When World War II Forced the Steelers and Eagles to Merge Into One Team in 1943

Since 1933, Pennsylvania has boasted two NFL franchises: the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Philadelphia Eagles. Across their 92 years of existence, they’ve fought one another for the league’s championship trophies.

But for one season, the two units combined to create a roster – and mascot – of epic proportions.

In 1943, with the United States deeply embroiled in World War II, the Steelers and Eagles were in a bind. The majority of their players had been plucked away from football and thrust into combat, leaving them unable to field complete teams.

Their solution? To temporarily merge not only rosters but mascots as well. As a result, the “Steagles” – a magnificent one-year wonder of a team – were born. According to Steelers owner Art Rooney in 1974, it was “done out of necessity:”

“We didn’t have the manpower to field a team, and neither did the Eagles. But we thought we could make it work if we pooled our resources.”

To an extent, they did. Despite having two stubborn coaches – Greasy Neale (PHI) and Walt Kiesling (PIT) – who were constantly bickering, the Steagles managed to go 5-4-1. The winning record was the first for the Eagles franchise.

Did the unification of the two franchises give them a leg up on their competition? Not really. The Steagles’ 5-4-1 record netted them fifth place in the eight-team league.

The teams’ futures after the Steagles

Despite their underwhelming records, their performance was better than anticipated. Offensive tackle Al Wistert – a member of the Eagles who spent his rookie year with the Steagles – did not express optimism, even in retrospect, about the team’s chances:

“It sounds like we had a big advantage, putting two teams together as one. But all it meant was we had twice as many lousy players. Look at the teams. The Eagles had never had a winning season and the Steelers were almost as bad.”

Had the Steagles’ experiment failed to work, it’s possible the Steelers and Eagles may have ceased to exist. Instead, their efforts set the foundation for a prolific era of Eagles football.

Philadelphia posted a winning record each of the next six years and appeared in three straight league title games to round out the 1940s. Their back-to-back championships in 1948 and 1949 were the first in franchise history.

The Steelers, meanwhile, failed to build upon the Steagles’ success. They resided in the league’s basement for much of the next 30 years, finishing above .500 just six times from 1944-1970.

They finally reached the mountaintop in 1975, when they defeated the Minnesota Vikings 16-6 in Super Bowl IX.