Rooney hired Forrest "Jap" Douds as player-coach. Douds was a three-time All-American and local legend as a player at Washington & Jefferson College, and had been an All-Pro in the NFL. Pittsburgh's inaugural game, against the New York Giants was a 23–2 defeat in front of a crowd of about 20,000. The franchise's first ever points came off a safety which resulted when Pirates center John "Cap" Oehler blocked a punt through the end zone. Rooney wrote of the game, "The Giants won. Our team looks terrible. The fans didn't get their money's worth."