The 1963 Pittsburgh Steelers season was the team's 31st in the National Football League (NFL). The Steelers won seven games, lost four, and tied three to finish fourth in the Eastern Conference. It was also their final season of splitting home games between Forbes Field and Pitt Stadium before moving all of their home games to the latter for the next six seasons.
In the second game of the season, the Steelers shut out the New York Giants 31–0 in the home opener at Pitt Stadium. The Giants had won the conference title the previous two seasons and four of the last five, but were without hall of fame quarterback Y. A. Tittle.
Because tie games were not included in NFL standings at the time (for winning percentage), the Steelers had a chance to win the conference title and advance to their first-ever NFL Championship Game. They needed to defeat the Giants at Yankee Stadium in the season finale, but lost 33–17 and fell to fourth; it was their last winning season until 1972.
This year marked the debut of the Steelers' trademark black helmets with their logo on one side of the helmet. They had used the logo previously on yellow helmets, but 1963 was the first season in which their now-signature look was used full-time in the regular season.
Prior to the season in May, defensive tackle Big Daddy Lipscomb died of an overdose of heroin at age 31; his final game was the Pro Bowl in January 1963, in which he was named the lineman of the game.
Roster
Regular season Schedule Game Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance 1 September 15 at Philadelphia Eagles T 21–21 0–0–1Franklin Field58,205 2 September 22 New York Giants W 31–0 1–0–1Pitt Stadium46,068 3 September 29 St. Louis Cardinals W 23–10 2–0–1Forbes Field28,225 4 at Cleveland Browns L 23–35 2–1–1Cleveland Stadium84,684 5 October 13 at St. Louis Cardinals L 23–24 2–2–1Busch Stadium (I)23,715 6 October 20 Washington Redskins W 38–27 3–2–1Pitt Stadium41,987 7 October 27 Dallas Cowboys W 27–21 4–2–1Forbes Field19,047 8 November 3 at Green Bay Packers L 14–33 4–3–1Milwaukee County Stadium46,293 9 November 10 Cleveland Browns W 9–7 5–3–1Pitt Stadium54,497 10 November 17 at Washington Redskins W 34–28 6–3–1D.C. Stadium49,219 11 November 24 Chicago Bears T 17–17 6–3–2Forbes Field36,465 12 December 1 Philadelphia Eagles T 20–20 6–3–3Forbes Field15,721 13 December 8 at Dallas Cowboys W 24–19 7–3–3Cotton Bowl24,136 14 December 15 at New York Giants L 17–33 7–4–3Yankee Stadium (I)63,240
Game summaries
Week 1 (Sunday September 15, 1963): Philadelphia Eagles
at Franklin Field, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Game time: Game weather: Game attendance: 58,205 Referee: Bill Downes TV announcers:
Scoring Drives:
Philadelphia – McDonald 13 pass from Jurgensen (Clark kick) Pittsburgh – FG Michaels 38 Pittsburgh – FG Michaels 50 Philadelphia – Smith 6 pass from Jurgensen (Clark kick) Pittsburgh – FG Michaels 17 Pittsburgh – Johnson 1 run (kick failed) Philadelphia – McDonald 75 pass from Jurgensen (Clark kick) Pittsburgh – Johnson 11 pass from Brown (kick failed)
Week 2 (Sunday September 22, 1963): New York Giants
at Pitt Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Game time: Game weather: Game attendance: 46,068 Referee: TV announcers:
Scoring Drives:
Pittsburgh – Hoak 1 run (Michaels kick) Pittsburgh – FG Michaels 11 Pittsburgh – Hoak 2 pass from Brown (Michaels kick) Pittsburgh – Johnson 1 run (Michaels kick) Pittsburgh – Dial 46 pass from Brown (Michaels kick)
Week 3 (Sunday September 29, 1963): St. Louis Cardinals
at Forbes Field, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Game time: Game weather: Game attendance: 28,225 Referee: TV announcers:
Scoring Drives:
St. Louis – Triplett 63 run (Bakken kick) Pittsburgh – FG Michaels 21 Pittsburgh – FG Michaels 40 St. Louis – FG Bakken 28 Pittsburgh – Hoak 1 run (Michaels kick) Pittsburgh – FG Michaels 21 Pittsburgh – Ferguson 4 run (Michaels kick)
Week 4 (Saturday October 5, 1963): Cleveland Browns
at Cleveland Municipal Stadium, Cleveland, Ohio
Game time: Game weather: Game attendance: 84,684 Referee: TV announcers:
Scoring Drives:
Pittsburgh – FG Michaels 18 Cleveland – Brown 8 run (Groza kick) Pittsburgh – FG Michaels 8 Pittsburgh – Dial 24 pass from Brown (Michaels kick) Cleveland – Collins 15 pass from Ryan (Groza kick) Pittsburgh – Dial 41 pass from Brown (Michaels kick) Cleveland – Ryan 13 run (Groza kick) Pittsburgh – FG Michaels 8 Cleveland – Collins 20 pass from Ryan (Groza kick) Cleveland – Krietling 19 pass from Ryan (Groza kick)
Week 5 (Sunday October 13, 1963): St. Louis Cardinals
at Busch Stadium, St. Louis, Missouri
Game time: Game weather: Game attendance: 23,715 Referee: TV announcers:
Scoring Drives:
St. Louis – FG Bakken 44 Pittsburgh – FG Michaels 45 Pittsburgh – Mack 83 pass from Brown (Michaels kick) Pittsburgh – FG Michaels 47 Pittsburgh – Brown 1 run (Michaels kick)
Week 6 (Sunday October 20, 1963): Washington Redskins
