1945 Chicago Cardinals season | |
---|---|
Head coach | Phil Handler |
Home field | Comiskey Park |
Local radio | WGN |
Results | |
Record | 1–9 |
Division place | 5th NFL Western |
Playoff finish | Did not qualify |
The 1945 Chicago Cardinals season was the 25th season the team was in the league; this does not count the 1944 season, in which the Cardinals merged with the Pittsburgh Steelers (the NFL considers "Card-Pitt" as a separate franchise).
The newly-liberated Cards had little chance of success in the 1945 season; not only were they riding a sixteen-game losing streak dating back to 1942, but the schedule-makers did them no favours, either. Under pressure from their Comiskey Park landlords, the White Sox, the Cardinals played only two of their games at Comiskey: their last two, in November and December, after the baseball season was over. Their season opener, against the Detroit Lions, was officially a home game, but it was moved to Wisconsin State Fair Park in suburban Milwaukee (sometimes home of the Green Bay Packers). The Lions decked the Cards, 10-0, the first of four shutouts the club would endure in 1945.
The Cardinals were then compelled to play their next seven games on the road, which remains the longest "road trip" in NFL history. After losses in Cleveland and Philadelphia, the Cardinals actually returned to Chicago to take on their cross-city rivals, the Bears -- and got their only win of the season, a 16-7 triumph in Wrigley Field, as Leo Cantor scored twice. This would snap the Cardinals 19-game losing streak, and prove to be the highlight of the season, as they proceeded to lose games in earnest -- not to mention in Detroit, Green Bay, Washington and Pittsburgh. Finally getting to play in Comiskey on November 18, the Cards lost to the Rams, 35-21; two weeks later, the Bears (with coach George Halas back from the war) would get their revenge on the Cardinals with a 28-20 win, ending the last-place Cards' season at 1-9. [1]
The 1945 Chicago Cardinals were inept on both sides of the ball, finishing ninth of ten NFL teams in both points scored (98, ahead of Pittsburgh) and points allowed (228, fewer than only the Bears). At the quarterback position, Paul Christman completed 89 of 219 passes for 1,147 yards, with five touchdowns and twelve interceptions. Frank Seno was the team's top rusher with 355 yards, while Leo Cantor scored five of the club's fifteen touchdowns. (The Cards' kicking game wasn't much, either: they attempted only four field goals in 1945, and missed them all.) They failed to qualify for the playoffs for the 13th consecutive season, since the creation of divisions and the NFL Championship game in 1933. Things looked bleak for the lowly Cardinals and their fans -- but just two years later, Chicago would race to an NFL title, only the second in their history -- and as of 2023, their last one to date,
Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | September 23 | Detroit Lions | L 0–10 | 0–1 | Wisconsin State Fair Park | ||
2 | September 30 | at Cleveland Rams | L 0–21 | 0–2 | League Park | ||
3 | October 7 | at Philadelphia Eagles | L 6–21 | 0–3 | Shibe Park | ||
4 | October 14 | at Chicago Bears | W 16–7 | 1–3 | Wrigley Field | ||
5 | October 21 | at Detroit Lions | L 0–26 | 1–4 | Briggs Stadium | ||
6 | October 28 | at Green Bay Packers | L 14–33 | 1–5 | City Stadium | ||
7 | November 4 | at Washington Redskins | L 21–24 | 1–6 | Griffith Stadium | ||
8 | November 11 | at Pittsburgh Steelers | L 0–23 | 1–7 | Forbes Field | ||
9 | November 18 | Cleveland Rams | L 21–35 | 1–8 | Comiskey Park | ||
10 | Bye | ||||||
11 | December 2 | Chicago Bears | L 20–28 | 1–9 | Comiskey Park | ||
12 | Bye | ||||||
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text. |
NFL Western Division | |||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
W | L | T | PCT | DIV | PF | PA | STK | ||
Cleveland Rams | 9 | 1 | 0 | .900 | 7–0 | 244 | 136 | W5 | |
Detroit Lions | 7 | 3 | 0 | .700 | 5–2 | 195 | 194 | W1 | |
Green Bay Packers | 6 | 4 | 0 | .600 | 3–4 | 258 | 173 | L1 | |
Chicago Bears | 3 | 7 | 0 | .300 | 2–6 | 192 | 235 | W2 | |
Chicago Cardinals | 1 | 9 | 0 | .100 | 1–6 | 98 | 228 | L6 |
The 1965 NFL season was the 46th regular season of the National Football League. The Green Bay Packers won the NFL title after defeating the Cleveland Browns in the championship game, the last before the Super Bowl era.
The 1944 NFL season was the 25th regular season of the National Football League. The Boston Yanks joined the league as an expansion team. Also, the Triangles-Dodgers franchise changed their name to the Brooklyn Tigers for this one season before merging with the aforementioned Yanks the following year. Meanwhile, both the Cleveland Rams and the Philadelphia Eagles resumed their traditional operations, while the Pittsburgh Steelers merged with the Chicago Cardinals for this one season due to player shortages as a result of World War II. The combined team, known as Card-Pitt, played three home games in Pittsburgh and two in Chicago, and set the 20th century record for lowest punting average by an NFL team with 32.7 yards per punt.
The 1945 NFL season was the 26th regular season of the National Football League. The Pittsburgh Steelers and the Chicago Cardinals resumed their traditional operations.
