The last game played on Black Friday was Buffalo at Boston in 1962

[chongli]

[I thought of putting this in the game thread today, but I figured this was a little different. Mods: please merge if necessary.]

 

Yep, I was not alive then, but that AFL used to have regular Friday games, including on Black Friday (not sure really if Black Friday was a thing back then though). The last Black Friday game was November 23, 1962 with Buffalo losing at Boston 21-10.

 

https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/nfl-playing-first-black-friday-game-why-is-there-a-game-on-the-friday-after-thanksgiving/

 

Jack Kemp threw for 194 yards and ran for a TD, but was bested by his counterpart Tom Yewcic with 231 yards and 3 TD's.

 

Here is a short video I found:

 

 

LOL at the utility pole in the middle of the field, viewable from 1:37-1:41 in the video. Guess the AFL cared a lot about player safety:

 

 

Box score:

https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/196211230nwe.htm

 

[Also a few tidbits about other Friday games from the CBS article above:

 

"The last time the NFL played a game on a Friday that wasn't in December was when the Los Angeles Rams played the St. Louis Cardinals to open the season on Sept. 18, 1970 -- a game that started at 11 p.m. ET."

 

"Is the NFL entering unchartered territory? The NFL has played games on Fridays, but they have been played on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day since 1999. The league did have a pair of Friday games on New Year's Eve in 1993, which was also a holiday. The last time the NFL played games on a Friday that wasn't on a holiday was in 1986, six days before Christmas on Dec. 19. "]

 

Edited November 24, 2023 by chongli

[ChevyVanMiller]

Wow, I knew they used to have the goal posts at the goal line, but I never heard of the utility pole in the middle of the field. That was nuts!

[MJS]

31 minutes ago, ChevyVanMiller said:

Wow, I knew they used to have the goal posts at the goal line, but I never heard of the utility pole in the middle of the field. That was nuts!

Surely it wasn't on the field...

[chongli]

35 minutes ago, MJS said:

Surely it wasn't on the field...

 

Watch the video (1:37-1:41): it was!!

Edited November 24, 2023 by chongli

[MJS]

2 minutes ago, chongli said:

Watch the video (1:37-1:41): it was!!

It's hard to tell. It could have been at the edge of the field.

[PetermansRedemption]

lol at the Utility pole. Hard to tell with such poor quality video if it’s actually in the field of play. But either way, it’s super close to the field. Showed how insignificant the AFL back then was compared to the NFL of today. I still laugh that the city of Tonawanda had an NFL team in the early 1900’s. Shortest lived team in NFL history. They had to bow out because league dues were going from $50 to $1000. 

Edited November 24, 2023 by PetermansRedemption

[PonyBoy]

If I remember correctly that pole was Walt Patulski 😀

 

[Dr. K]

2 hours ago, chongli said:

[I thought of putting this in the game thread today, but I figured this was a little different. Mods: please merge if necessary.]

 

Yep, I was not alive then, but that AFL used to have regular Friday games, including on Black Friday (not sure really if Black Friday was a thing back then though). The last Black Friday game was November 23, 1962 with Buffalo losing at Boston 21-10.

 

https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/nfl-playing-first-black-friday-game-why-is-there-a-game-on-the-friday-after-thanksgiving/

 

Jack Kemp threw for 194 yards and ran for a TD, but was bested by his counterpart Tom Yewcic with 231 yards and 3 TD's.

 

Here is a short video I found:

 

 

LOL at the utility pole in the middle of the field, viewable from 1:37-1:41 in the video. Guess the AFL cared a lot about player safety:

 

 

Box score:

https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/196211230nwe.htm

 

[Also a few tidbits about other Friday games from the CBS article above:

 

"The last time the NFL played a game on a Friday that wasn't in December was when the Los Angeles Rams played the St. Louis Cardinals to open the season on Sept. 18, 1970 -- a game that started at 11 p.m. ET."

 

"Is the NFL entering unchartered territory? The NFL has played games on Fridays, but they have been played on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day since 1999. The league did have a pair of Friday games on New Year's Eve in 1993, which was also a holiday. The last time the NFL played games on a Friday that wasn't on a holiday was in 1986, six days before Christmas on Dec. 19. "]

 

"Black Friday" was absolutely NOT a thing in 1962. I never heard the term until the last 20 years. 

[chongli]

10 minutes ago, Dr. K said:

"Black Friday" was absolutely NOT a thing in 1962. I never heard the term until the last 20 years. 

 

I heard it in the 99's

[chongli]

30 minutes ago, PetermansRedemption said:

lol at the Utility pole. Hard to tell with such poor quality video if it’s actually in the field of play. But either way, it’s super close to the field. Showed how insignificant the AFL back then was compared to the NFL of today. I still laugh that the city of Tonawanda had an NFL team in the early 1900’s. Shortest lived team in NFL history. They had to bow out because league dues were going from $50 to $1000. 

 

1 hour ago, MJS said:

It's hard to tell. It could have been at the edge of the field.

Ok, probably not on the field then? But players in the video were running on either side of it. during that field goal We need someone who was at the game or saw it on TV. Or is familar wuth Nickedson Field in Boston.

[Steve O]

http://www.bahistory.org/BravesField_Lo.jpghttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BPbSgGgL3X0

1 hour ago, MJS said:

It's hard to tell. It could have been at the edge of the field.

