The 1959 Pittsburgh Steelers season marked the franchise's 27th year in the National Football League (NFL). The team finished with a record of 6 wins, 5 losses and 1 tie, one fewer win than the previous season. Much of the decline could be attributed to a lack of fresh blood up and down the roster. The team didn't have a draft choice until the eighth round, where it selected Purdue University halfback Tom Barnett at the 81st overall pick. None of the two running backs the Steelers drafted played a single snap with the Steelers, with J.W. Brodnax going to the 1960 Denver Broncos, and Charley Tolar going to the 1960–1966 Houston Oilers.
Regular season
In 1959 the Steelers offered seats at four price levels — $6.00, $5.00, $4.00, and $3.00.E.J. O'Malley, "Purchasing NFL Tickets: A Guide to Ticket Information," Sports Forecast, vol. 2, no. 2. Chicago: E.J. O'Malley Publishing Co., 1959; p. 78. No season prices for the six game slate were published.
Schedule Game Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance Recap Sources 1 September 26 Cleveland Browns W 17–7 1–0 Forbes Field 33,844 Recap 2 October 4 Washington Redskins L 17–23 1–1 Forbes Field 26,750 Recap 3 October 11 at Philadelphia Eagles L 24–28 1–2 Franklin Field 27,343 Recap 4 October 18 at Washington Redskins W 27–6 2–2 Griffith Stadium 28,218 Recap 5 October 25 New York Giants L 16–21 2–3 Forbes Field 33,596 Recap 6 November 1 at Chicago Cardinals L 24–45 2–4 Soldier Field 23,187 Recap 7 November 8 Detroit Lions T 10–10 2–4–1 Forbes Field 24,614 Recap 8 November 15 at New York Giants W 14–9 3–4–1 Yankee Stadium 66,786 Recap 9 November 22 at Cleveland Browns W 21–20 4–4–1 Cleveland Stadium 68,563 Recap 10 November 29 Philadelphia Eagles W 31–0 5–4–1 Forbes Field 22,191 Recap 11 December 6 at Chicago Bears L 21–27 5–5–1 Wrigley Field 41,476 Recap 12 December 13 Chicago Cardinals W 35–20 6–5–1 Forbes Field 19,011 Recap Note: Intra-conference opponents are in bold text.
Game summaries
Week 1 (Saturday September 26, 1959): Cleveland Browns
at Forbes Field, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Game time: Game weather: Game attendance: 33,844 Referee: TV announcers:
Scoring drives:
Cleveland – Plum 1 run (Groza kick) CLE 7–0 Pittsburgh – FG Layne 26 CLE 7–3 Pittsburgh – Orr 20 pass from Layne (Layne kick) PIT 10–7 Pittsburgh – Brewster 19 pass from Layne (Layne kick) PIT 17-7
Week 2 (Sunday October 4, 1959): Washington Redskins
at Forbes Field, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Game time: Game weather: Game attendance: 26,750 Referee: TV announcers:
Scoring drives:
Washington – FG Baker 25 WSH 3–0 Washington – FG Baker 47 WSH 3–0 Washington – FG Baker 48 WSH 9–0 Washington – Anderson 70 pass from Gugliemi (Baker kick) WSH 16–0 Pittsburgh – FG Layne 32 WSH 16–3 Washington – Walton 26 pass from Gugliemi (Baker kick)WSH 23–3 Pittsburgh – Brewster 30 pass from Layne (Layne kick) WSH 23-10 Pittsburgh – Krutko 2 run (Layne kick) WSH 23–17
Week 3 (Sunday October 11, 1959): Philadelphia Eagles
at Franklin Field, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Game time: Game weather: Game attendance: 27,343 Referee: Bud Brubaker TV announcers:
Scoring drives:
Steelers – Bobby Layne 10 run (Layne kick), PIT 7–0 Eagles – Billy Ray Barnes 3 run (Walston kick), TIE 7–7 Eagles – Art Powell 58 punt return (Walston kick), PHI 14–7 Steelers – FG Bobby Lane 12, PHI 14–10 Eagles – Norm Van Brocklin 1 run (Walston kick), PHI 21–10 Steelers – Tom Tracy 11 pass from Layne (Layne kick), PHI 21–17 Eagles – Tommy McDonald 18 pass from Van Brocklin (Walston kick), PHI 28–17 Steelers – Jimmy Orr 17 pass from Layne (Layne kick), PHI 28–24
Week 4 (Sunday October 18, 1959): Washington Redskins
at Griffith Stadium, Washington, DC
