1947: Eagles Shut Out Steelers in Eastern Division Playoff

The Philadelphia Eagles and Pittsburgh Steelers, having both finished with 8-4 records to create a tie atop the Eastern Division, faced each other in a divisional playoff game on December 21, 1947. It marked the first postseason appearance for each of the franchises, who both came into the NFL in 1933.

The Eagles, coached by Earle “Greasy” Neale, finished second in each of the previous three seasons and a late-season slump, in which they lost two of their final four games after getting off to a 6-2 start, had nearly deprived them again. HB Steve Van Buren set a new league record with 1008 rushing yards and QB Tommy Thompson (pictured above) was a fine passer and had good targets in ends “Black Jack” Ferrante and rookie Pete Pihos, all playing behind an excellent line. Neale’s innovative defense was tough and very physical.

Very little was expected of Pittsburgh coming into the season, especially when they traded star tailback Bill Dudley to the Lions. But Head Coach Jock Sutherland’s team won six straight games after getting off to a 1-2 start. The Steelers utilized a single-wing offense ably directed by Dudley’s replacement, tailback Johnny Clement, and they had a productive receiver in end Val Jansante. They had beaten the Eagles earlier in the season at home, but were missing several starters, most notably Clement, due to injury in losing the rematch at Philadelphia. All were back healthy for the playoff game, and Pittsburgh also concluded its season a week earlier than the Eagles and thus had an extra week off prior to the playoff game. However, there was also discontent among the players, who demanded extra pay for the additional week of practice, which drew the fury of Coach Sutherland and sowed the seeds of dissension.

There were 35,729 fans in attendance at Forbes Field. Pittsburgh managed just two first downs in the first half, the first of them coming on their first possession of the game. Philadelphia’s first scoring threat came up empty when the Eagles faked a field goal and QB Allie Sherman’s long pass intended for Jack Ferrante was incomplete.

The Eagles got their next opportunity when Pete Pihos blocked a punt by Bob Cifers, which gave the visitors the ball at the Pittsburgh 14. Two running plays netted the loss of a yard, but on third down Tommy Thompson threw to Steve Van Buren for a touchdown. Cliff Patton added the extra point for a 7-0 lead.

Early in the second quarter, Philadelphia put together a 69-yard scoring drive after HB Pat McHugh returned a punt 11 yards. Thompson threw to HB Russ Craft for eight yards and a 15-yard penalty for unnecessary roughness was tacked on following the play. Six plays later, Thompson threw long for Ferrante and it was good for a 25-yard TD. Patton again converted.

On the first play following the ensuing kickoff, Johnny Clement carried around end for a 27-yard gain to the Philadelphia 45. It was Pittsburgh’s first penetration into enemy territory, but the series stalled thereafter. The score remained 14-0 in favor of Philadelphia at the half.

After passing to good effect in the first half, the Eagles kept the ball on the ground and played conservatively in the second half, especially after Thompson was injured and had to leave the game. Early in the third quarter, HB Bosh Pritchard (pictured below) fielded a punt and returned it 79 yards for a touchdown in the game’s most spectacular play. Patton again tacked on the extra point.

Late in the third quarter, the Steelers finally put together a promising drive as they advanced from their 34 to the Philadelphia nine. Clement, Cifers, and FB Tony Compagno all ran effectively and Clement completed a pass to end Elbie Nickel for 16 yards. But facing fourth down, Clement tried a jump pass, fumbled, and while the Steelers recovered, they were short of first down yardage and had to turn the ball over. It was their last gasp, and the Eagles coasted the rest of the way to a 21-0 win.

The statistics reflected the score as Philadelphia outgained the Steelers (255 yards to 154) and had far more first downs (17 to 7). Each team turned the ball over twice.

Tommy Thompson was outstanding as he completed 11 of 17 passes (10 of 15 in the first half) for 131 yards and two touchdowns. Steve Van Buren was held to 45 yards on 18 carries but also scored a TD on one of his two catches for 15 yards. Jack Ferrante led the Eagles with five pass receptions for 73 yards that included a score.

For the Steelers, Johnny Clement (pictured at right), out with an elbow injury for nearly a month, led in rushing with 59 yards on 14 carries but had a poor passing performance, completing just four of 16 throws for 52 yards. Val Jansante failed to catch a pass and Elbie Nickel led the club with two receptions for 32 yards.

The Eagles went on to lose an exciting NFL Championship contest against the Chicago Cardinals. They came back to win the Eastern Division in each of the next two seasons, coming out on top in the league title contests as well. As for the Steelers, Coach Sutherland died from a sudden illness during the offseason and was replaced by John Michelosen. Pittsburgh dropped to 4-8 in 1948 and did not return to the postseason until 1972.