 

 

Patriots played at Boston University Field, formerly Braves Field. I think it's the pole shown at 25:15 of the video of the 1960 Patriots season. Looks to be at the side of the field.

Edited November 24, 2023 by Steve O

[Steve O]

31 minutes ago, chongli said:

 

Ok, probably not on the field then? But players in the video were running on either side of it. during that field goal We need someone who was at the game or saw it on TV. Or is familar wuth Nickedson Field in Boston.

Probably the pole just in front of the stands in this old photo of Braves field (subsequently Boston University and then Nickerson field). In the video of my above post you can see it more clearly than in the original post. I'm also struggling inserting links in to posts!!

Edited November 24, 2023 by Steve O

[The Frankish Reich]

Imagine the pick plays modern NFL offenses could design around an on-field pole, not to mention the goalpost at the TD line.

By the way, I'm glad to see the NFL moving into Friday, even if it's just Black Friday for now. I think there was an implied agreement in the early days: College (and back then High School) had Saturdays. Then college started putting games all over the place, on any day but Sunday. NFL, Friday and Saturday are fair game now. Allows you to get rid of Thursday, which is an abomination.

[PetermansRedemption]

5 minutes ago, The Frankish Reich said:

Imagine the pick plays modern NFL offenses could design around an on-field pole, not to mention the goalpost at the TD line.

By the way, I'm glad to see the NFL moving into Friday, even if it's just Black Friday for now. I think there was an implied agreement in the early days: College (and back then High School) had Saturdays. Then college started putting games all over the place, on any day but Sunday. NFL, Friday and Saturday are fair game now. Allows you to get rid of Thursday, which is an abomination.

I think the ultimate goal of the NFL is to have games on pretty much everyday of the week. They already have 3, now testing out a Friday. Eventually we could see a 5-7 day nfl schedule. 

[The Frankish Reich]

5 minutes ago, PetermansRedemption said:

I think the ultimate goal of the NFL is to have games on pretty much everyday of the week. They already have 3, now testing out a Friday. Eventually we could see a 5-7 day nfl schedule. 

Wouldn't surprise me. I really can't think of any marketing move the NFL has made in this century that didn't turn into a winner.

[That's No Moon]

3 hours ago, chongli said:

 

Watch the video (1:37-1:41): it was!!

That game was played at what was Braves Stadium. That pole you see was a support for the roof over the seating on the far side of this picture. It was not on the field.

[Saxum]

On 11/24/2023 at 1:44 PM, Dr. K said:

"Black Friday" was absolutely NOT a thing in 1962. I never heard the term until the last 20 years. 

 

https://www.dictionary.com/e/black-friday/

• In the 1950s, factory managers first started referring to the Friday after Thanksgiving as Black Friday because so many of their workers decided to falsely call in sick, thus extending the holiday weekend.
• About 10 years later, Black Friday was used by Philadelphia traffic cops to describe the day after Thanksgiving because they had to work 12-hour shifts in terrible traffic.
• The 1980s brought the mythology of Black Friday as we know it today. While the phrases in the black and in the red are used in the business world to describe profits and losses, this explanation for one of the busiest shopping days of the year only came about in the 1980s, about 20 years after the phrase Black Friday was in regular use.

[RiotAct]

On 11/24/2023 at 12:51 PM, chongli said:

 

Watch the video (1:37-1:41): it was!!

I think it was on the sideline.  Still though… 😂

[sullim4]

On 11/24/2023 at 11:40 AM, The Frankish Reich said:

By the way, I'm glad to see the NFL moving into Friday, even if it's just Black Friday for now. I think there was an implied agreement in the early days: College (and back then High School) had Saturdays. Then college started putting games all over the place, on any day but Sunday. NFL, Friday and Saturday are fair game now. Allows you to get rid of Thursday, which is an abomination.

 

I 100% agree, I would much rather have games on Fridays than on Thursdays.  The reason they don't do it is, as you allude to, high school football.  It's part of the antitrust law, where the NFL can't broadcast a game after 6pm on Fridays until December.

 

I truly have never cared about high school football, though I know many feel differently.  I also get the strategic interest the NFL has in keeping the talent pipeline running at lower levels.  All of that still doesn't change my opinion that I'd rather see high school on Thursdays and the NFL on Fridays during Sept/Oct/Nov.

[Dr. K]

12 hours ago, Limeaid said:

 

https://www.dictionary.com/e/black-friday/

• In the 1950s, factory managers first started referring to the Friday after Thanksgiving as Black Friday because so many of their workers decided to falsely call in sick, thus extending the holiday weekend.
• About 10 years later, Black Friday was used by Philadelphia traffic cops to describe the day after Thanksgiving because they had to work 12-hour shifts in terrible traffic.
• The 1980s brought the mythology of Black Friday as we know it today. While the phrases in the black and in the red are used in the business world to describe profits and losses, this explanation for one of the busiest shopping days of the year only came about in the 1980s, about 20 years after the phrase Black Friday was in regular use.

It may have been a thing in Philadelphia, but I doubt that anybody elsewhere ever used the phrase before the 80's, and in most places, much later. Find me an advertisement from the 90's that uses the term "Black Friday."

 

The "Black Friday anyone knew about in 1962 was the day that the stock market crashed in 1869, driving the U.S. economy into a deep depression. https://www.investopedia.com/black-friday-definition-stock-market-crash-5089369