at Pitt Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Game time: Game weather: Game attendance: 41,987 Referee: TV announcers: Pittsburgh – Brown 1 run (Michaels kick) Washington – FG Khayat 49 Pittsburgh – Hoak 8 run (Michaels kick) Pittsburgh – FG Michaels 9 Washington – Snead 1 run (Khayat kick) Washington – James 36 pass from Snead (Khayat kick) Washington – James 5 run (Khayat kick) Pittsburgh – Hoak 1 run (Michaels kick) Washington – FG Khayat 15 Pittsburgh – Haley 24 interception return (Michaels kick) Pittsburgh – Dial 4 pass from Brown (Michaels kick)
Week 7 (Sunday October 27, 1963): Dallas Cowboys
at Forbes Field, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Game time: Game weather: Game attendance: 19,047 Referee: TV announcers:
Scoring Drives:
Dallas – Clarke 5 pass from Meredith (Baker kick) Dallas – Folkins 35 pass from Meredith (Baker kick) Pittsburgh – Dial 83 pass from Browns (kick failed) Dallas – Howton 13 pass from Meredith (Baker kick) Pittsburgh – Dial 25 pass from Brown (Tracy kick) Pittsburgh – Dial 14 pass from Brown (Tracy kick) Pittsburgh – Mack 85 pass from Brown (Michaels kick)Dallas Cowboys at Pittsburgh Steelers - October 27th, 1963
Week 8 (Sunday November 3, 1963): Green Bay Packers
at Milwaukee County Stadium, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Game time: Game weather: Game attendance: Referee: TV announcers:
Scoring Drives:
Pittsburgh – Hoak 2 run (Michaels kick) Green Bay – FG Kramer 23 Green Bay – FG Kramer 36 Green Bay – FG Kramer 12 Green Bay – Taylor 1 run (Kramer kick) Green Bay – Pitts 2 run (Kramer kick) Green Bay – FG Kramer 37 Pittsburgh – Mack 33 pass from Brown (Michaels kick) Green Bay – Pitts 1 run (Kramer kick)
Week 9 (Sunday November 10, 1963): Cleveland Browns
at Pitt Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Game time: Game weather: Game attendance: 54,497 Referee: TV announcers:
Scoring Drives:
Cleveland – Collins 4 pass from Ryan (Groza kick) Pittsburgh – Safety, Brown tackled by Schmitz in end zone Pittsburgh – Ballman 9 pass from Brown (Michaels kick)
Week 10 (Sunday November 17, 1963): Washington Redskins
at D.C. Stadium, Washington, DC
Game time: Game weather: Game attendance: 42,219 Referee: TV announcers:
Scoring Drives:
Washington – Crabb 53 interception return (Khayat kick) Pittsburgh – Johnson 3 run (Michaels kick) Washington – Mitchell 19 pass from Snead (Khayat kick) Pittsburgh – Ballman 67 pass from Brown (Khayat kick) Pittsburgh – Johnson 1 run (Michaels kick) Pittsburgh – FG Michaels 27 Washington – Mitchell 20 pass from Barnes (Khayat kick) Pittsburgh – FG Michaels 18 Washington – Richter 21 pass from Snead (Khayat kick) Pittsburgh – Ballman 92 kickoff return (Michaels kick)
Week 11 (Sunday November 24, 1963): Chicago Bears
at Forbes Field, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Game time: Game weather: Game attendance: 36,465 Referee: TV announcers:
Scoring Drives:
Chicago – Galimore 1 run (Jencks kick) Pittsburgh – Hoak 6 run (Michaels kick) Chicago – Bull 1 run (Jencks kick) Pittsburgh – Curry 31 pass from Brown (Michaels kick) Pittsburgh – FG Michaels 11 Chicago – FG Leclerc 18
Week 12 (Sunday December 1, 1963): Philadelphia Eagles
at Forbes Field, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Game time: Game weather: Game attendance: 15,721 Referee: TV announcers:
Scoring Drives:
Pittsburgh – FG Michaels 10 Philadelphia – Retzlaff 24 pass from Hill (Clark kick) Philadelphia – Brown 14 run (Clark kick) Philadelphia – FG Clark 23 Pittsburgh – Ballman 57 pass from Brown (Michaels kick) Philadelphia – FG Clark 40 Pittsburgh – Ballman 8 pass from Brown (Michaels kick) Pittsburgh – FG Michaels 24
Week 13 (Sunday December 8, 1963): Dallas Cowboys
at Cotton Bowl, Dallas, Texas
Game time: Game weather: Game attendance: 24,136 Referee: TV announcers:
Scoring Drives:
Dallas – FG Baker 53 Dallas – Meredith 2 run (kick failed) Pittsburgh – Dial 55 pass from Brown (Michaels kick) Pittsburgh – Carpenter 28 pass from Brown (Michaels kick) Pittsburgh – FG Michaels 24 Dallas – FG Baker 46 Dallas – Meredith 4 run (Baker kick) Pittsburgh – Sapp 24 run (Michaels kick)
Week 14 (December 15, 1963): New York Giants
at Yankee Stadium, The Bronx, New York
Game time: Game weather: Game attendance: 63,240 Referee: TV announcers:
Scoring Drives:
New York Giants – FG Chandler 34 New York Giants – Shotner 41 pass from Tittle (kick failed) New York Giants – Morrison 3 pass from Tittle (Chandler kick) Pittsburgh – FG Michaels 27 Pittsburgh – Ballman 21 pass from Brown (Michaels kick) New York Giants – Morrison 22 pass from Tittle (Chandler kick) New York Giants – Morrison 1 run (Chandler kick) Pittsburgh – Dial 40 pass from Brown (Michaels kick) New York Giants – FG Chandler 41
Standings
References
External links 1963 Pittsburgh Steelers season at Profootballreference.com 1963 Pittsburgh Steelers season statistics at jt-sw.com