1947: Baugh Passes Redskins Past Steelers in Back-and-Forth Game

The Washington Redskins were 0-1, having shown off plenty of offense in a wild loss to the Eagles, as they hosted the Pittsburgh Steelers on October 5, 1947. A 5-5-1 team in 1946, their first year under Head Coach Turk Edwards, the Redskins had the NFL’s best passer in 33-year-old QB Sammy Baugh (pictured above) but they were already showing an inability to stop good offenses when they shifted to defense.

Pittsburgh, under Head Coach Jock Sutherland, was also 5-5-1 the previous year. They had already played two games and split them, defeating the Lions in the opener but losing badly to the Rams in the next contest. They traded star multi-purpose back Bill Dudley during the offseason and had Johnny Clement take his place at tailback in their single-wing offense.

It was a sunny afternoon with a record crowd of 36,565 in attendance at Griffith Stadium. The Steelers took the opening kickoff and, keeping the ball on the ground, advanced to the Washington eight yard line. The big play along the way was a 43-yard carry by Clement. The drive stalled and Joe Glamp kicked a 15-yard field goal.

The 3-0 lead held up until the first play of the second quarter. With a first down at his own 46, Baugh fired a pass to HB Bob Nussbaumer, who caught it at the 31 and outran the secondary to the end zone for a 54-yard touchdown. Dick Poillon’s extra point made it 7-3

Late in the period, DB Walt Slater recovered a fumble by Washington FB Jack Jenkins at the Pittsburgh 40 and the Steelers went 60 yards in seven plays. Clement completed a pass to end Val Jansante for 19 yards to the Washington 15 and from there he connected with FB Steve Lach, who took the short throw and powered over several tacklers for a touchdown. Glamp’s extra point was successful to make it a three-point margin. With one minute left, the Redskins had another opportunity and Baugh passed them down to the Pittsburgh 14 where time ran out.

Washington HB Dick Todd returned the second half kickoff 50 yards to the Pittsburgh 43 and from there the home team drove to a score. Baugh threw to Poillon for a six-yard TD, and while Poillon missed the extra point attempt (breaking a streak of 30 straight), the Redskins were back in front by 13-10.

However, five minutes later DB Tony Compagno intercepted a Baugh pass and returned it 65 yards for a touchdown to put the visitors back on top. Washington responded with a series that ended with Baugh throwing to end Hugh Taylor for a 36-yard TD. Poillon’s kick made it 20-17 in the back-and-forth contest.

The Steelers came back with a big pass play of their own as Clement threw to HB Bob Sullivan for a 50-yard touchdown. Glamp was successful on the conversion and Pittsburgh was again in front by 24-20.

Early in the fourth quarter, the Steelers advanced to the Washington two but came up empty. The Redskins, backed deep in a hole, were forced to punt and Baugh faded back to pass out of punt formation but stepped out of bounds in his end zone for a safety that extended the Pittsburgh lead to 26-20.

The Steelers again drove into Washington territory but a 40-yard field goal try by Glamp sailed wide to the left. The Redskins went 80 yards on their next series with Baugh passing effectively. On a fourth-and-nine play Slingin’ Sammy hit FB Sal Rosato for a first down at the one. HB Tom Farmer scored from there with 5:32 remaining on the clock and Poillon added the crucial extra point. The lead had changed for the seventh time.

The Steelers put together a 73-yard drive in the waning minutes of the game. With 25 seconds left, Glamp attempted a 29-yard field goal but the wobbly kick hit the left upright and bounced away. The Redskins came away with a 27-26 win.

The statistics reflected the closeness of the score. Washington barely outgained the Steelers (384 yards to 373) while Pittsburgh had the edge in first downs (16 to 15). The Redskins also turned the ball over three times, to one suffered by the Steelers.

Sammy Baugh completed 13 of 28 passes for 275 yards and three touchdowns along with two interceptions while Johnny Clement (pictured at left) was successful on 9 of 17 throws for 157 yards and two TDs.

Washington continued to be an exciting offensive team that all-too-often gave up more points that it scored. The Redskins finished with a disappointing 4-8 record to place fourth in the Eastern Division. Pittsburgh, however, overcame the tough loss against the Redskins to win six straight games and tie for first in the division with the Eagles. But dissension among the players plus the loss of Johnny Clement to injury doomed the Steelers to a loss in the playoff game against Philadelphia.

Sammy Baugh had one of his greatest statistical seasons, setting NFL records with 354 pass attempts, 210 completions, and 2938 yards. He also led the league in touchdown passes (25) and completion percentage (59.3).

Johnny Clement had an outstanding year as well, ranking second in rushing (670 yards) while passing for 1004 yards with seven touchdowns and nine interceptions.