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 summaries

Week 1 (Sunday September 15, 1963): Philadelphia Eagles

at Franklin Field, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Scoring Drives:

Week 2 (Sunday September 22, 1963): New York Giants

at Pitt Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Scoring Drives:

Week 3 (Sunday September 29, 1963): St. Louis Cardinals

at Forbes Field, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Scoring Drives:

Week 4 (Saturday October 5, 1963): Cleveland Browns

at Cleveland Municipal Stadium, Cleveland, Ohio Scoring Drives:

Week 5 (Sunday October 13, 1963): St. Louis Cardinals

at Busch Stadium, St. Louis, Missouri Scoring Drives:

Week 6 (Sunday October 20, 1963): Washington Redskins

at Pitt Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Week 7 (Sunday October 27, 1963): Dallas Cowboys

at Forbes Field, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Scoring Drives:

Week 8 (Sunday November 3, 1963): Green Bay Packers

at Milwaukee County Stadium, Milwaukee, Wisconsin Scoring Drives:

Week 9 (Sunday November 10, 1963): Cleveland Browns

at Pitt Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Scoring Drives:

Week 10 (Sunday November 17, 1963): Washington Redskins

at D.C. Stadium, Washington, DC Scoring Drives:

Week 11 (Sunday November 24, 1963): Chicago Bears

at Forbes Field, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Scoring Drives:

Week 12 (Sunday December 1, 1963): Philadelphia Eagles

at Forbes Field, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Scoring Drives:

Week 13 (Sunday December 8, 1963): Dallas Cowboys

at Cotton Bowl, Dallas, Texas Scoring Drives:

Week 14 (December 15, 1963): New York Giants

at Yankee Stadium, The Bronx, New York Scoring Drives:

Standings