STEELERS/EAGLES History

[Todd Pence]

The only regular season NFL game ever played in the state of West Virginia took place on November 20th, 1938 between the Steelers (then still known as the Pirates) and the Eagles. It was played at Charleston's Laidley Field, with the Eagles winning 14-7. I don't know if this is true or not, but legend has it that Pirates coach Johnny "Blood" McNally was a no-show for the game because he mistakenly believed his team had a bye week.

[rhickok1109]

The only regular season NFL game ever played in the state of West Virginia took place on November 20th, 1938 between the Steelers (then still known as the Pirates) and the Eagles. It was played at Charleston's Laidley Field, with the Eagles winning 14-7. I don't know if this is true or not, but legend has it that Pirates coach Johnny "Blood" McNally was a no-show for the game because he mistakenly believed his team had a bye week.

That's a story invented by Art Rooney. Johnny Blood's version is quite different.

Because of Whizzer White's enormous salary ($15,000), Rooney scheduled a number of exhibition games to bring in extra money. This included two games against the Los Angelese Bulldogs. The first was on Nov. 11 in Colorado Springs (because White was from Colorado) and the second was in L.A. two days later.

Rooney was in one of his frequent periods of negative cash flow because of losses at the track. This is how Johnny Blood told the story (directly from my book):

"I was not only the coach and a player, I was the trainer and business manager. I had orders from Rooney to send him the money as fast as I collected it. We got $10,000 for each of those exhibition games and I sent him all the money. He was supposed to wire me enough money to get the team back to Pittsburgh.
"Well, he didn't. I kept calling him, but he was never in—he was proba¬bly at the race track. Finally, he sent some money, but it wasn't quite enough. I sent the team back on the train, with Walt Kiesling in charge. Then I called Art a few more times, but could¬n't reach him.
"The day after I missed the game, he wired me the money to get me back to Pittsburgh. He probably took it out of the receipts from the game I missed."

I brought this up when I interviewed Rooney at the Pro Football HOF in 1973. He just smiled and said, "My story is better. It's the one people will remember."

I guess he was right.

[Brian wolf]

Thank Goodness for Chuck Noll, though Parker could have done better by the team had he embraced younger black players sooner ...

[74_75_78_79_]

The 10-3 Pittsburgh Steelers vs the 11-2 Philadelphia Eagles at the Linc this very Week #14!

The last time they met I attended and, very safe to say, the Steelers were at the nadir of the Mike Tomlin Era! They went into the Linc at 2-5 and got squashed, 35-13, upping the Eagles' record, still unbeaten, to 7-0! The Steelers had a a bye week after that and, from there, went 7-2 only to come up just shy of making the playoffs finishing at 9-8. Kenny Pickett, of course, was their QB; now he's the Eagles' backup.

Overall, the Steelers have had a total W/L record of 27-13 since that blowout defeat whilst Philly has gone 31-13. This should be one of the more anticipated games between these two in their overall series. However, the 'Burgh have not won in Philly since 1965 and my guess is that trend will continue. Maybe not a blowout like two seasons ago, but I'm thinking not a nail-biter either. We'll just have to see.

The Birds are up a whopping 49-29-3 overall. Their three ties against each other? The first of them was in '41 with the other two being in the same season - 1963! Only one that went into overtime...2000.

[Crazy Packers Fan]

The 2000 game was very memorable. I remember the Steelers being up by 10 and my grandfather (a diehard Steelers fan) saying "Oh, the Eagles will recover an onside kick and the Steelers will lose." And that's exactly what happened. Donovan McNabb really came into his own in that game. Really exciting one.

[CSKreager]

I remember this Merrill Reese soundbite from 1994:

"Randall was flirting with danger and that time it all collapsed."

[7DnBrnc53]

1979 at Veterans Stadium Dick Vermeil got his first big win as head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles. The Steelers won the Super Bowl the year before and were in route to their fourth Super Bowl victory in six years; but today the Eagles stopped them with three big turnovers 17 to 14.

In the late-70's and early-80's, it seemed like the NFL was trying to help the Eagles along by using the officials. This was one example. Matt Bahr recovered an onside kick after it went ten yards, but the officials said that he didn't.

This wasn't the only suspicious game involving Philly in that era. There was the 79 NFC WC (the Bears were robbed in that game), and there was the 1980 October matchup between the Eagles and Cowboys (where Roynell Young jumped Tony Hill's back and nothing was called).

[CSKreager]

1979 at Veterans Stadium Dick Vermeil got his first big win as head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles. The Steelers won the Super Bowl the year before and were in route to their fourth Super Bowl victory in six years; but today the Eagles stopped them with three big turnovers 17 to 14.

In the late-70's and early-80's, it seemed like the NFL was trying to help the Eagles along by using the officials. This was one example. Matt Bahr recovered an onside kick after it went ten yards, but the officials said that he didn't.

This wasn't the only suspicious game involving Philly in that era. There was the 79 NFC WC (the Bears were robbed in that game), and there was the 1980 October matchup between the Eagles and Cowboys (where Roynell Young jumped Tony Hill's back and nothing was called).

Maybe that 1980 call should have been pass interference, but...... it's not the Eagles' fault Dallas spit the bit against the 1-win Giants (38 points allowed, 5 INT's by Danny White)

[7DnBrnc53]

Maybe that 1980 call should have been pass interference, but...... it's not the Eagles' fault Dallas spit the bit against the 1-win Giants (38 points allowed, 5 INT's by Danny White)

True. They also let the Eagles come back to make their Week 16 game closer (when they needed to win by 25 or so to win the NFC East).

[74_75_78_79_]

Both teams weren't playoff teams, just mediocre, but a 1985 meeting between the Steelers and the Eagles would have been intriguing-enough. An even match-up, I'd say. Both were 6-5 at the end of Wk#11 (making the following week the ideal time for both to play), but each squad would falter to 7-9 in the end.

Giants besting Pittsburgh in the finale at the Meadowlands - the only ever showdown between Noll & Parcells - would officially make it the Steelers' first losing season since '71. As for Marion Campbell, he was already out before that final week. Fred Bruney would take over in his only ever NFL assignment as a head coach; and WIN over Bud Grant in Minny in the legend's last-ever game, Birds avenging that sick comeback loss at the Vet three weeks prior.

As mentioned, both did not play in '85 because Philly finished in 5th-place the previous year thus they avoid the AFC Central; if you even wish to use the word..."avoid". The Browns won the division at 8-8, Bengals & Steelers were 7-9, and Houston at 5-11. The quartet whom the Eagles got instead was 7-9 Minny twice, 8-8 San Diego, and 2-14 Buffalo so not too much a difference there.