1947 Chicago Cardinals season
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] As of the end of 2019, this is the team's last league championship. This championship drought is currently the longest active one in American professional sports. Until the 2018 season 71 years later, this and 1949 also marked the last time the Cardinals beat the Green Bay Packers on the road.
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 (Eagles) 28–21 |
Before the season
Draft
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
Schedule
Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Game 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
Round | Date | Opponent | Result | Venue | Game recap |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Championship | December 28 | Philadelphia Eagles | W 28–21 | Comiskey Park | Recap |
Standings
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.
Roster
Chicago Cardinals roster | ||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Quarterbacks
Running Backs Wide Receivers Tight Ends |
Offensive Linemen
Defensive Linemen |
Linebackers
Defensive Backs Special Teams |
Reserve Lists
Practice Squad Rookies in italics | |||||
Postseason
NFL Championship Game
The 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.[3]
Awards and records
- Pat Harder, NFL scoring leader: 102 points [4]
- Pat Harder, NFL record, most field goals in one game: 7 [5]
References
- "The Cards' Dream Season In '47". Pro Football Hall of Fame. January 1, 2005. Retrieved September 3, 2016.
- "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