# Steagles

The Steagles, officially known as the Phil-Pitt Combine, was the team created by the temporary merger of Pennsylvania's two National Football League (NFL) teams, the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Philadelphia Eagles, during the 1943 season. The two franchises were compelled to field a single combined team because both had lost many players to military service during World War II. The league's official record book refers to the team as the "Phil-Pitt Combine", but the unofficial and portmanteau variation of the "Steagles", despite never being registered by the NFL, has become the enduring moniker.

## History

The prospect of a unified Pittsburgh-Philadelphia team actually predated World War II by several years. The Pennsylvania Keystoners were a team that was proposed in 1939, conceived with the intention of the Steelers and Eagles owners buying into one of the two teams, then spinning the other off to an ownership group in Boston, Massachusetts. League officials rejected the plan, though it resulted in a convoluted ownership "two-step" that left Eagles owner Bert Bell with a share in the Steelers franchise.
America entered World War II on December 7, 1941, with the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Most of the young men who were of the age to play professional football were also of the age to fight for their country. Six hundred NFL players joined the armed forces.
With the country now at war, President Franklin D. Roosevelt esteemed entertainment and sports as a much-needed diversion. He issued an inspirational letter to Commissioner of Baseball Kenesaw Mountain Landis which focused on the importance of Major League Baseball to Americans' morale. The address made no mention of football, as baseball was still widely referred to as America's pastime and had not yet been surpassed in popularity by football. However at its 1943 annual spring meeting, the NFL decided to follow baseball's lead and continue play. Other football leagues, such as the 1940–41 American Football League, Dixie League and the American Association, decided to suspend operations instead, leaving the NFL and its West Coast counterpart, the Pacific Coast Professional Football League, as the only leagues playing professional football at the time.

### Draft deferments

The young men who remained in the States to play football were mostly those who were deferred from the draft. The Steagles players were either unfit for military service for physical or dependency reasons, age, or were active servicemen who had obtained leave to play. Three types of draft deferments defined 1943 NFL players. The first group was called III-A. If a man had persons dependent upon him for support, such as a wife, parent, grandparent, brother, or sister, the draft board would not make him a priority until other possible candidates had been taken. In late 1943, with increasing manpower requirements, the government defined a man classified as III-A as a married father whose child or children was born or conceived prior to the attack on Pearl Harbor. The cutoff date for birth was September 15, 1942, precisely nine months and one week after Pearl Harbor. The second group of draft deferments, II-As, II-Bs, and II-Cs, consisted of those men who worked in critical civilian occupations, war industries producing and preparing ammunition, weapons and materials, or agriculture. The third group (IV-Fs), were those men deemed unfit for military service due to ailments such as chronic ulcers, improperly-healed injuries, defects of the extremities, bad hearing, and partial blindness.
Most NFL football players wanted to do their patriotic duty and serve their country, and for a man fit to play football, an IV-F classification was an embarrassment.
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. Tony Bova, the Steagles' leading receiver with 17 receptions, was blind in one eye and partially blind in the other. Steagles guard Eddie Michaels was nearly deaf and center Ray Graves was deaf in one ear. One starting defensive end was blind in one eye and nearly legally blind in the other. The Steagles tailback John Butler made his first start one day after being classified IV-F by his draft board for poor eyesight and bad knees. Placekicker and punter Troy Smith had a prosthetic leg.

### 1943 NFL spring meetings

Even with these deferments, NFL rosters were hurting. The Cleveland Rams suspended operations and the Pittsburgh Steelers had only six men left under contract while the Philadelphia Eagles had only sixteen. The 1943 NFL draft did not help much. Most players drafted went off to the war instead of joining NFL teams. Further exacerbating the issue was the continued insistence of George Preston Marshall and other NFL owners on continuing the ten-year-old ban on black players, which disqualified potential replacement players such as Kenny Washington.
Steelers' owner Art Rooney's idea was to merge the Steelers with the Eagles. This idea came quickly to him since two years earlier he thought about combining the two teams into the Pennsylvania Keystoners. Eagles' owner Alexis Thompson, who was serving in the US Army as a corporal, was not as keen on the plan since he at least had 16 players under contract. However, Thompson remembered how Rooney in 1941 swapped cities with him which allowed him to keep the Eagles in Philadelphia close to his New York City home. This led to an agreement on combining the teams.
The league approved the merger by a vote of 5–4. However, several owners expressed fears that the merger would produce a team with an unfair advantage. The merger had a slight lean in favor of Philadelphia based on stipulations imposed by Thompson. The team would be known as the Philadelphia Eagles and be based in Philadelphia. Rooney had very little leverage, bringing only six players to the table. However, he was successful in landing two home games in Pittsburgh, while Philadelphia would host four. The team was also to wear the Eagles' green and white colors instead of Pittsburgh's black and gold. This event officially marked the only time in the Steelers history (other than in 1941 when green and white were used as well as black and gold) that the team colors were something other than black and gold. The league also stated that helmets were mandated for the first time and that the league would expand in 1944 with the Boston Yanks paying $50,000 for entry into the league.

