Welcome to Friday, Pittsburgh. The Steelers will host their first-ever Black Friday game the day after Thanksgiving against last year’s No. 1 AFC seed, the Denver Broncos. This isn’t the first Friday game the franchise has ever played. You just have to go way back to find it.
The last time Pittsburgh played on a Friday was the beginning of its 1946 season. Let’s revisit what happened.
Why a Friday game in the first place? There was a time when Pittsburgh played on quirky days. In its inaugural 1933 season, Pennsylvania’s “Blue Laws” prevented activities like sporting events from occurring on Sundays. So the franchise played many of its games on Wednesdays until the state repealed those laws during the November elections.
But those laws had no impact in 1946. Information is scarce, but an article from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette on September 19th, 1946, offered some rationale.
“Originally scheduled for December 8, it was advanced by mutual consent of the rival elevens.”
Why the two sides bumped up the schedule isn’t clear. Regular-season games were held on the 8th, Week 12. Perhaps it was done to avoid potential weather conditions common in Pittsburgh during December. No matter the reason, the Steelers and Cardinals were the first game to ring in the ’46 season.
The Steelers came into the game as seven-point underdogs. There was reason for hope. Renowned coach Jock Sutherland had taken the job with the media – and crowd – buzzing about what it’d mean.
“The team is the strongest ever put together by the Steelers…the Sutherland entry will be well grounded in fundamentals and will be tough and rough on defense.”
Like the 2026 group, the 1946 group had a new energy under a new – but old – head coach. In fact, Sutherland and Mike McCarthy have several similarities. Sutherland, at 57, was the oldest hire Pittsburgh had ever made before the 62-year-old McCarthy. Both coached the Pitt Panthers: Sutherland for nearly two decades, McCarthy for a much briefer stay in the ’80s to ’90s. Both had previous NFL head coach experience. Sutherland enjoyed two successful years with the Brooklyn Dodgers in the early 40s, McCarthy had stints in Green Bay and Dallas.
Fans responded. The opener was sold out with over 33,00 fans packing Forbes Field. Per The Press, the Steelers took in $125,000 of season ticket sales before the year, shattering the previous high watermark of $21,000.
Gates opened at 6:30. A band entertained at 7:15. Players took the field 45 minutes later, Sutherland was briefly honored by Pitt at 8:20, and the game kicked off at 8:30.
Pittsburgh’s squad was led by Bill “Bullet” Dudley, the No. 1 overall pick of the 1942 draft. It was his second stint with the team after spending 1943 and 1944 in the Army.
Appearing in just four games in 1945, Dudley was a full-go for 1946. He met lofty expectations. Dudley led the NFL in carries, rushing yards, and interceptions (1o of them), punt return yardage, and remains the only player in NFL history to rush for 600 yards and pick off double-digit passes in the same season. A mark almost certain to stand forever. No player since 1948 has recorded even half of that.
Dudley would end 1946 as the league’s MVP.
Sutherland was a confident but superstitious man. He had his team align on the visitor side, mirroring what his Panthers squads would do on the left field benches as a mark of good luck.
The Steelers received the opening kickoff but punted. Dudley’s punt backed Chicago up deep in their own territory, but they slogged their way past midfield. Pittsburgh forced a fumble, recovered by end Bob Davis, and the Steelers took advantage. A 45-yard drive was capped off by Dudley finding end Charlie Seabright for an 8-yard touchdown on third down.
At the end of one, Pittsburgh led 7-0.
It didn’t take much longer to add. Guard Nick Skorich, all 5’9, 197 pounds of him (the NFL looked a little different in those days), partially blocked a Cardinals punt that set Pittsburgh up at the opposing 34. With backups in the game, it took 10 plays to cover all the ground needed. Jonny Clement, nicknamed “Zero” for the double-zeros he wore, hit end Val Jasante with a 17-yard pass to get near the goal line. It was Jasante’s first NFL game, and he would go on to become one of the best receivers in early Steelers’ history. Fullback Tony Campagno finished the job with a 1-yard score.
The Steelers expanded their lead to 14-0. The score would remain that way into halftime.
Dudley fumbled in the third quarter to give the Cardinals a short field. Pittsburgh put up resistance, but on 4th-and-1, Chicago used play-action to get the Steelers to bite. Ray Mallouf found an open Marshall Goldberg for an 8-yard score. With the extra point, Pittsburgh’s lead was reduced by half.
Atoning for his turnover, Dudley picked off a fourth-quarter pass deep in his own territory to prevent the Cardinals from tying. Pittsburgh ran out the rest of the clock to prevail.
“I’m happy to win this one,” Sutherland said after the game. We played a good football team, one that should go a long way. They were a passing team, and we were a running team, and you couldn’t run any more than you could pass.”
Pittsburgh finished the game with 49 rushes for 112 yards. The offense only attempted four passes. Chicago tried 14 through the air, completing six. High numbers for the era.
Both teams would end the year with passable records. Chicago finished 6-5. Pittsburgh 5-5-1, struggling at the end with three losses in its final four, including allowing Detroit its only win of the campaign.
The rest of Pittsburgh’s schedule came on Sundays. This year will be full of different days: Sundays, Mondays, Thursdays. And for the first time in 80 years, a Friday.
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