The 1952 NFL season was the 33rd regular season of the National Football League. Prior to the season, New York Yanks owner Ted Collins sold his team back to the NFL. A few days later, an ownership group in Dallas, Texas, purchased the Yanks from the NFL, relocated them to Dallas, Texas, & renamed them the Dallas Texans.
The 1956 NFL season was the 37th regular season of the National Football League.
Card-Pitt was the team created by the temporary merger of two National Football League (NFL) teams, the Chicago Cardinals and the Pittsburgh Steelers, during the 1944 season. It was the second such merger for the Steelers, who had combined with the Philadelphia Eagles in 1943 to form the "Steagles". The arrangement was made necessary by the loss of numerous players to World War II military service, and was dissolved upon completion of the season. The war ended before the start of the 1945 season, and both teams resumed normal operations.
This article details the history of the Arizona Cardinals American football club, which can be traced to the 1898 formation of the amateur Morgan Athletic Club in Chicago. The Cardinals are the oldest extant professional football club in the United States, and along with the Chicago Bears, are one of two charter members of the National Football League still in existence. The franchise moved from Chicago to St. Louis in 1960 and to Phoenix, Arizona, in 1988.
The 2007 Detroit Lions season was the 78th season for the team in the National Football League (NFL). After achieving a 6–2 record at the halfway mark, the Lions lost seven of their last eight games. They finished with a 7–9 record for their seventh consecutive losing season. After the 6–2 start, the Lions would go 5–47 in their next 52 games, including a 19-game losing streak between Week 17 of 2007 and Week 2 of 2009, which resulted in the first-ever winless 16-game season in 2008. The Lions improved upon their 3–13 record in 2006 but failed to make the playoffs once again, extending their postseason drought to eight years. The 7–9 record was nonetheless the best record the Lions had in any season under general manager Matt Millen.
The 1953 Cleveland Browns season was the team's fourth season with the National Football League. Their start of eleven wins before losing their last game was the closest to a true perfect season in the NFL until the 1972 Miami Dolphins. After that fifteen-point loss at Philadelphia, the Browns met the Detroit Lions in the NFL Championship Game for the second straight year; the Lions won again, this time by a point at home.
The 1989 season was the Detroit Lions' 60th season in the National Football League (NFL), their 56th as the Detroit Lions, and their first full season under head coach Wayne Fontes. The team improved upon their 4–12 record from the previous season, falling to 2–9 before winning out to finish at 7–9. It was the Lions' sixth consecutive losing season, failing to reach the postseason for each of those seasons.
The 1957 Detroit Lions season was the franchise's 28th season in the National Football League (NFL) and their 24th as the Detroit Lions. Under first-year head coach George Wilson, the Lions won their fourth and most recent NFL title.
The 1935 Detroit Lions season was the franchise's 6th season in the National Football League (NFL) and second in Detroit. Under fifth-year head coach Potsy Clark, the Lions placed first in the NFL's Western Division and defeated the New York Giants 26–7 in the NFL Championship Game for their first league title.
The 1934 Detroit Lions season was the fifth in franchise history and the first in Detroit; the franchise had previously played as the Portsmouth Spartans in Portsmouth, Ohio, a city with a population of approximately 40,000. Under head coach Potsy Clark, the Lions won their first ten games then lost three straight in an eight-day span to end the season at 10–3. They finished in second place in the NFL Western Division, three games behind the undefeated Chicago Bears.
The 2009 Detroit Lions season was the franchise's 80th season overall in the National Football League (NFL). It was the first season with the Lions for new head coach Jim Schwartz, and most of his new coaching staff. The Lions also introduced slightly new uniforms and logos. The Lions improved upon their 0–16 record from the previous season. However, they missed the playoffs for the 10th straight season, which meant the Lions were one of two franchises, not including the Houston Texans, to not qualify for the playoffs in the 2000s, with the other team being the Buffalo Bills.
The 2012 Detroit Lions season was the franchise's 83rd season in the National Football League (NFL), their 79th as the Detroit Lions and the fourth under head coach Jim Schwartz. The Lions failed to improve from their 10–6 record in 2011, during which they made it to the postseason as a wild card team. The Lions spent most of the season at the bottom of their division, and ended the season with an eight-game losing streak, their worst skid since the winless 2008 season. It was also the franchise's 21st consecutive season without a playoff win.
The Lions–Packers rivalry is an NFL rivalry between the Detroit Lions and Green Bay Packers. They first met in 1930 when the Lions were known as the Portsmouth Spartans and based in Portsmouth, Ohio. The team eventually moved to Detroit for the 1934 season.
The 2015 season was the Seattle Seahawks' 40th in the National Football League (NFL) and their sixth under head coach Pete Carroll.
The 2021 season was the Detroit Lions' 92nd season in the National Football League (NFL), the 20th playing their home games at Ford Field and their first under the head coach/general manager tandem of Dan Campbell and Brad Holmes. The Lions finished 3–13–1, failing to improve upon their 5–11 record from the previous season. The Lions began their season 0–8 before tying with the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 10, in which they nearly beat the Steelers in Pittsburgh for the first time since 1955. However, the Lions would not win a game until Week 13 against the division rival Minnesota Vikings, ending a 15-game, 364-day winless streak. In Week 14, the Lions were eliminated from playoff contention for the fifth consecutive year. They finished the season at the bottom of the NFC North for the fourth consecutive season. However they ended the season on a high note, upsetting two playoff bound teams; the Arizona Cardinals in Week 15 and the top-seeded Green Bay Packers in Week 18.