### 1943 season

Philadelphia's Greasy Neale and Pittsburgh's Walt Kiesling would be co-head coaches because each coach refused to be demoted. This led to several problems: the first being that the two men hated each other. Secondly, Kiesling's own players did not like him; so asking the Eagles players to like him was too much to ask. However, Neale took advantage when Kiesling was delayed en route to camp which was held at St. Joseph's College in Philadelphia. By the time Keisling arrived, Neale already had the offense learning the T-formation, which was all the rage in those days because of its success in college football that was used by Frank Leahy at Notre Dame and by Red Blaik at Army. This conflict led to Neale serving as the team's offensive coordinator; while Kiesling served as the defensive coordinator. They would then split head coaching duties. According to defensive back Ernie Steele, the situation between the two coaches got so bad that Kiesling and Neale walked off the field after a heated argument during practice before a game. They returned for the game; but the players were nonetheless stunned. However, after the Steagles' in 1943 and Card-Pitt in 1944, Pittsburgh reverted to using the single-wing formation through 1952, becoming the last NFL team to ever use it as its primary offensive set.
Another difficult issue at the time was that the Steelers and Eagles were bitter intrastate rivals (much like the NHL's Pittsburgh Penguins-Philadelphia Flyers rivalry of today) and usually both teams ended up near the bottom of the standings each year. The Steagles were the only professional sports team where all the players held full-time war jobs as it was a requirement of the team. Playing football was seen as an extracurricular activity. All of the 22 players on the roster kept full-time jobs in defense plants. One of Pittsburgh's players, Ted Doyle, worked at Westinghouse Electric and figured out later that his work assisted the Manhattan Project, which was America's effort to build the first atomic bomb, according to Matthew Algeo's book Last Team Standing.
As the season got underway, fans and newspapers began calling the team the Steagles, a combination of Steelers and Eagles. It had a nice ring to it and was fair to both cities. 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. Chet Smith, the sports editor of the Pittsburgh Press, was initially the one who wrote in a column the moniker Steagles for the merged team, in a June 23, 1943 column.
Slowly, the team began to come together, and jumped out to a 2–0 start after defeating the Brooklyn Dodgers and New York Giants at Shibe Park. Against New York, the Steagles fumbled ten times (still an NFL record as of 2021), but managed to win 28–14. The team stumbled on the road, though, and after seven games sported a 3–3–1 mark, with their third win and the tie coming against the defending-champion Washington Redskins; the team regrouped with two at Pittsburgh's Forbes Field, against the Chicago Cardinals on Halloween Night and over the Detroit Lions on Nov. 21. Going into the season's final week, the 5-3-1 Steagles, with still a shot at the division championship, met Don Hutson and the Green Bay Packers in front of 35,000 fans at Shibe Park. Green Bay would go on to win the game 38–28, however, putting Phil-Pitt at 5-4-1, one game behind Washington and New York.

## Aftermath
### Legacy

The Steagles 1943 season was the Philadelphia franchise's first winning season in its history and the second for Pittsburgh's.
The next season, 1944, the NFL was back on solid footing. The Army had declared that it had enough soldiers and men over 26 years of age would not be drafted, though the league had another problem. With the Cleveland Rams back in operation, the expansion Boston Yanks team in the fold and the Eagles and Steelers back in their separate ways, the NFL had 11 teams, which created a nightmare with divisions and scheduling. NFL Commissioner Elmer Layden begged for two teams to combine again in 1944. Ten teams made for a perfect league and eleven seemed impossible. The Steelers were still short of players due to the war. Pittsburgh owner Art Rooney was unhappy with the "Phil-Pitt" arrangement, but wanted to keep it intact. However, Philadelphia refused. The team merged with the Chicago Cardinals for the 1944 season, creating a team known as Card-Pitt. This "Card-Pitt" team was derisively called "carpet" due to going winless, and the commentary that "every team walked all over them". The war ended by the time the 1945 NFL season started, and with the Brooklyn Tigers and the aforementioned Boston franchise permanently merging, there was an even number of ten teams to the delight of owners.
The Eagles, now having enough players back from the war, resumed their traditional operation and continued under Neale, who took home back-to-back coach of the year awards as Philadelphia won consecutive NFL championships in 1948 and 1949.
Individually, the Steagles' Jack Hinkle ended the season with 571 rushing yards. He lost the rushing title to New York's Bill Paschal by one yard. Against those very Giants Hinkle was not given credit for a 37-yard run (they gave it to John Butler). Hinkle did not complain about not winning the NFL rushing crown. Tony Bova, a half-blind 4-F, led the team in receiving with 417 yards.

### In popular culture

The 1971 film The Steagle starring Richard Benjamin takes its name from the Steagles football team. In the opening scene, the protagonist of the film, a bookish college professor, explains the history and meaning of the term to a pair of loudly arguing sports fans on a commuter train, and draws an admiring look from an Asian woman who is a fellow passenger. The film concerns the personality change which overcomes the protagonist during the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962, and the film's title implicitly references the transient nature of the Steagles team, existing for only one brief season during a national crisis.

