History of the position: Steelers quarterbacks

The 1940s

This was a tough decade for the Steelers and the entire NFL as the second world war was taking place and players were going overseas to fight in the war. During this time the Steelers merged with the Philadelphia Eagles to form the Steagles in 1943 and formed with the Chicago Bears in 1943 and were called the Card-Pitt Bears.

The list of players includes Billy Patterson, Dick Riffle, Bill Dudley, Roy Zimmerman (Steagles), John Grigas (Card-Pitt), Buss Warren, Johnny Clement, Ray Evans, and Joe Geri. The Steelers were a little better this decade record-wise but were still mostly jokes in the league.

The quarterback was still not a fleshed-out position as throwing the football was still not entirely the main form of attack for offenses across the NFL. The run-game was still the main focus with the main person throwing the ball, even though sometimes that meant by committee, it was usually handled by a single player.

The best player for this decade for the Steelers at the position was Bill Dudley as he played all over the field for the Steelers as he created a hall of fame career for himself. He did play a couple of seasons as the team’s Quarterback and one season in 1942 when he made both the Pro Bowl and First-team All-pro nominations. Dudley finished that season of a stat line that included: 438 yards passing, two passing touchdowns, five interceptions, 696 yards rushing, and 5 rushing touchdowns.