1952 Dallas Texans season

Last updated

1952 Dallas Texans (NFL) season
521102-Rams-Texans-program.jpg
OwnerGiles Miller and Connell Miller (first 7 games)
NFL (last 5 games)
Head coach Jimmy Phelan
Home stadium Cotton Bowl
Results
Record1–11
Division place6th NFL National
PlayoffsDid not qualify

The 1952 Dallas Texans season was the franchise's only season in the league while in Dallas after moving from New York, where they were previously known as the Yanks, and the continuation of the Boston Yanks and New York Bulldogs. The franchise continued to struggle immensely and lost their first nine games, finishing 1–11, [1] the worst record in the 12-team league.

Contents

After its seventh game, the franchise was returned to the NFL on November 14. [2] [3] The Texans' home game against the Chicago Bears was moved to Thanksgiving and to the Rubber Bowl in Akron, Ohio, and was their only victory. [4] The final home game with the Lions was moved to Briggs Stadium in Detroit. [5]

Texans franchise was returned to the league Nov 14, 1952 and after they couldn't find a buyer for the team, the franchise was cancelled. The NFL had a hole in their calendar where the Texans were originally and awarded a brand new franchise to the Colts in January of 1953. NFL says that they consider the Colts as a 1953 expansion team; [6] it does not consider the Colts to be a continuation of the Yanks/Bulldogs/Yanks/Texans franchise. As the Colts were a new team with no players and the Texans players were available, many signed with the Colts although others signed with other NFL teams (see below) The physical assets were purchased by Carroll Rosenbloom in 1953, and became known as the Colts in Baltimore, Maryland, with Hall of Famers Gino Marchetti and Art Donovan amongst others signed with the Colts.

E Dick Wilkins went to the NY Giants, HB Bennie Aldridge finished the 1952 year in San Francisco, then went to Green Bay in 1953, DT Don Col went to Cleveland, DE Sonny Gandee went to Detroit, DE Keever Jankovich went to the Chicago Cardinals, HB Ray Pelfrey went to the NY Giants, DB Johnny Pettibon ended up in Cleveland after doing his military service and DB Will Sherman went to the Rams.

Professional football did not return to the "Big D" until 1960, with the addition of the Cowboys and the AFL's Texans (who relocated to Kansas City in 1963 and were rebranded as the Chiefs).

As of 2025, the Dallas Texans are the most recent professional football team to fold [7]

Regular season

Schedule

GameDateOpponentResultRecordVenueAttendanceRecapSources
1September 28 New York Giants L 6–240–1 Cotton Bowl 17,499 Recap
2October 5 San Francisco 49ers L 14–370–2Cotton Bowl12,566 Recap
3October 12at Chicago Bears L 20–380–3 Wrigley Field 35,429 Recap
4October 18 Green Bay Packers L 14–240–4Cotton Bowl14,000 Recap
5October 26at San Francisco 49ers L 21–480–5 Kezar Stadium 26,887 Recap
6November 2at Los Angeles Rams L 20–420–6 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum 30,702 Recap
7November 9 Los Angeles Rams L 6–270–7Cotton Bowl10,000 Recap
8November 16at Detroit Lions L 13–430–8 Briggs Stadium 33,304 Recap
9November 23at Green Bay Packers L 14–420–9 City Stadium 16,340 Recap
10 November 27 Chicago Bears W 27–231–9 Rubber Bowl (Akron, OH)3,000 Recap
11December 7at Philadelphia Eagles L 21–381–10 Shibe Park 18,376 Recap
12December 13 Detroit Lions L 6–411–11 Briggs Stadium 12,252 Recap
Note: Intra-conference opponents are in bold text. ^ game moved from Dallas

Standings

Program for the Texans' October 26 visit to Kezar Stadium to meet the 49ers. 521026-49ers-Texans-program.jpg
Program for the Texans' October 26 visit to Kezar Stadium to meet the 49ers.
NFL National Conference
WLTPCTCONFPFPASTK
Detroit Lions 930.7507–3344192W3
Los Angeles Rams 930.7508–2349234W8
San Francisco 49ers 750.5836–3285221W1
Green Bay Packers 660.5003–6295312L3
Chicago Bears 570.4174–6245326W1
Dallas Texans 1110.0831–9182427L2
Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings until 1972.
NFL American Conference
WLTPCTCONFPFPASTK
Cleveland Browns 840.6677–3310213L1
Philadelphia Eagles 750.5836–4252271L1
New York Giants 750.5835–4234231W1
Pittsburgh Steelers 570.4174–5300273L1
Chicago Cardinals 480.3333–7172221L2
Washington Redskins 480.3334–6240287W2
Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings until 1972.

See also

References

  1. 1952 Dallas Texans Archived October 24, 2013, at the Wayback Machine
  2. "NFL takes over Dallas Texans". Milwaukee Sentinel. Associated Press. November 15, 1952. p. 2, part 2.
  3. "National Football League takes franchise back from Dallas club". New York Times. Associated Press. November 14, 1952. Retrieved January 20, 2016.
  4. "Texans' last-minute TD upsets Bears, 27-23". Milwaukee Sentinel. Associated Press. November 28, 1952. p. 2, part 2.
  5. "Detroit wins, 41-6; gains share of title". Milwaukee Sentinel. Associated Press. December 14, 1952. p. 1B.
  6. per conversation with NFL by historian Paul Heckmann
  7. "The Dallas Texans | Pro Football Hall of Fame". pfhof. Retrieved January 24, 2025.