The 1948 Pittsburgh Steelers season was the franchise's 16th season in the National Football League (NFL). The team finished the season with a record of 4–8, failing to qualify for the playoffs. This season marked the first played with John Michelosen as head coach.
Regular season Schedule
Game Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance Recap Sources 1 September 26 at Washington Redskins L 14–17 0–1 Griffith Stadium 32,084 Recap 2 October 3 Boston Yanks W 24–14 1–1 Forbes Field 26,215 Recap 3 October 10 Washington Redskins W 10–7 2–1 Forbes Field 28,969 Recap 4 October 17 at Boston Yanks L 7–13 2–2 Fenway Park 7,208 Recap 5 October 24 at New York Giants L 27–34 2–3 Polo Grounds 13,443 Recap 6 October 31 Philadelphia Eagles L 7–34 2–4 Forbes Field 32,474 Recap 7 November 7 Green Bay Packers W 38–7 3–4 Forbes Field 26,058 Recap 8 November 14 Chicago Cardinals L 7–24 3–5 Forbes Field 33,364 Recap 9 November 21 at Detroit Lions L 14–17 3–6 Briggs Stadium 16,189 Recap 10 November 28 at Philadelphia Eagles L 0–17 3–7 Shibe Park 26,001 Recap 11 December 5 New York Giants W 38–28 4–7 Forbes Field 27,645 Recap 12 December 12 at Los Angeles Rams L 14–31 4–8 LA Memorial Coliseum 27,967 Recap
Standings
Roster 1948 Pittsburgh Steelers final roster Running backs Bob Cifers P Johnny Clement Ray Evans Joe Glamp K George Papach Jerry Shipkey LB
Receivers Val Jansante Roy Kurrasch Elbie Nickel
Defensive backs Tony Compagno CB/FB Paul Davis S Joe Gasparella CB/FB Gonzalo Morales S/RB Jerry NuzumCB/RB Linemen/Linebackers Chuck Cherundolo C Bill Cregar DG/G Bob Davis DE/WR John Mastrangelo DG/T Bryant Meeks LB/C Charley Mehelich DE Red Moore G/DG Leo Nobile G Ed Ryan DE Carl Samuelson DT/T Charley Seabright LB/FB Hubert Shurtz T Frank Sinkovitz LB/C Nick Skorich G/DG Steve Suhey G Jack Wiley DT/T Frank Wydo T/DT
Rookies in italics
Game summaries Game 1 (Sunday September 26, 1948): Washington Redskins
at Griffith Stadium, Washington, DC
Game time: Game weather: Game attendance: 32,084 Referee: TV announcers:
Scoring drives:
Washington – Castiglia 22 pass from Baugh (Poillon kick) Pittsburgh – Clement 28 run (Glamp kick) Pittsburgh – Glamp 38 pass from Clement (Glamp kick) Washington – Turley 33 fumble run (Poillon kick) Washington – FG Poillon 28
Game 2 (Monday October 3, 1948): Boston Yanks
at Forbes Field, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Game time: Game weather: Game attendance: 26,216 Referee: TV announcers:
Scoring drives:
Boston – Paschal 15 pass from Youel (Zimmerman kick) Boston – Pritko 33 fumble run (Zimmerman kick) Pittsburgh – Nickel 24 pass from Clement (Glamp kick) Pittsburgh – FG Glamp 35 Pittsburgh – Seabright 7 pass from Clement (Glamp kick) Pittsburgh – Mosley 3 run (Glamp kick)
Game 3 (Sunday October 10, 1948): Washington Redskins
at Forbes Field, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Game time: Game weather: Game attendance: 28,969 Referee: TV announcers:
Scoring drives:
Pittsburgh – Clement 3 run (Glamp kick) Washington – Crisler 19 pass from Baugh (Poillon kick) Pittsburgh – FG Glamp 13
Game 4 (Sunday October 17, 1948): Boston Yanks
at Fenway Park, Boston, Massachusetts
Game time: Game weather: Game attendance: 7,208 Referee: TV announcers:
Scoring drives:
Boston – Heywood 14 fumble run (kick failed) Boston – Seno 22 pass from Zimmerman (Zimmerman kick) Pittsburgh – Shipkey 1 run (Glamp kick)
Game 5 (Sunday October 24, 1948): New York Giants
at Polo Grounds, New York, New York
Game time: Game weather: Game attendance: 13,443 Referee: TV announcers:
Scoring drives:
New York – Sultatis 2 run (Williams kick) Pittsburgh – Shipkey 1 run (kick failed) New York – White 54 lateral from Cheverko after 35 kick return (kick failed) New York – Roberts 49 pass from Conerly (Williams kick) Pittsburgh – Jansante 12 pass from Evans (Glamp kick) Pittsburgh – Jansante 66 pass from Evans (Glamp kick) New York – Sulaitis 34 pass from Conerly (Williams kick) New York – Conerly 1 run (Williams kick)
Game 6 (Sunday October 31, 1948): Philadelphia Eagles
at Forbes Field, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Game time: Game weather: Game attendance: 32,474 Referee: TV announcers:
Scoring Drives:
Philadelphia – FG Patton 42 Pittsburgh – Shipkey 1 run (Glamp kick) Philadelphia – Van Buren 20 run (Patton kick) Philadelphia – Ferrante 7 pass from Thompson (Patton kick) Philadelphia – Pritchard 55 punt return (Patton kick) Philadelphia – FG Patton 23 Philadelphia – Pritchard 18 fumble run (Patton kick)
Game 7 (Sunday November 7, 1948): Green Bay Packers
at Forbes Field, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Game time: Game weather: Game attendance: 26,058 Referee: TV announcers:
Scoring drives:
Pittsburgh – Jansante 7 pass from Evans (Glamp kick) Pittsburgh – FG Glamp 33 Pittsburgh – Shipkey 1 run (Glamp kick) Pittsburgh – Evans 14 run (Glamp kick) Pittsburgh – Glamp 55 run (Glamp kick) Pittsburgh – Compagno 82 interception (Glamp kick) Green Bay – Goodnight 19 pass from Girard (Fritsch kick)
Game 8 (Sunday November 14, 1948): Chicago Cardinals
at Forbes Field, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Game time: Game weather: Game attendance: 33,364 Referee: TV announcers:
Scoring drives:
Chicago Cardinals – Kutner 42 pass from Mallouf (Harder kick) Chicago Cardinals – Trippi 67 punt return (Harder kick) Pittsburgh – Shipkey 67 punt return (Glamp kick) Chicago Cardinals – Harder 8 run (Harder kick) Chicago Cardinals – FG Yablonski 41
Game 9 (Sunday November 21, 1948): Detroit Lions
at Briggs Stadium, Detroit, Michigan
Game time: Game weather: Game attendance: 16,189 Referee: TV announcers:
Scoring drives:
Pittsburgh – Shipkey 1 run (Glamp kick) Detroit – Dudley 19 pass from Enke (Pregulman kick) Detroit – FG Pregulman 33 Detroit – Dudley 28 fumble run (Pregulman kick) Pittsburgh – Papach 2 run (Glamp kick)
Game 10 (Sunday November 28, 1948): Philadelphia Eagles
at Shibe Park, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Game time: Game weather: Game attendance: 22,001 Referee: TV announcers:
Scoring drives:
Philadelphia – Pritchard 5 run (Patton kick) Philadelphia – Pihos 13 pass from Thompson (Patton kick) Philadelphia – FG Patton 31
Game 11 (Sunday December 5, 1948): New York Giants
at Forbes Field, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Game time: Game weather: Game attendance: 27,645 Referee: TV announcers:
Scoring drives:
Pittsburgh – Evans 9 run (Glamp kick) New York – Minisi 6 run (Younce kick) Pittsburgh – FG Glamp 40 Pittsburgh – Glamp 3 pass from Evans (Glamp kick) New York – Roberts 18 pass from Conerly (Younce kick) Pittsburgh – Shipkey 2 run (Glamp kick) Pittsburgh – Cifers 2 run (Glamp kick) Pittsburgh – Morales 36 fumble run (Glamp kick) New York – Johnson 11 pass from Conerly (Younce kick) New York – Swiacki 11 pass from Conerly (Younce kick)
Game 12 (Sunday December 12, 1948): Los Angeles Rams
at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles, California
Game time: Game weather: Game attendance: 27,967 Referee: TV announcers:
Scoring drives:
Los Angeles – Hickey 21 pass from Hardy (Waterfield kick) Los Angeles – Hubbell 8 pass from Hardy (Waterfield kick) Pittsburgh – Papach 1 run (Glamp kick) Los Angeles – Fears 29 pass from Waterfield (Waterfield kick) Los Angeles – FG Waterfield 47 Los Angeles – Magnani 16 pass from Hardy (Gehrke kick) Pittsburgh – Papach 28 pass from Evans (Glamp kick)
References