### 60th anniversary

The Steelers celebrated the 60th anniversary of the Steagles on August 17, 2003, during the pregame and halftime ceremonies at Heinz Field.
Six of the nine surviving members of that team were honored at halftime. Those members were quarterback Allie Sherman, running back and defensive back Ernie Steele, center Ray Graves, and tackles Al Wistert, Vic Sears, and Bucko Kilroy. End Tom Miller, tackle Ted Doyle and halfback John Hinkle were unable to attend. Wistert was the last surviving player of the combine and died in 2016. All three of the surviving players belonged to the Eagles. Ted Doyle, who died in 2006, was the last surviving Steeler player from the team.
In addition the Steelers recreated the Steagles era in their "Turn Back the Clock" ceremonies, including broadcasting in black and white on the Jumbotron and airing World War II footage during the national anthem. All live entertainment reflected the 1940s. During the festivities the Steelers gave each of the six members a replica Steagles jersey to wear. The jerseys worn by honorees were later given back to the Steelers and sold to help benefit a local charity. The Steelers also painted the south end zone in plain diagonal white lines, a common practice in the NFL until the 1960s. The Steelers later kept the "plain" design in the south end zone for future years, mainly during the portion of the season Heinz/Acrisure Field is shared with college's Pitt Panthers. The Eagles won the game 21–16.

## Draft
### Player selections

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. It is possible their pick ended up with this team via another team with whom they made a trade. Not shown are acquired picks that were traded away.
| Philadelphia Eagles | Philadelphia Eagles | Philadelphia Eagles | Philadelphia Eagles | Philadelphia Eagles | Pittsburgh Steelers | Pittsburgh Steelers | Pittsburgh Steelers | Pittsburgh Steelers | Pittsburgh Steelers |
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | School | Round | Pick | Player | Position | School |
| 1 | 2 | Joe Muha | Fullback | VMI | 1 | 7 | Bill Daley | Fullback | Minnesota |
| 2 | 12 | Lamar "Racehorse" Davis | Back | Georgia | 2 | no pick | no pick | no pick | no pick |
| 3 | 17 | Roy "Monk" Gafford | Back | Auburn | 3 | 22 | Jack Russell | End | Baylor |
| 4 | 27 | Bob Kennedy | Back | Washington State | 4 | no pick | no pick | no pick | no pick |
| 5 | 32 | Al "Ox" Wistert | Tackle | Michigan | 5 | 37 | Harry Connolly | Back | Boston College |
| 6 | 42 | Bruno Banducci | Guard | Stanford | 6 | 47 | Lou Sossamon | Center | South Carolina |
| 7 | 52 | Walt Harrison | Center | Washington | 7 | 57 | Al Ratto | Center | St. Mary's (CA) |
| 8 | 62 | Bruce Alford | End | Texas Christian | 8 | 67 | Ray Curry | End | St. Mary's (CA) |
| 9 | 72 | Rocco Canale | Guard | Boston College | 9 | 77 | Ed Murphy | End | Holy Cross |
| 10 | 82 | Bill Conoly | Tackle | Texas | 10 | 87 | Dick Dwelle | Back | Rice |
| 11 | 92 | John Billman | Guard | Minnesota | 11 | 97 | Al Wukits | Center | Duquesne |
| 12 | 102 | Jack Donaldson | Tackle | Pennsylvania | 12 | 107 | Joe Repko | Tackle | Boston College |
| 13 | 112 | Bill Erickson | Center | Georgetown (DC) | 13 | 117 | Pete Boltrek | Tackle | North Carolina State |
| 14 | 122 | George Weeks | End | Alabama | 14 | 127 | Mort Shiekman | Guard | Pennsylvania |
| 15 | 132 | Russ Craft | Back | Alabama | 15 | 137 | Milt Crain | Back | Baylor |
| 16 | 142 | Paul Darling | Back | Iowa State | 16 | 147 | Max Kielbasa | Back | Duquesne |
| 17 | 152 | Walt Gorinski | Back | Louisiana State | 17 | 157 | Nick Skorich | Guard | Cincinnati |
| 18 | 162 | Bob Friedman | Tackle | Washington | 18 | 167 | Jackie Field | Back | Texas |
| 19 | 172 | Johnny Bezemes | Back | Holy Cross | 19 | 177 | Felix Bucek | Guard | Texas A&M |
| 20 | 182 | Chet Mutryn | Back | Xavier | 20 | 187 | Johnny Welsh | Back | Pennsylvania |
| 21 | 192 | Baptiste Manzini | Center | St. Vincent's | 21 | 197 | Tony Compagno | Back | St. Mary's (CA) |
| 22 | 202 | Bernie Gillespie | End | Scranton | 22 | 207 | Willie Zapalac | Back | Texas A&M |
| 23 | 212 | Jay "Mule" Lawhon | Tackle | Arkansas | 23 | 217 | George Bain | Tackle | Oregon State |
| 24 | 222 | Vince Zachem | Center | Morehead State | 24 | 227 | Harry Wynne | Tackle | Arkansas |
| 25 | 232 | Joe Schwarting | End | Texas | 25 | 237 | Joe Cibulas | Tackle | Duquesne |
| 26 | 242 | Bob Neff | Tackle | Notre Dame | 26 | 247 | Bill Yambrick | Center | Western Michigan |
| 27 | 252 | Art Macioszczyk | Back | Western Michigan | 27 | 257 | Jack Freeman | Guard | Texas |
| 28 | 262 | Jim Arata | Tackle | Xavier | 28 | 267 | Joe Goode | Back | Duquesne |
| 29 | 272 | Wally Scott | End | Texas | 29 | 277 | Jack Durishan | Tackle | Pittsburgh |
| 30 | 282 | Stan Jaworowski | Tackle | Georgetown (DC) | 30 | 287 | Fritz Lobpries | Guard | Texas |
| 31 | no pick | no pick | no pick | no pick | 31 | 292 | Art Jones | Back | Haverford |
| 31 | no pick | no pick | no pick | no pick | 32 | 297 | Bob Ruman | Back | Arizona |