Game time: Game weather: Game attendance: 28,218 Referee: TV announcers:
Scoring drives:
Pittsburgh – Krutko 1 run (Layne kick) Pittsburgh – Tarasovic 38 fumble run (Layne kick) Washington – FG Baker 30 Washington – FG Baker 39 Pittsburgh – Krutko 4 run (Layne kick) Pittsburgh – FG Layne 23 Pittsburgh – FG Layne 22
Week 5 (Sunday October 25, 1959): New York Giants
at Forbes Field, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Game time: Game weather: Game attendance: 33,596 Referee: TV announcers:
Scoring drives:
Pittsburgh – FG Layne 37 New York Giants – Gifford 77 pass from Conerly (Summerall kick) New York Giants – Gifford 28 pass from Conerly (Summerall kick) Pittsburgh – Dial 35 pass from Layne (Layne kick) Pittsburgh – FG Layne 19 New York Giants – Huff 5 fumble run (Summerall kick) Pittsburgh – FG Layne 17
Week 6 (Sunday November 1, 1959): Chicago Cardinals
at Comiskey Park, Chicago, Illinois
Game time: Game weather: Game attendance: Referee: TV announcers:
Week 7 (Sunday November 8, 1959): Detroit Lions
at Forbes Field, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Game time: Game weather: Game attendance: 24,614 Referee: TV announcers:
Scoring drives:
Detroit – Rote 1 run (Perry kick) Pittsburgh – FG Layne 29 Detroit – FG Martin 27 Pittsburgh – Tracy 20 pass from Layne (Layne kick)
Week 8 (Sunday November 15, 1959): New York Giants
at Yankee Stadium, Bronx, New York
Game time: Game weather: Game attendance: 66,786 Referee: TV announcers:
Scoring drives:
New York Giants – FG Summerall 21 New York Giants – FG Summerall 27 Pittsburgh – Orr 4 pass from Layne (Layne kick) New York Giants – FG Summerall 29 Pittsburgh – Tracy 45 pass from Layne (Layne kick)
Week 9 (Sunday November 22, 1959): Cleveland Browns
at Cleveland Municipal Stadium, Cleveland, Ohio
Game time: Game weather: Game attendance: 68,563 Referee: TV announcers:
Scoring drives:
Pittsburgh – Tracy 4 run (Layne kick) Pittsburgh – Tracy 1 run (Layne kick) Cleveland – Renfro 30 pass from Plum (kick failed) Cleveland – Renfro 28 pass from Plum (Groza kick) Cleveland – Renfro 70 pass from Plum (Groza kick) Pittsburgh – Nagler 17 pass from Layne (Layne kick)
Week 10 (Sunday November 29, 1959): Philadelphia Eagles
at Forbes Field, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Game time: Game weather: Game attendance: 22,191 Referee: TV announcers:
Scoring drives:
Pittsburgh – FG Layne 17 Pittsburgh – Dial 12 pass from Layne (Layne kick) Pittsburgh – Orr 19 pass from Layne (Layne kick) Pittsburgh – Tracy 23 pass from Layne (Layne kick) Pittsburgh – Nagler 2 pass from Layne (Layne kick)
Week 11 (Sunday December 5, 1959): Chicago Bears
at Forbes Field, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Game time: Game weather: Game attendance: 41,476 Referee: TV announcers:
Scoring drives:
Chicago Bears – Casares 3 run (kick failed) Chicago Bears – Casares 1 run (Aveni kick) Chicago Bears – Casares 1 run (Aveni kick) Pittsburgh – Tracy 2 run (Layne kick) Chicago Bears – Casares 1 run (Aveni kick) Pittsburgh – Krutko 7 run (Layne kick) Pittsburgh – Dial 25 pass from Layne (Layne kick)
Week 12 (Sunday December 12, 1959): Chicago Cardinals
at Forbes Field, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Game time: Game weather: Game attendance: 19,011 Referee: TV announcers:
Scoring drives:
Chicago Cardinals – FG Conrad 37 Chicago Cardinals – FG Conrad 20 Pittsburgh – Layne 9 run (Layne kick) Pittsburgh – Dial 35 pass from Layne (Layne kick) Pittsburgh – Dial 11 pass from Layne (Layne kick) Pittsburgh – Tracy 16 pass from Layne (Layne kick) Chicago Cardinals – Conrad 21 pass from Hill (Conrad kick) Pittsburgh – Orr 16 pass from Layne (Layne kick) Chicago Cardinals – Crow 7 pass from Hill (Conrad kick)
Standings
Roster
References