The 1947 Chicago Cardinals season was the franchise's 28th season in the National Football League. The Cardinals won the second NFL championship in team history against the Philadelphia Eagles. The team was led by its "Million Dollar Backfield" of Elmer Angsman, Charley Trippi, Paul Christman, and Pat Harder.[1] It was quite a turnaround for a franchise who was riding a 19-game losing streak just two years earlier.[2]
| 1947 Chicago Cardinals season | |
|---|---|
| Head coach | Jimmy Conzelman |
| Home field | Comiskey Park |
| Results | |
| Record | 9–3 |
| Division place | 1st NFL Western |
| Playoff finish | Won NFL Championship (vs. Eagles) 28–21 |
The Cards would win the Western Division again in 1948 but lose the Championship Game to the Eagles; it would be another 26 years until the now St. Louis Cardinals would win another division title. Also, it would be over half a century (and two franchise shifts) until the Cardinals would win another playoff game, in 1998; an NFL-record 51 years. As of the end of 2023, this remains the team's last NFL title, the longest active "championship drought" in American professional sports.
The last remaining active member of the 1947 Chicago Cardinals was Charley Trippi, who retired after the 1955 season.
Before the season
editDraft
edit| 1947 Chicago Cardinals draft | |||||
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | College | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 7 | Tex Coulter * | T | Army | A member of the New York Giants |
| 3 | 18 | Ermal Allen | QB | Kentucky | Played with the Cleveland Browns (AAFC) |
| 6 | 41 | Ben Raimondi | TB | Indiana | Played with the New York Yankees (AAFC) |
| 7 | 50 | Howard Turner | B | NC State | |
| 8 | 60 | George Maddock | T | Northwestern | |
| 9 | 70 | Art Dufelmeier | B | Illinois | Returned to Illinois |
| 10 | 82 | Ray Ramsey | B | Bradley | |
| 11 | 90 | Dave Wallace | B | Oklahoma | |
| 12 | 101 | Charley Sarratt | QB | Oklahoma | |
| 13 | 112 | Harden Cooper | T | Tulsa | |
| 14 | 120 | Carl Russ | BB | Rice | |
| 15 | 131 | Buddy Mulligan | B | Duke | |
| 16 | 142 | Charles Smith | HB | Georgia | |
| 17 | 150 | Bob Ravensberg | E | Indiana | Played with the Cardinals in 1948–49 |
| 18 | 162 | Barney Barnett | E | Northeastern State | |
| 19 | 171 | Scotty Deeds | B | BYU | |
| 20 | 180 | Clarence Esser | E | Wisconsin | |
| 21 | 192 | Shelton Ballard | C | LSU | |
| 22 | 201 | Wade Walker | T | Oklahoma | Returned to Oklahoma |
| 23 | 210 | Tom Carroll | T | Minnesota | |
| 24 | 222 | Tom Dorsey | B | Brown | |
| 25 | 231 | Otto Schnellbacher * | DB | Kansas | |
| 26 | 240 | Larry Joe | B | Penn State | |
| 27 | 252 | Dick Abrams | B | Washington State | |
| 28 | 260 | Joe Smith | E | Texas Tech | |
| 29 | 270 | Tony Rutunno | B | St. Ambrose | |
| 30 | 282 | Clyde Lindsley | E | LSU | |
| 31 | 289 | Bob Callahan | C | Michigan | |
| 32 | 296 | Johnny Karamigios | B | Denver | |
| Made roster * Made at least one Pro Bowl during career | |||||
Regular season
editSchedule
edit| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Recap | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bye | ||||||
| 2 | September 28 | Detroit Lions | W 45–21 | 1–0 | Comiskey Park | Recap | |
| 3 | October 5 | Chicago Bears | W 31–7 | 2–0 | Comiskey Park | Recap | |
| 4 | October 12 | at Green Bay Packers | W 14–10 | 3–0 | City Stadium | Recap | |
| 5 | October 19 | at Los Angeles Rams | L 7–27 | 3–1 | Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum | Recap | |
| 6 | October 26 | Boston Yanks | W 27–7 | 4–1 | Comiskey Park | Recap | |
| 7 | November 2 | Los Angeles Rams | W 17–10 | 5–1 | Comiskey Park | Recap | |
| 8 | November 9 | at Detroit Lions | W 17–7 | 6–1 | Briggs Stadium | Recap | |
| 9 | November 16 | Green Bay Packers | W 21–20 | 7–1 | Comiskey Park | Recap | |
| 10 | November 23 | at Washington Redskins | L 21–45 | 7–2 | Griffith Stadium | Recap | |
| 11 | November 30 | at New York Giants | L 31–35 | 7–3 | Polo Grounds | Recap | |
| 12 | December 7 | at Philadelphia Eagles | W 45–21 | 8–3 | Shibe Park | Recap | |
| 13 | December 14 | at Chicago Bears | W 30–21 | 9–3 | Wrigley Field | Recap | |
| Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text. | |||||||
Playoffs
edit| Round | Date | Opponent | Result | Venue | Game recap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Championship | December 28 | Philadelphia Eagles | W 28–21 | Comiskey Park | Recap |
Standings
edit| NFL Western Division | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W | L | T | PCT | DIV | PF | PA | STK | ||
| Chicago Cardinals | 9 | 3 | 0 | .750 | 7–1 | 306 | 231 | W2 | |
| Chicago Bears | 8 | 4 | 0 | .667 | 4–4 | 363 | 241 | L2 | |
| Green Bay Packers | 6 | 5 | 1 | .545 | 5–3 | 274 | 210 | L1 | |
| Los Angeles Rams | 6 | 6 | 0 | .500 | 4–4 | 259 | 214 | W2 | |
| Detroit Lions | 3 | 9 | 0 | .250 | 0–8 | 231 | 305 | L3 | |
- Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings until 1972.
Final roster
edit| 1947 Chicago Cardinals roster | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Quarterbacks
Running backs
|
Offensive linemen
|
Linebackers
Defensive backs
|
Reserve lists
Practice squad
rookies in italics | |||||
Postseason
editNFL Championship Game
editThe 1947 NFL Championship Game was the 15th annual championship game and was held December 28, 1947, at Comiskey Park in Chicago. The game featured the Western Division champion Chicago Cardinals (9–3) and the Eastern Division champion Philadelphia Eagles (8–4). The Cardinals won the game by a score of 28–21.[4]
Awards and records
edit- Pat Harder, NFL scoring leader: 102 points [5]
- Pat Harder, NFL record, most field goals in one game: 7 [6]
References
edit- ^ "The Cards' Dream Season In '47". Pro Football Hall of Fame. January 1, 2005. Retrieved September 3, 2016.
- ^ If the woeful Card-Pitt (0-10 in 1944) season is included, the club actually lost an NFL-record 29 games in a row; however, the NFL considers the Cardinals and Card-Pitt to be separate franchises.
- ^ "1947 Chicago Cardinals Draftees". Pro Football Reference. Retrieved October 4, 2020.
- ^ "Philadelphia Eagles Playoff History and Results". Archived from the original on January 15, 2008. Retrieved March 28, 2008.
- ^ NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York, ISBN 0-7611-2480-2, p. 447
- ^ NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York, ISBN 0-7611-2480-2, p. 449
External links
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