## Exhibitions

| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance | Reference |
| 1 | September 11 | Green Bay Packers | L 10–28 | 0–1 | Forbes Field | 18,000 | |
| 2 | September 16 | Chicago Bears | L 7–20 | 0–2 | Shibe Park | 30,000 | |

## Regular season
### Schedule

| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance | Recap |
| 1 | October 2 | Brooklyn Dodgers | W 17–0 | 1–0 | Shibe Park | 11,131 | Recap |
| 2 | October 9 | New York Giants | W 28–14 | 2–0 | Shibe Park | 15,340 | Recap |
| 3 | October 17 | at Chicago Bears | L 21–48 | 2–1 | Wrigley Field | 21,744 | Recap |
| 4 | October 24 | at New York Giants | L 14–42 | 2–2 | Polo Grounds | 42,681 | Recap |
| 5 | October 31 | Chicago Cardinals | W 34–13 | 3–2 | Forbes Field | 16,351 | Recap |
| 6 | November 7 | Washington Redskins | T 14–14 | 3–2–1 | Shibe Park | 32,694 | Recap |
| 7 | November 14 | at Brooklyn Dodgers | L 7–13 | 3–3–1 | Ebbets Field | 7,613 | Recap |
| 8 | November 21 | Detroit Lions | W 35–34 | 4–3–1 | Forbes Field | 23,338 | Recap |
| 9 | November 28 | at Washington Redskins | W 27–14 | 5–3–1 | Griffith Stadium | 35,540 | Recap |
| 10 | December 5 | Green Bay Packers | L 28–38 | 5–4–1 | Shibe Park | 34,294 | Recap |
| Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text. Saturday night games: October 2 & 9. |||||||||

## Standings

NFL Eastern Division :
| viewtalkedit | W | L | T | PCT | DIV | PF | PA | STK |
| Washington Redskins | 6 | 3 | 1 | .667 | 2–3–1 | 229 | 137 | L3 |
| New York Giants | 6 | 3 | 1 | .667 | 5–1 | 197 | 170 | W4 |
| Phil-Pitt | 5 | 4 | 1 | .556 | 3–2–1 | 225 | 230 | L1 |
| Brooklyn Dodgers | 2 | 8 | 0 | .200 | 1–5 | 65 | 234 | L2 |
       Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings until 1972.
NFL Western Division :
| viewtalkedit | W | L | T | PCT | DIV | PF | PA | STK |
| Chicago Bears | 8 | 1 | 1 | .889 | 5–0–1 | 303 | 157 | W1 |
| Green Bay Packers | 7 | 2 | 1 | .778 | 4–1–1 | 264 | 172 | W3 |
| Detroit Lions | 3 | 6 | 1 | .333 | 2–4 | 178 | 218 | L2 |
| Chicago Cardinals | 0 | 10 | 0 | .000 | 0–6 | 95 | 238 | L10 |
       Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings until 1972.

### Game summaries
#### Week 1: vs. Brooklyn Dodgers

Week One: Dodgers (0–0) at Steagles (0–0) – Game information :
Starting lineups :
| Steagles | Position | Dodgers |
| Bill Hewitt | Left end | Ray Wehba |
| Vic Sears | Left tackle | Frank "Bruiser" Kinard |
| Elbie Schultz | Left guard | Lew Jones |
| Al Wukits | Center | Bill Conkright |
| Ed Michaels | Right guard | Jake Fawcett |
| Al Wistert | Right tackle | Herm Schmarr |
| Larry Cabrelli | Right end | Keith Ranspot |
| Roy Zimmerman | Quarterback | Joe Setcavage |
| John Butler | Left halfback | George Cafego |
| Jack Hinkle | Right halfback | Merl Condit |
| Ben Kish | Fullback | Clarence "Pug" Manders |
| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Dodgers | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Steagles | 10 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 17 |
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. It currently ranks as the third-lowest rushing output in league history.
Scoring drives and statistics: :
| 1st quarter Steagles – Zimmerman 32 yard field goal Steagles – Butler 10 yard run (Zimmerman kick) 2nd quarter Steagles – Steele 10 yard run (Zimmerman kick) 3rd quarter No scoring 4th quarter No scoring | Steagles Game statistics Dodgers 10 First downs 8 50–202 Rushes–yards 23–(−33) 98 Passing yards 126 4–16–0 Passes 14–34–3 21 Punt return yards 26 0 Kickoff return yards 93 3–43.3 Punts 5–42.8 4–3 Fumbles–lost 3–2 3–37 Penalties–yards 0–0 |

