
Week 6 (Sunday November 1, 1959): Chicago Cardinals
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Steelers | 0 | 10 | 7 | 7 | 24 |
| Cardinals | 14 | 21 | 0 | 10 | 45 |
at Comiskey Park, Chicago, Illinois
- Game time:
- Game weather:
- Game attendance:
- Referee:
- TV announcers:
Week 7 (Sunday November 8, 1959): Detroit Lions
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lions | 7 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 10 |
| Steelers | 0 | 0 | 3 | 7 | 10 |
at Forbes Field, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
- Game time:
- Game weather:
- Game attendance: 24,614
- Referee:
- TV announcers:
Scoring drives:
Week 8 (Sunday November 15, 1959): New York Giants
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Steelers | 0 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 14 |
| Giants | 0 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 9 |
at Yankee Stadium, Bronx, New York
- Game time:
- Game weather:
- Game attendance: 66,786
- Referee:
- TV announcers:
Scoring drives:
Week 9 (Sunday November 22, 1959): Cleveland Browns
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Steelers | 0 | 14 | 0 | 7 | 21 |
| Browns | 0 | 6 | 0 | 14 | 20 |
at Cleveland Municipal Stadium, Cleveland, Ohio
- Game time:
- Game weather:
- Game attendance: 68,563
- Referee:
- TV announcers:
Scoring drives:
Week 10 (Sunday November 29, 1959): Philadelphia Eagles
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eagles | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Steelers | 3 | 7 | 7 | 14 | 31 |
at Forbes Field, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
- Game time:
- Game weather:
- Game attendance: 22,191
- Referee:
- TV announcers:
Scoring drives:
Week 11 (Sunday December 5, 1959): Chicago Bears
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bears | 6 | 14 | 7 | 0 | 27 |
| Steelers | 0 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 21 |
at Forbes Field, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
- Game time:
- Game weather:
- Game attendance: 41,476
- Referee:
- TV announcers:
Scoring drives:
Week 12 (Sunday December 12, 1959): Chicago Cardinals
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cardinals | 6 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 20 |
| Steelers | 0 | 28 | 7 | 0 | 35 |
at Forbes Field, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
- Game time:
- Game weather:
- Game attendance: 19,011
- Referee:
- TV announcers:
Scoring drives:
- Chicago Cardinals – FG Conrad 37
- Chicago Cardinals – FG Conrad 20
- Pittsburgh – Layne 9 run (Layne kick)
- Pittsburgh – Dial 35 pass from Layne (Layne kick)
- Pittsburgh – Dial 11 pass from Layne (Layne kick)
- Pittsburgh – Tracy 16 pass from Layne (Layne kick)
- Chicago Cardinals – Conrad 21 pass from Hill (Conrad kick)
- Pittsburgh – Orr 16 pass from Layne (Layne kick)
- Chicago Cardinals – Crow 7 pass from Hill (Conrad kick)
Standings
| NFL Eastern Conference | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W | L | T | PCT | CONF | PF | PA | STK | ||
| New York Giants | 10 | 2 | 0 | .833 | 8–2 | 284 | 170 | W4 | |
| Philadelphia Eagles | 7 | 5 | 0 | .583 | 6–4 | 268 | 278 | L1 | |
| Cleveland Browns | 7 | 5 | 0 | .583 | 6–4 | 270 | 214 | W1 | |
| Pittsburgh Steelers | 6 | 5 | 1 | .545 | 6–4 | 257 | 216 | W1 | |
| Washington Redskins | 3 | 9 | 0 | .250 | 2–8 | 185 | 350 | L5 | |
| Chicago Cardinals | 2 | 10 | 0 | .167 | 2–8 | 234 | 324 | L6 | |
- Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings until 1972.
Roster
Quarterbacks (QB)
Running backs (RB)
Wide receivers (WR)
Tight ends (TE)
|
Offensive linemen (OL)
Defensive linemen (DL)
|
Linebackers (LB)
Defensive backs (DB)
Special teams (ST)
|
Reserve
Rookies in italics |
