The 1953 Pittsburgh Steelers season marked the franchise's 21st year in the National Football League (NFL). The club finished with a record of 6 wins and 6 losses, 4th place in the league's Eastern Conference.
Regular season
Schedule
Game summaries
Week 1 (Sunday September 27, 1953): Detroit Lions
at Briggs Stadium, Detroit, Michigan
- Game time:
- Game weather:
- Game attendance: 20,675
- Referee:
- TV announcers:
Scoring drives:
- Detroit â Carpenter 73 interception (Walker kick)
- Pittsburgh â Nickel 14 pass from Finks (Bolkovac kick)
- Detroit â Gedman 1 run (Walker kick)
- Detroit â FG Walker 40
- Pittsburgh â Mathews 1 fumble run (Bolkovac kick)
- Detroit â Hart 49 pass from Layne (Walker kick)
- Detroit â Walker 8 pass from Hoernschmeyer (Walker kick)
- Detroit â Hoernschemeyer 29 pass from Layne (Walker kick)
- Pittsburgh â Nickel 15 pass from Marchibroda (Bolkovac kick)
Week 2 (Saturday October 3, 1953): New York Giants
at Forbes Field, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
- Game time:
- Game weather:
- Game attendance: 31,500
- Referee:
- TV announcers:
Scoring drives:
- New York Giants â Clay 2 pass from Conerly (Clay kick)
- Pittsburgh â Chandnois 93 kick return (Bolkovac kick)
- New York Giants â Long 55 pass from Conerly (Clay kick)
- Pittsburgh â FG Bolkovac 35
- Pittsburgh â Nickel 4 pass from Finks (Bolkovac kick)
- Pittsburgh â Bolkovac 14 fumble run (Bolkovac kick)
at Forbes Field, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
- Game time:
- Game weather:
- Game attendance: 25,953
- Referee:
- TV announcers:
Scoring drives:
- Chicago Cardinals â Olszewski 1 run (Summerall kick)
- Pittsburgh â Rogel 1 run (Bolkovac kick)
- Chicago Cardinals â Nagler 34 pass from Root (Summerall kick)
- Chicago Cardinals â Nagler 6 pass from Root (Summerall kick)
- Chicago Cardinals â Stonesifer 3 pass from Trippi (Summerall kick)
- Pittsburgh â Mathews 19 pass from Finks (Bolkovac kick)
- Pittsburgh â Rogel 4 run (Bolkovac kick)
- Pittsburgh â Barker 4 pass from Finks (Bolkovac kick)
- Pittsburgh â FG Bolkovac 28
at Connie Mack Stadium, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- Game time:
- Game weather:
- Game attendance: 18,681
- Referee:
- TV announcers:
Scoring drives:
- Philadelphia â Pihos 28 pass from Burk (kick blocked)
- Pittsburgh â Mathews 23 pass from Finks (Bolkovac kick)
- Philadelphia â FG Walston 11
- Philadelphia â Giancanelli 16 pass from Thomason (Walston kick)
- Philadelphia â Ziegler 1 run (Walston kick)
Week 5 (Saturday October 24, 1953): Green Bay Packers
at Forbes Field, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
- Game time:
- Game weather:
- Game attendance: 22,918
- Referee:
- TV announcers:
Scoring Drives:
at Forbes Field, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
- Game time:
- Game weather:
- Game attendance: 27,547
- Referee:
- TV announcers:
Scoring Drives:
- Philadelphia â Gianganelli 7 run (Walston kick)
- Philadelphia â Williams 48 run (Walston kick)
- Philadelphia â Walston 21 pass from Thomason (Walston kick)
- Pittsburgh â Mathews 11 pass from Finks (Bolkovac kick)
- Philadelphia â Pihos 26 pass from Thomason (Walston kick)
- Philadelphia â Giancanelli 8 pass from Thomason (Walston kick)
Week 7 (Sunday November 8, 1953): Cleveland Browns
at Cleveland Municipal Stadium, Cleveland, Ohio
- Game time:
- Game weather:
- Game attendance: 35,592
- Referee:
- TV announcers:
Scoring Drives:
- Pittsburgh â FG Bolkovac 27
- Pittsburgh â Mathews 2 run (kick failed)
- Cleveland â Carpenter 7 run (Groza kick)
- Cleveland â FG Groza 20
- Cleveland â Renfro 44 run (Groza kick)
- Pittsburgh â Mathews 77 pass from Finks (Bolkovac kick)
- Cleveland â Renfro 79 blocked field goal return (Groza kick)
- Cleveland â Lavelli 17 pass from Graham (Groza kick)
- Cleveland â FG Groza 14
Week 8 (Sunday November 15, 1953): New York Giants
at Polo Grounds, New York, New York
- Game time:
- Game weather:
- Game attendance: 20,411
- Referee:
- TV announcers:
Scoring Drives:
- Pittsburgh â Dodrill 16 fumble run (Bolkovac kick)
- New York Giants â Gifford 6 pass from Conerly (Gifford kick)
- New York Giants â FG Clay 20
- Pittsburgh â Butler 33 pass from Finks (Bolkovac kick)
Week 9 (Sunday November 22, 1953): Cleveland Browns
at Forbes Field, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
- Game time:
- Game weather:
- Game attendance: 32,904
- Referee:
- TV announcers:
Scoring Drives:
- Cleveland â Renfro 54 pass from Graham (Groza kick)
- Pittsburgh â Finks 1 run (Bolkovac kick)
- Pittsburgh â Safety, Lahr tackled in end zone by Mathews
- Cleveland â FG Groza 50
- Cleveland â Brewster 31 pass from Graham (Groza kick)
- Cleveland â FG Groza 41
- Pittsburgh â Mathews 1 run (Bolkovac kick)
at Forbes Field, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
- Game time:
- Game weather:
- Game attendance: 17,206
- Referee:
- TV announcers:
Scoring Drives:
- Pittsburgh â Safety, Heath tackled by Ferry in end zone
- Washington â Taylor 5 pass from LeBaron (Dudley kick)
- Pittsburgh â Chandnois 5 run (Bolkovac kick)
- Washington â FG Dudley 41
- Washington â Rykovich 5 pass from LeBaron (Dudley kick)
Week 11 (Sunday December 6, 1953): Chicago Cardinals
at Comiskey Park, Chicago, Illinois
- Game time:
- Game weather:
- Game attendance: 14,138
- Referee:
- TV announcers:
Scoring Drives:
- Chicago Cardinals â Olszewski 1 run (Summerall kick)
- Chicago Cardinals â FG Summerall 12
- Pittsburgh â Brandt 1 run (Bolkovac kick)
- Pittsburgh â Nickel 6 pass from Mackrides (Bolkovac kick)
- Pittsburgh â Mackrides 2 run (Bolkovac kick)
- Chicago Cardinals â Paul 5 pass from Romanik (Summerall kick)
at Griffith Stadium, Washington, DC
- Game time:
- Game weather:
- Game attendance: 22,057
- Referee:
- TV announcers:
Scoring Drives:
- Washington â Dekker 34 pass from LeBaron
- Washington â FG Dudley 39
- Washington â FG Dudley 20
- Pittsburgh â Chandnois 23 lateral from Mathews (Bolkovac kick)
- Pittsburgh â Butler 5 interception (Bolkovac kick)
Standings
Roster
References
External links