#### Week 2: vs. New York Giants

Week Two: New York Giants (0–0) at Steagles (1–0) – Game information :
Starting lineups :
| Steagles | Position | Giants |
| Bill Hewitt | Left end | Neal Adams |
| Vic Sears | Left tackle | Frank Cope |
| Elbie Schultz | Left guard | Len Younce |
| Ray Graves | Center | Bill Piccolo |
| Ed Michaels | Right guard | Chuck Avedisian |
| Ted Doyle | Right tackle | Al Blozis |
| Larry Cabrelli | Right end | Bill Walls |
| Roy Zimmerman | Quarterback | Leland Shaffer |
| Jack Hinkle | Left halfback | Emery Nix |
| John Butler | Right halfback | Ward Cuff |
| Ben Kish | Fullback | Bill Paschal |
| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Giants | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 |
| Steagles | 0 | 7 | 0 | 21 | 28 |
Despite setting a league record by fumbling the ball ten times, the Steagles overcame the Giants on the strength of three fourth-quarter touchdowns. The mark of ten fumbles in a game by one team has since been matched three times, but it has never been topped.
Scoring drives and statistics: :
| 1st quarter Giants – Younce 30 yard interception return (Cuff kick) Giants – Paschal 1 yard run (Cuff kick) 2nd quarter Steagles – Steele 1 yard run (Zimmerman kick) 3rd quarter No scoring 4th quarter Steagles – Thurbon 11 yard pass from Zimmerman (Zimmerman kick) Steagles – Miller 31 yard pass from Zimmerman (Zimmerman kick) Steagles – Sherman 4 yard run (Paschka kick) | Steagles Game statistics Giants 14 First downs 6 43–191 Rushes–yards 33–42 112 Passing yards 50 5–13–3 Passes 6–14–3 83 Return yards 76 22 Punt avg. 42.8 10–5 Fumbles–lost 2–0 6–50 Penalties–yards 5–35 |

#### Week 3: at Chicago Bears

Week Three: Steagles (2–0) at Bears (2–0–1) – Game information :
Starting lineups :
| Steagles | Position | Bears |
| Bill Hewitt | Left end | Jim Benton |
| Vic Sears | Left tackle | Bill Steinkemper |
| Elbie Schultz | Left guard | Dan Fortmann |
| Ray Graves | Center | Bulldog Turner |
| Ed Michaels | Right guard | George Musso |
| Al Wistert | Right tackle | Al Hoptowit |
| Larry Cabrelli | Right end | George Wilson |
| Roy Zimmerman | Quarterback | Bob Snyder |
| Ernie Steele | Left halfback | Harry Clarke |
| John Butler | Right halfback | Dante Magnani |
| Ben Kish | Fullback | Bill Osmanski |
| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Steagles | 7 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 21 |
| Bears | 7 | 28 | 7 | 6 | 48 |
Scoring drives and statistics: :
| 1st quarter Steagles – Steele 60 yard pass from Zimmerman(Zimmerman kick) Bears – Magnani 96 yard kick return (Snyder kick) 2nd quarter Bears – Wilson 16 yard pass from Luckman (Snyder kick) Bears – Magnani 13 yard run (Snyder kick) Bears – Nolting 3 yard run (Snyder kick) Bears – McEnulty 10 yard pass from Luckman (Snyder kick) 3rd quarter Bears – Clarke 81 yard fumble return (Snyder kick) 4th quarter Bears – Pool 17 yard pass from Luckman (kick failed) Steagles – Bova 51 yard pass from Zimmerman (Zimmerman kick) Steagles – Butler 1 yard run (Zimmerman kick) | Steagles Game statistics Bears 12 First downs 15 30–60 Rushes–yards 46–205 109 Passing yards 176 6–24–2 Passes 13–25–2 130 Return yards 183 3–36.7 Punt avg. 5–37 2–1 Fumbles–lost 2–1 7–76.5 Penalties–yards 15–108.5 |

#### Week 4: at New York Giants

Week Four: Steagles (2–1) at New York Giants (1–1) – Game information :
Starting lineups :
| Steagles | Position | Giants |
| Bill Hewitt | Left end | Neal Adams |
| Vic Sears | Left tackle | Frank Cope |
| Elbie Schultz | Left guard | Len Younce |
| Ray Graves | Center | Bill Piccolo |
| Enio Conti | Right guard | Chuck Avedisian |
| Bucko Kilroy | Right tackle | Al Blozis |
| Larry Cabrelli | Right end | Bill Walls |
| Roy Zimmerman | Quarterback | Leland Shaffer |
| John Butler | Left halfback | Emery Nix |
| Jack Hinkle | Right halfback | Ward Cuff |
| Charlie Gauer | Fullback | Bill Paschal |
| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Steagles | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 14 |
| Giants | 14 | 14 | 14 | 0 | 42 |
Scoring drives and statistics: :
| 1st quarter Giants – Adams 34 yard blocked punt return (Cuff kick) Giants – Walls 31 yard pass from Nix (Cuff kick) 2nd quarter Giants – Paschal 4 yard run (Cuff kick) Giants – Liebel 6 yard pass from Leemans (Cuff kick) 3rd quarter Giants – Blozis 35 yard blocked punt return (Cuff kick) Giants – Paschal 1 yard run (Cuff kick) 4th quarter Steagles – Kish 4 yard pass from Sherman (Lauxkick) Steagles – Wukits 2 yard fumble return (Laux kick) | Steagles Game statistics Giants 10 First downs 12 38–64 Rushes–yards 30–72 168 Passing yards 127 13–32–1 Passes 10–17–0 47 Punt return yards 60 13–35 Punts 6–49 4–1 Fumbles–lost 1–0 5–19 Penalties–yards 2–10 |

