page_title: East Carolina Pirates football
section_title: Early history (1932–1973)
hierarchical_section_title: East Carolina Pirates football / History / Early history (1932–1973)
caption_attribution_description: English: 1933 East Carolina football team.
context_page_description: The East Carolina Pirates are a college football team that represents East Carolina University. The team is a member of the American Athletic Conference, which is in Division I Football Bowl Subdivision of the National Collegiate Athletic Association. Mike Houston is currently the head coach.
  The Pirates have won seven conference championships and nine bowl games. The Pirates have 20 All-Americans over its history. Four players have their jerseys retired. Numerous Pirates have played in the NFL, including ten current players.
  The team played its inaugural season in 1932. The team played home games at College Stadium on the main campus from the 1949 to the 1962 season. With the exception of the 1999 Miami football game, they have played their home games at Dowdy–Ficklen Stadium every year since 1963. The stadium is located south of East Carolina's main campus near the intersection of South Charles Boulevard and 14th Street. Dowdy-Ficklen underwent an expansion in 2010, raising the capacity of the stadium to 50,000. The Pirates announced a $55 million renovation project to Dowdy-Ficklen in 2016, which will add a new tower above the south side stands, among other things.
context_section_description: East Carolina began organized football in the fall of 1932. The first football coach in school history was Kenneth Beatty. They played under the nickname Teachers because the school was a teacher training school. The team played five games, with two in Greenville. They however did not score a point the whole season, while opponents scored a combined 187 points. The 1933 season started just as they left the 1932 season. The team lost the first four games not scoring a point. The first victory in school history came against Campbell on November 11, 1933. The final score was 6-0. The 1933 team lost their final game against Appalachian St. 14–0. Coach Beatty left after the season. G.L. "Doc" Mathis was appointed the head coach after Coach Beatty left. Before the season, the school decided to change their nickname. The Men's Athletic Association wanted a nickname to inspire "more spirit and enthusiasm."  The name was changed from the Teachers to the present Pirates. His first year, the team lost four games. But, they did win against Presbyterian Junior College and tied Old Dominion. The 1935 season included three wins, which was the largest total so far in history. Coach Mathis left after the season.
  Bo Farley was introduced as the third head coach. The 1936 season was the first winning season in school history. Coach Farley's team won against Old Dominion, Duke Junior Varsity and Louisburg. He only stayed for one season. J. D. Alexander began coaching in the 1937 season. He had been the head coach at Lincoln Memorial in Tennessee.  The season started off badly, losing the first five games, but the team finished on a high note, beating both High Point and Louisburg to finish out the season. The one win in the 1938 season came against Western Carolina. The 1938 team also tied against Guilford. O. A. Hankner coached for only one season at East Carolina. His team managed only 18 points and lost every game. The team had numerous injuries that prevented the team from winning a game. After the disastrous 1939 season, John Christenbury was tapped as the new head coach. His 1940 team had the first winning season since the 1936 season. The team won the first four games, and lost to North Carolina St. Freshmen and High Point. The only undefeated season happened in the 1941 season. The team scored 159 points compared to allowing 20.  East Carolina did not field any athletics from 1942–1945 because of World War II. Coach Christenbury was killed in an explosion at Port Chicago, California on July 1, 1944. Replacing him at coach was Jim Johnson. Coach Johnson was a 16 letterman while at East Carolina. He was brought in to revitalize the athletic program that was on hiatus because of World War II. His football team went 5–3–1 in 1946. The 1947 season brought East Carolina into the North State Conference, their first conference affiliation. In the first year of conference play, the team had three wins compared to six losses.  The next year was even more disastrous; as his team did not win once. Coach Johnson left after the 1948 season.
  Bill Dole became the Pirates eighth coach after Coach Johnson left. His teams went 4–5–1 in 1949. That made the third consecutive losing year for East Carolina.  The 1950 season turned out better. The team tied the number of wins from the past three years with seven. Coach Dole's last year with the Pirates was in 1951.  It was another losing season 4–6. Coach Dole left East Carolina and became the head coach at Davidson. Jack Boone stepped in as the new head coach after Coach Dole left. During his first year, he guided the Pirates to a 1952 regular season record of 6–2–2, and the team was invited to the Lions Bowl, their first bowl game ever. The Pirates came up short against Clarion College, losing 13–6.  Coach Boone led the school to another first the next season, as the football team won the North State Conference championship.  During the 1953 regular season, the team won eight while losing one en route to this championship. For the second time ever, East Carolina went to a bowl game. The team competed in 
caption: 1933 East Carolina football team
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