Steagles: How the Eagles and Steelers United for the 1943 NFL Season

[00:00:00] World War II had the NFL on the brink of collapse. Many players were fighting in the war and it left fans focusing on other things. And two bitter rivals, the Philadelphia Eagles and the Pittsburgh Steelers, did something you would never see today. They joined forces and became one team called the Stangles in 1943. So they were able to survive with players gone to war. They could field a full team and keep fighting in the NFL.

[00:00:29] Don't miss one of the wildest times in NFL history when two teams became one to continue to compete. Today on Daily Sports History. Let's go! Welcome to Daily Sports History. I'm Ethan Reese, your guide, because my brain is 80% useless trivia and 20% highlight reels.

[00:00:57] So let's go back to the 1940s. It was a growing time for the NFL. In 1942, the Washington Redskins had just won the championship over the Chicago Bears and the NFL was becoming more like we know it today. They had the Packers, the Lions, the Bears, the Cardinals, the Rams, the Steelers, the Redskins, the Eagles, the Giants, and the Dodgers. But it looks very similar to what we have today. Just less teams.

[00:01:27] But 1943 changed things. The U.S. officially got fully involved in World War II following the Pearl Harbor attacks. And millions of young men were drafted or volunteered for military services. And who are professional athletes? Young men who are fit enough to fight for our country. So the NFL lost a lot of players. And it put a strain on many teams.

[00:01:51] And World War II actually ended up claiming 21 active and former NFL players, as well as head coaches and team executives. So it was felt across the league. And then the owners were struggling. The Rams suspended their season and the Philadelphia Eagles and the Pittsburgh Steelers wanted to continue to play. As the NFL got the green light from the president, FDR, to continue to play to provide normalcy for the country.

[00:02:19] So they wanted to play, but they just couldn't feel enough of a team. So the Eagles and the Steelers did something unconventional. And they joined together and merged to create a team that would compete over the 1943 season. And the league was adapting as well. So that's why they allowed this to happen. They already lost one team or had suspended their operations for a year. And they were allowing everyone to have more leeway with other jobs.

[00:02:46] Many players actually held full-time jobs on top of playing at this time. And most of them were working in factories or in some type of job for the defense effort. So the Eagles and the Steelers got together. Now, if you know anything about Pittsburgh and Philadelphia, even though they're both in Pennsylvania, they're not very close. They are 300 miles apart. You were getting to a car. Google says you could get there in just under five hours.

[00:03:15] So these two teams merging wasn't actually that close. What brought them closer was it brought Pennsylvania together. They had support from the Pennsylvania fans, whether it was the Steelers or Eagles, because they are geographical rivals. Whenever the Eagles do play the Steelers, it's always a rivalry because it's a state rivalry. The two biggest teams in the state on opposite ends of the state, everyone's going to have that rivalry. The problem was they also each had a head coach.

[00:03:45] Greasy Neal was the Eagles head coach. And the Steelers head coach was Walt Kessling. And they were named co-head coaches because they didn't want to lose that label. And Neal would lead the offense and Kessling would lead the defense. And the other parts of coaching, the head coaching stuff, would be contingent throughout the season. But they were able to kind of figure it out. They would go under the Eagles name as they would play four games in Philadelphia and two games in Pittsburgh. But that didn't stay for very long.

[00:04:15] As sports writer Chet Smith gave them the nickname, basically making it a celebrity couple name that we use today. And the Stangles kind of stuck. And it's what they've been known by ever since. It became the rallying cry for both cities. Now, who do they have playing for them? So their quarterback ended up being Roy Zimmerman, who was the Eagles quarterback. And he had a strong arm and had the leadership for the Eagles. And would go on to throw for over a thousand yards and eight touchdowns.

[00:04:42] Which may not sound like a lot, but that actually made him the league's top passer at the time. And he also had a full-time job working at a war plant during the time. And the Eagles also brought in Ali Sherman to be the backup quarterback as well, who went on to become a well-known coach for the New York Giants. Jack Hinkle of the Eagles would be the team's top rusher, rushing for 570 yards and six touchdowns. Which finished third in the NFL for rushing and had a hard-nosed run-you-over type of style.

[00:05:11] And they also had a complimentary back in John Butler from the Steelers, who was a good runner and receiver. Now, at end, they had a Hall of Famer in Bill Hewitt and was the last player to play in the NFL without a helmet. Different times. And he actually came out of retirement to play for them at the age of 33. Which sounds young to us, but really at that time was very old to be still playing football. And was a great leader and a key target in the passing game.