#### Week 5: vs. Chicago Cardinals

Week Five: Chicago Cardinals (0–5) at Steagles (2–2) – Game information :
Starting lineups :
| Steagles | Position | Cardinals |
| Tony Bova | Left end | Eddie Rucinski |
| Vic Sears | Left tackle | Cliff Duggan |
| Elbie Schultz | Left guard | Conway Baker |
| Ray Graves | Center | Vaughn Stewart |
| Ed Michaels | Right guard | Gordon Wilson |
| Ted Doyle | Right tackle | Chet Bulger |
| Tom Miller | Right end | Don Currivan |
| Roy Zimmerman | Quarterback | Walt Rankin |
| John Butler | Left halfback | Walt Masters |
| Jack Hinkle | Right halfback | Johnny Hall |
| Ben Kish | Fullback | John Grigas |
| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Cardinals | 0 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 13 |
| Steagles | 21 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 34 |
Scoring drives and statistics: :
| 1st quarter Steagles – Kish 86 yard interception return (Zimmerman kick) Steagles – Bova 31 yard pass from Zimmerman (Zimmerman kick) Steagles – Hinkle fumble recovery in end zone (Zimmerman kick) 2nd quarter Cardinals – Currivan 35 yard pass from Masters (kick failed) Cardinals – Hall 67 yard pass from Cahill (Stokes kick) 3rd quarter No scoring 4th quarter Steagles – Thurbon 3 yard run (kick failed) Steagles – Bova 26 yard pass from Zimmerman (Zimmerman kick) | Steagles Game statistics Cardinals 16 First downs 9 54–167 Rushes–yards 28–31 74 Passing yards 173 4–10–1 Passes 8–21–3 45 Punt return yards 17 5–33 Punts 7–36.3 75 Kickoff return yards 28 4–2 Fumbles–lost 2–2 6–82 Penalties–yards 6–59 |

#### Week 6: vs. Washington Redskins

Week Six: Washington Redskins (4–0) at Steagles (3–2) – Game information :
Starting lineups :
| Steagles | Position | Redskins |
| Tony Bova | Left end | Bob Masterson |
| Vic Sears | Left tackle | Willie Wilkin |
| Elbie Schultz | Left guard | Dick Farman |
| Ray Graves | Center | George Smith |
| Ed Michaels | Right guard | Steve Slivinski |
| Ted Doyle | Right tackle | Lou Rymkus |
| Larry Cabrelli | Right end | Joe Aguirre |
| Roy Zimmerman | Quarterback | Ray Hare |
| John Butler | Left halfback | Sammy Baugh |
| Jack Hinkle | Right halfback | Wilbur Moore |
| Ben Kish | Fullback | Bob Seymour |
| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Redskins | 0 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 14 |
| Steagles | 0 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 14 |
The 1942 NFL Champion Washington Redskins come to Philadelphia with a 13 regular season game winning streak, and for 1943 scoring an avg of 30 points per game and allowing on 6 a game.
Scoring drives and statistics: :
| 1st quarter No scoring 2nd quarter No scoring 3rd quarter Steagles – Cabrelli 24 yard interception return (Zimmerman kick) Redskins – Moore 25 yard pass from Baugh (Masterson kick) 4th quarter Steagles – Rymkus 4 yard blocked punt return (Masterson kick) Redskins – Steele 35 yard pass from Zimmerman (Zimmerman kick) | Steagles Game statistics Redskins 10 First downs 11 44–80 Rushes–yards 23–62 89 Passing yards 147 5–17–3 Passes 15–30–3 32 Punt return yards 47 11–31.5 Punts 5–48.6 56 Kickoff return yards 52 2–0 Fumbles–lost 6–3 7–79 Penalties–yards 6–60 |

#### Week 7: at Brooklyn Dodgers

Week Seven: Steagles (3–2–1) at Brooklyn Dodgers (1–6) – Game information :
Starting lineups :
| Steagles | Position | Dodgers |
| Tony Bova | Left end | Ray Wehba |
| Vic Sears | Left tackle | Frank "Bruiser" Kinard |
| Gordon Paschka | Left guard | Jake Fawcett |
| Ray Graves | Center | Bud Svendsen |
| Ed Michaels | Right guard | Lew Jones |
| Ted Doyle | Right tackle | George Sergienko |
| Larry Cabrelli | Right end | Andy Kowalski |
| John Butler | Quarterback | Tillie Manton |
| Bob Thurbon | Left halfback | Ken Heineman |
| Jack Hinkle | Right halfback | Merl Condit |
| Ben Kish | Fullback | Clarence "Pug" Manders |
| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Steagles | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| Dodgers | 0 | 7 | 6 | 0 | 13 |
Scoring drives and statistics: :
| 1st quarter Steagles – Thurbon 3 yard run (Paschka kick) 2nd quarter Dodgers – Manders 2 yard run (Kinard kick) 3rd quarter Dodgers – Condit 65 yard pass from Heineman (kick failed) 4th quarter No scoring | Steagles Game statistics Redskins 10 First downs 11 44–80 Rushes–yards 23–62 89 Passing yards 147 5–17–3 Passes 15–30–3 32 Punt return yards 47 11–31.5 Punts 5–48.6 56 Kickoff return yards 52 2–0 Fumbles–lost 6–3 7–79 Penalties–yards 6–60 |

