The Pittsburgh Philadelphia Steagles,During World War II, many professional sports leagues were seve

The Pittsburgh Philadelphia Steagles,During World War II, many professional sports leagues were severely effected by a lack of players.  With most young men going off to war, many sports teams were left playing with reduced teams composed of players who were not fit for military service.  Most baseball leagues shut down during the war, and in 1943 the Indy 500 was cancelled.  NFL football too was hit hard, and many teams had to close down until the war ended.Due to the player shortage, in 1943 the Pittsburgh Steelers and Philadelphia Eagles combined to form the Phil-Pitt Combine, AKA The “Steagles”.  The team was a motley assortment of players who were over the hill, suffering from arthritis, back problems, knee problems, and other assorted maladies, thus disqualifying them from military service.  Tony Bova, the Steagles leading receiver was completely blind in one eye, and legally blind in the other.  Guard Ed Michaels was deaf, while center Center Ray Graves was deaf in one ear.  Most other surviving NFL teams were composed of similar players. The players and coaches were formerly bitter interstate rivals.  In addition, the Steagles, as well as all other teams, spared no time for training and practice, as the men were too busy working in factories to support the war effort. They must have had some truly interesting games.The Steagles record for the 1943 season was 5-4-1.  The team was disbanded in 1944, when the Pittsburgh Steelers merged with the Chicago Cardinals, called the Card-Pitt, which unfortunately had an unwinning season.  Thus they were called the “Carpets” because everyone else walked all over them.  The Boston Yanks and the Brooklyn Tigers likewise formed a combined team for the 1945 season. -- source link

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