[00:05:39] And then the Steelers brought in Tony Bova, who was legally blind in one eye. And partially blind in the other. And yet remarkably caught 17 passes for almost 300 yards and two touchdowns that year. And I've never got a shot in the NFL. They had Ted Doyle from the Steelers, who would work at the Westinghouse Electronic Company. Who built components for the Manhattan Project, which is the atomic bomb. And also played tackle for the team. They also had on the offensive line Vic Spheres and Rick Graves.

[00:06:09] And from the Steelers, Chuck Toronaduul, who is a veteran and the team captain. Playing center and linebacker. Because this team was short-handed all the time. That's why they merged. They didn't have enough players. The players they did have went to go fight in the war. And the ones they had left over wasn't enough. And it was tough to recruit because everyone was already working for wartime efforts. And so to be able to play and work full-time job, it was a lot of work.

[00:06:38] So they had about 25 men usually on game day. Which is less than half of what teams feel today. And often men had to play both offense and defense the entire game. And most of these men were classified as F4. What that means is they were rejected by the military. That's why they were able to play. It's because they weren't able to join for reasons due to poor eyesight, bad knees, or other health issues.

[00:07:07] So they weren't the best of the best. This was your guys playing pickup games that used to be good back in the day before they got hurt type of guys. But their offense was good. So they started out the year. And they actually played two exhibition games in September. Facing off against the Green Bay Packers in a losing effort. And facing off against the Chicago Bears also in a losing effort. So this was preseason. It means nothing to this day. But it didn't show a whole lot of good signs. And they were still figuring each other out.

[00:07:37] So then came their first home game at Scheib Field in Philadelphia. Facing off against the Brooklyn Dodgers. You would think playing a baseball team would help. And it did. In front of 11,000 fans. They were able to win their very first game as the Stangles 17-0. Their defense really showed great poise. Holding the Dodgers to only 33 yards rushing. One of the lowest totals in NFL history. And Roy Zimmerman, the quarterback, kicked a 32-yard field goal.

[00:08:07] To go along with John Butler and Ernie Steele's rushing touchdowns. To give them their 17 points. As they rushed for over 200 yards that day. And then week two. They faced the New York Giants. Again at Scheib Field. Another home game. In front of 15,000 fans. As fans were starting to get excited. And they won 28-14. Giving them a 2-0 record. It almost looked like, hey, this is going to work. This Stangles team might have something. And it kind of just fell off.

[00:08:36] Next week they would lose by 27 points. Playing at Chicago against the Chicago Bears. And again they would lose against the New York Giants. By 36. The following week. And they would struggle throughout the season. But they were good enough to end the season with a winning record. 5-4-1. Third place in the Eastern Division. And it was the first winning season in Eagles history. And only the second for the Steelers. So this combination really worked in a way.

[00:09:05] As you consider how little people they had. The quality of people they had. And the fact that they were merging teams. Making practice time harder. Making game time harder. And making everything that goes into playing a football game harder. And they were able to compete. Now at this time they didn't have the playoffs. So whoever won the East and whoever won the West. Would play in a championship game. And the Redskins would represent the East. And the Bears would represent the West. And the Bears would win the championship. Next year.

[00:09:35] They would not combine with each other. Sadly to say. But there was a combination team. As Pittsburgh chose to combine with the Cardinals. Which was even farther away. In Chicago. But they weren't as good as they lost. Every single game they played. They should have just stayed connected to the Eagles. Who went on to finish second. In the Eastern standings. The following year. Then finally in 1945. The teams officially separated. And had their own teams. To being the Philadelphia Eagles. And the Pittsburgh Steelers. Just like it was before.

[00:10:05] And went on to become two of the most historic franchises. In NFL history. And the fact that they combined for moments. Was truly impressive. And fans of Pennsylvania. From Philadelphia to Pittsburgh. All cheered for them. During this time. Brought rivals together. And they were a pretty good team. They ranked fourth in the league. In points scored that year. Averaging 22 and a half points. And though they couldn't keep going. As the Stingles. It would have been nice to see. If this team could have continued this process.

[00:10:34] Even after the war. Because they could have been. One of the best teams ever. Instead they separated it. Into the better teams. In the NFL history. Still not a bad sign. The question is. Would you want to see. Your favorite team. Combined with a rival. For an entire season. I want to thank you for listening. To today's Daily Sports History. If you like this. Please like and subscribe. Wherever you're at. That way. You don't miss a single episode. And the more you do it.

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