#### Week 8: vs. Detroit Lions

Week Seven: Detroit Lions (3–5–1) at Steagles (3–3–1) – Game information :
Starting lineups :
| Steagles | Position | Lions |
| Tony Bova | Left end | Bill Fisk |
| Vic Sears | Left tackle | Ted Pavelec |
| Elbie Schultz | Left guard | Riley Matheson |
| Ray Graves | Center | Gerry Conlee |
| Ed Michaels | Right guard | Anthony Rubino |
| Bucko Kilroy | Right tackle | Al Kaporch |
| Larry Cabrelli | Right end | Jack Matheson |
| Roy Zimmerman | Quarterback | Bill Callihan |
| John Butler | Left halfback | Frank Sinkwich |
| Jack Hinkle | Right halfback | Arthur Van Tone |
| Ben Kish | Fullback | Harry Hopp |
| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Lions | 0 | 13 | 7 | 14 | 34 |
| Steagles | 7 | 7 | 7 | 14 | 35 |
Scoring drives and statistics: :
| 1st quarter Steagles – Butler 4 yard run (Zimmerman kick) 2nd quarter Steagles – Hinkle 1 yard run (Zimmerman kick) Lions – Mathews 98 yard kick return (Lio kick) Lions – Hopp 88 yard run (kick failed) 3rd quarter Steagles – Thurbon 2 yard run (Zimmerman kick) Lions – Hackney 7 yard run (Lio kick) 4th quarter Lions – Hopp 88 yard lateral from Mathews (Lio kick) Steagles – Cabrelli 7 yard pass from Zimmerman (Zimmerman kick) Steagles – Zimmerman 2 yard run (Zimmerman kick) Lions – Van Tone 71 yard pass from Fenenbock (Lio kick) | Steagles Game statistics Lions 17 First downs 12 48–262 Rushes–yards 33–160 83 Passing yards 194 10 Yards off laterals 25 7–13–1 Passes 10–22–4 0 Punt return yards 9 4–40.75 Punts 2–32.5 101 Kickoff return yards 167 2–1 Fumbles–lost 3–1 3–35 Penalties–yards 4–40 |

#### Week 9: at Washington Redskins

Week Nine: Steagles (4–3–1) at Washington Redskins (6–0–1) – Game information :
Starting lineups :
| Steagles | Position | Redskins |
| Tony Bova | Left end | Bob Masterson |
| Vic Sears | Left tackle | Lou Rymkus |
| Elbie Schultz | Left guard | Clyde Shugart |
| Ray Graves | Center | George Smith |
| Ed Michaels | Right guard | Steve Slivinski |
| Bucko Kilroy | Right tackle | Joe Pasqua |
| Larry Cabrelli | Right end | Joe Aguirre |
| Roy Zimmerman | Quarterback | Ray Hare |
| John Butler | Left halfback | Sammy Baugh |
| Jack Hinkle | Right halfback | Wilbur Moore |
| Ben Kish | Fullback | Bob Seymour |
| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Steagles | 7 | 0 | 7 | 13 | 27 |
| Washington | 0 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 14 |
Scoring drives and statistics: :
| 1st quarter Steagles – Thurbon 6 yard run (Zimmerman kick) 2nd quarter No scoring 3rd quarter Steagles – Thurbon 5 yard run (Zimmerman kick) Redskins – Masterson 4 yard pass from Baugh (Masterson kick) 4th quarter Steagles – Steele 47 yard run (Zimmerman kick failed) Steagles – Hinkle 1 yard run (Zimmerman kick) Redskins – Aguirre 12 yard pass from Baugh (Aguirre kick) | Steagles Game statistics Redskins 19 First downs 10 64–297 Rushes–yards 20–58 82 Passing yards 211 6–13–1 Passes 14–28–2 13 Punt return yards 61 6–29.7 Punts 7–39.5 59 Kickoff return yards 81 4–2 Fumbles–lost 1–0 5–30 Penalties–yards 10–60 |

#### Week 10: vs. Green Bay Packers

Week Ten: Green Bay Packers (6–2–1) at Steagles (5–3–1) – Game information :
Starting lineups :
| Steagles | Position | Packers |
| Tony Bova | Left end | Don Hutson |
| Vic Sears | Left tackle | Baby Ray |
| Elbie Schultz | Left guard | Bill Kuusisto |
| Ray Graves | Center | Charley Brock |
| Ed Michaels | Right guard | Pete Tinsley |
| Bucko Kilroy | Right tackle | Chet Adams |
| Larry Cabrelli | Right end | Harry Jacunski |
| Roy Zimmerman | Quarterback | Larry Craig |
| John Butler | Left halfback | Tony Canadeo |
| Jack Hinkle | Right halfback | Lou Brock |
| Ben Kish | Fullback | Ted Fritsch |
| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Packers | 14 | 3 | 7 | 14 | 38 |
| Steagles | 14 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 28 |
Scoring drives and statistics: :
| Steagles | Game statistics | Packers |
| 10 | First downs | 8 |
| 40–142 | Rushes–yards | 38–175 |
| 176 | Passing yards | 103 |
| 7–18–6 | Passes | 9–23–2 |
| 57 | Punt return yards | 8 |
| 3–36 | Punts | 5–39 |
| 176 | Kickoff return yards | 63 |
| 4–2 | Fumbles–lost | 0–0 |
| 2–10 | Penalties–yards | 8–55 |

