Steelers Throwback Thursday: Steelers face Toronto Argonauts
Steel City Underground presents “Steelers Throwback Thursday” featuring plays, stories, and recaps from recent seasons which you may have forgotten about! Now we’re “bringing them back!”
Typically, the NFL would be in the midst of preseason games as we get closer to the start of the regular season. This week, we travel back to an atypical preseason game the Pittsburgh Steelers played.
In 1960, the Pittsburgh Steelers faced the Canadian Football League team, the Toronto Argonauts (Argos), on August 3rd, 1960. In a preseason game for the Steelers and an exhibition game for the Argos, the Steelers won by a large margin, 43-16. The exhibition games for the CFL, however, were played in the middle of the regular season.
The NFL used to play against CFL opponents from 1950 through 1961. There were only seven games played, however, in the eleven years of the preseason and exhibition games.
Six of the seven games were played in Canadian football stadiums.
The New York Giants beat the Ottawa Rough Riders twice in 1950 and 1951. It was not until 1959 where the two leagues would face each other, starting back up with the Chicago Cardinals beating the Toronto Argonauts. After the Cardinals and the Steelers beat the Argos badly, the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Argos again in 1961.
Two more games were played in 1961 between the two leagues before stopping the series against each other. The Chicago Bears beat the Montreal Alouettes and the Buffalo Bills lost to the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in Eugene, Oregon.
At the time, the Buffalo Bills were in the American Football League (AFL) and that was the only game between the AFL and the CFL. No NFL/AFL team has played against a CFL team ever since the final game where the Buffalo Bills lost to the Hamilton Tiger-Cats.
60 years ago (8/3/60): #Steelers beat Toronto #Argonauts 43-16 in #NFL–#CFL exhibition. #HereWeGo pic.twitter.com/iSDhfIWn7I
— PGH Sports History (@PGH_Sports_Date) August 4, 2020
During the Pittsburgh Steelers game against the Toronto Argonauts, the Steelers got out to a quick and early lead due to big plays in the first quarter. With help from a 59-yard pass, a 41-yard sweep, and another 40-yard pass, the Steelers were winning 33-6 at halftime.
In true preseason form, many of the Pittsburgh Steelers starters sat out during the second half, where the game ended with a 43-16 final result.
Photos from Pittsburgh Press and Pittsburgh Post-Gazette game coverage: pic.twitter.com/KCDPKczxwc
— PGH Sports History (@PGH_Sports_Date) August 4, 2020
As the game was played in Canada, the rules were set to Canadian Football League rules, which varied from NFL rules.
There were many onside-punts tried by the Argos, and this foreign rule worked a few times against the Steelers. If a player on the punting team lines up behind the punter, they can possess the ball down the field just like modern-day onside kicking rules in the NFL.
The game was played in front of 23,000 fans, about 2/3 capacity for the stadium. More fans watched nearby, as the was the first NFL game to be played over pay-TV. Over an experimental network, fans nearby could watch the game for $2 a set.
