The Pittsburgh Americans were a professional American football

American football

American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...

 team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Pittsburgh is the second-largest city in the US Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Allegheny County. Regionally, it anchors the largest urban area of Appalachia and the Ohio River Valley, and nationally, it is the 22nd-largest urban area in the United States...

 from 1936 until 1937. The team was a member of the major-league American Football League

American Football League (1936)

Sometimes called AFL II, the second American Football League was a professional American football league that operated in 1936 and 1937. The AFL operated in direct competition with the more established National Football League throughout its existence...

. When plans for the league were announced on November 15, 1935, fifteen cities bid for charter franchises for the new league. On April 11, 1936, Pittsburgh and seven other cities were awarded franchises.

The 1936 season

1936 American Football League season

The 1936 American Football League season is the first season of the second American Football League, the formation of which was announced by Harry March, former personnel director of the NFL's New York Giants, on December 15, 1935...

 resulted in a winning season and a fourth place finish for the Americans with a record of 3-2-1. The Americans were also not without stars: they signed former Pittsburgh Pirates' Ben Smith

Ben Smith (football player)

Ben H. Smith, Jr. was an American football end in the National Football League for the Green Bay Packers, the Pittsburgh Pirates, and the Washington Redskins. He played college football at the University of Alabama....

 and Loran Ribble. However the team's performance on the field didn't mirror that of ticket sales and attendance. The Americans finished last in the league for attendance, averaging only 2500 spectators in attendance for home games at Forbes Field

Forbes Field

Forbes Field was a baseball park in the Oakland neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, from 1909 to 1971. It was the third home of the Pittsburgh Pirates Major League Baseball team, and the first home of the Pittsburgh Steelers, the city's National Football League franchise...

.

While the Americans survived their first season, the team was folded after the third game of the 1937 season

1937 American Football League season

The 1937 American Football League season is the second season of the second edition of the AFL. After the folding of the Syracuse/Rochester Braves in the 1936 season and the departure of the Cleveland Rams for the National Football League, the league added the Cincinnati Bengals and the Los Angeles...

. The rest of the league would cease operations at the end of season.

See also

• 1936 Pittsburgh Americans season
  1936 Pittsburgh Americans season
  The 1936 Pittsburgh Americans season was their first season in existence. The team played in the American Football League would go on to post a 3-3-1 record overall, and a 3-2-1 league record.-Schedule:-Final 1936 standings:-References:*...
  
  
• 1937 Pittsburgh Americans season
  1937 Pittsburgh Americans season
  The 1937 Pittsburgh Americans season was their second and final season in existence. The team played in the American Football League would go on to post a 1-3 record overall, and a 0-3 league record, before folding halfway through the season.-Schedule:...