## Roster

| ## | = Eagles player |
| ## | = Steelers player |
Positions key :
| E | N/A | B | N/A | HB | N/A | TB | N/A |
| DB | N/A | T | N/A | G | N/A | FB | N/A |
| C | N/A | DE | N/A | MG | N/A | DT | N/A |
| LB | N/A | K | N/A | QB | N/A | HC | Head coach |
Players and coaches of the 1943 Phil/Pitt "Steagles": :
| # | Player | Pos. | GP | GS | Ht. | Wt. | Age | Yrs. | College | Draft status |
| — | Greasy Neale | co-HC (offense) | | | | | 53 | 3rd | West Virginia Wesleyan | |
| — | Walt Kiesling | co-HC (defense) | | | | | 40 | 5th | St. Thomas (MN) | |
| 85 | Tony Bova | E/B | 10 | 6 | 6–1 | 190 | 26 | 1 | St. Francis (PA) | 4-F (eyesight) |
| 27 | John Butler | HB/TB | 10 | 10 | 5–10 | 185 | 25 | R | Tennessee | 4-F (eyesight, knees) |
| 84 | Larry Cabrelli | E/DB | 10 | 9 | 5–11 | 194 | 26 | 2 | Colgate | 4-F (knee) |
| 75 | Rocco Canale | T/OG | 4 | 0 | 5–11 | 240 | 26 | R | Boston College | 1-A (active duty Army) |
| 67 | Enio "Ed" Conti | OG | 10 | 1 | 5–11 | 204 | 30 | 2 | Arkansas / Bucknell | 3-A (father) |
| 72 | Ted Doyle | T/OG | 10 | 4 | 6–2 | 224 | 29 | 5 | Nebraska | 3-A (father) |
| 61 | Joe Frank | T | 2 | 0 | 6–1 | 217 | 28 | 2 | Georgetown (DC) | |
| 32 | Charlie Gauer | FB/E | 9 | 1 | 6–2 | 213 | 22 | R | Colgate | 4-F (ulcers, knee) |
| 52 | Ray Graves | C | 10 | 9 | 6–1 | 205 | 25 | 1 | Tennessee / Tenn. Wesleyan | 4-F (hearing) |
| 82 | Bill Hewitt | E/DE | 6 | 4 | 6–4 | 190 | 34 | 1 | Michigan | 4-F (perforated eardrum) |
| 43 | Jack Hinkle | B | 10 | 9 | 5–9 | 190 | 26 | 11 | Syracuse | 4-F (ulcers) |
| 76 | Frank "Bucko" Kilroy | OG/MG/T/DT | 9 | 4 | 6–2 | 243 | 22 | R | Notre Dame / Temple | 1-A (active duty Merchant Marine) |
| 44 | Ben Kish | B | 10 | 9 | 6–0 | 207 | 26 | 3 | Pittsburgh | 4-F (head injury) |
| 15 | Ted Laux | HB/DB | 4 | 0 | 5–10 | 185 | 25 | R | St. Joseph's (PA) | |
| 31 | Bob Masters | HB/E | 3 | 0 | 5–11 | 200 | 32 | 6 | Baylor | |
| 25 | Hugh McCullough | TB/HB | 1 | 0 | 6–0 | 185 | 27 | 4 | Oklahoma | |
| 60 | Ed Michaels | OG | 10 | 9 | 5–11 | 205 | 29 | R | Villanova | 4-F (hearing) |
| 89 | Tom Miller | DE/E | 10 | 1 | 6–2 | 202 | 25 | R | Hampden-Sydney | 4-F (hearing) |
| 61 | Gordon Paschka | FB/OG | 10 | 1 | 6–0 | 220 | 23 | R | Minnesota | 3-A (father) |
| 81 | Ray Reutt | E | 1 | 0 | 6–0 | 195 | 26 | R | VMI | |
| 33 | Steve Sader | FB | 2 | 0 | 5–11 | 180 | 26 | R | none | |
| 71 | Eberle "Elbie" Schultz | T/OG | 10 | 9 | 6–4 | 252 | 26 | 3 | Oregon State | 3-A (father) |
| 79 | Vic Sears | T/DT | 10 | 10 | 6–3 | 223 | 26 | 2 | Oregon State | 4-F (ulcers) |
| 10 | Allie Sherman | QB | 8 | 0 | 5–11 | 170 | 25 | R | Brooklyn | 4-F (perforated eardrums) |
| 37 | Ernie Steele | HB/DB | 10 | 1 | 6–0 | 187 | 26 | 1 | Washington | 3-A (father) |
| 36 | Dean Steward | HB | 6 | 0 | 6–0 | 210 | 20 | R | Ursinus | 1-A (drafted in 1944) |
| 49 | Bob Thurbon | HB | 9 | 1 | 5–10 | 176 | 25 | R | Pittsburgh | 4-F (reason unknown) |
| 70 | Al Wistert | T/OG/DT | 9 | 2 | 6–1 | 214 | 23 | R | Michigan | 4-F (osteomyelitis) |
| 50 | Al Wukits | C/LB/OG | 10 | 1 | 6–3 | 218 | 26 | R | Duquesne | 4-F (hernia) |
| 7 | Roy Zimmerman | QB/B/K | 10 | 9 | 6–2 | 201 | 25 | 3 | San Jose State | 3-C (father, farmer) |