The 1941 Pittsburgh Steelers season was the franchise's 9th season in the National Football League (NFL). In the offseason, the team had been sold and then re-acquired (more or less) in a bizarre series of transactions which has come to be referred to as the "Pennsylvania Polka". The roster consisted of many players who had played for the Philadelphia Eagles the previous year, who joined the Steelers as a result of the moves.
Offseason
Bert Bell became half-owner of the team and he named himself the head coach. After starting the season with two straight losses, Aldo "Buff" Donelli was brought in. Donelli was acting concurrently as head coach at Duquesne University, and when the team's schedules prevented him from fulfilling both roles, he stepped down as the Steelers' coach in favor of Walt Kiesling. The team held training camp in Hershey, Pennsylvania.
Regular season
Schedule
Game summaries
Week 1 (Sunday September 7, 1941): Cleveland Rams
at Rubber Bowl, Akron, Ohio
Game time: Game weather: Game attendance: 23,720 Referee:
Scoring Drives:
Cleveland – Magnani 93 kick return (Adams kick) Cleveland – FG Adams 40 Pittsburgh – Hackney 4 run (Sanders kick) Pittsburgh – Jones 34 run (Sanders kick) Cleveland – McDonough 10 pass from Hall (Adams kick)
Week 3 (Sunday, September 21, 1941): Philadelphia Eagles
at Forbes Field, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Game time: Game weather: Game attendance: 12,893 Referee:
Scoring Drives:
Philadelphia – FG Barnum 43
Pittsburgh – Brumbaugh 4 run (Sanders kick) Philadelphia – Tomasetti 40 pass from DeSantis (Barnum kick)
Week 5 (Sunday October 5, 1941): New York Giants
at Forbes Field, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Game time: Game weather: Game attendance: 13,458 Referee:
Scoring Drives:
Pittsburgh – FG Niccolai 22
New York – FG Marefos 24
New York – Cuff 9 pass from Leemans (Cuff kick) Pittsburgh – Cichefski 72 pass from Brumbaugh (Niccolai kick) New York – Yeager 53 pass from Pugh (Marefos kick) New York – Poole 16 pss from Eshmont (Cuff kick) New York – Reagan 21 run (kick failed) New York – Reagan 8 run (Cuff kick)
Week 6 (Sunday October 12, 1941): Washington Redskins
at Forbes Field, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Game time: Game weather: Game attendance: 30,842 Referee:
Scoring Drives:
Washington – Todd 35 pass from Filchock (Materson kick) Pittsburgh – Riffle 10 pass from Donelli (Niccolai kick) Washington – FG Aguirre 39 Washington – Todd 7 run (Masterson kick) Washington – R. Hare 7 run (Masterson kick) Pittsburgh – Jones 59 pass from McDonough (Niccolai kick) Pittsburgh – Brumbaugh 1 run (kick failed)
Week 7 (Sunday October 19, 1941): New York Giants
at Polo Grounds, New York, New York
Game time: Game weather: Game attendance: 34,604 Referee:
Scoring Drives:
New York – Cope recovered blocked kick in end zone (Marefos kick) Pittsburgh – Looney 66 pass from Brumbaugh (Sanders kick) New York – Leemans 1 run (Cuff kick) New York – Marefos 1 run (Marefos kick) New York – Reagan 3 run (Marefos kick)
Week 8 (Sunday October 26, 1941): Chicago Bears
at Wrigley Field, Chicago, Illinois
Game time: Game weather: Game attendance: 17,212 Referee:
Scoring Drives:
Chicago Bears – Osmanski 13 run (Snyder kick) Chicago Bears – McAfee 33 run (Snyder kick) Chicago Bears – Kavanaugh 45 pass from Luckman (Maniaci kick) Pittsburgh – Hoague 14 pass from Rivvle (Niccolai kick) Chicago Bears – Pool 56 pass from Luckman Chicago Bears – Gallameau 1 run (kick failed)
Week 9 (Sunday November 2, 1941): Washington Redskins
at Griffith Stadium, Washington, DC
Game time: Game weather: Game attendance: 30,755 Referee:
Scoring Drives:
Washington – Moore 42 run (Masterson kick) Washington – FG Aldrich 17 Pittsburgh – FG Niccolai 19 Washington – Farkas 1 run (Aguirre kick) Washington – Carroll 25 interception (kick failed)
Week 10 (Sunday November 9, 1941): Philadelphia Eagles
at Shibe Park, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Game time: Game weather: Game attendance: 15,601 Referee:
Scoring Drives:
Philadelphia – Castiglia 47 run (Basca kick) Pittsburgh – Jones 25 run (Sanders kick)
Week 11 (Sunday November 16, 1941): Brooklyn Dodgers
at Forbes Field, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Game time: Game weather: Game attendance: 20,843 Referee:
Scoring Drives:
Brooklyn – Manders 3 run (Condit kick) Pittsburgh – Riffle 1 run (Niccolai kick) Pittsburgh – Jones 25 run (Niccolai kick)