The Million Dollar Backfield was a National Football League (NFL) offensive backfield of the Chicago Cardinals in 1947 after an unprecedented amount of money by Cardinals owner Charles Bidwill lured several of the day's top players to the team. The Million Dollar backfield was also referred to separately as the Dream Backfield by Bidwill.
| Name | Position | Seasons with Cardinals | HOF induction |
|---|---|---|---|
| Elmer Angsman | HB | 1946–1952 | |
| Paul Christman | QB | 1945–1949 | |
| Pat Harder | FB | 1946–1950 | |
| Charley Trippi | Halfback | 1947–1955 | 1968 |
After World War II, professional football experienced an increase in popularity. The Cardinals hired Jimmy Conzelman as their new head coach. Soon afterwards Conzelman implemented the “T” formation. He then drafted quarterback Paul Christman in 1945 to run the offense. A year later, fullback Pat Harder and halfback Elmer Angsman were added to the line-up. [1]
It was around this time that the upstart All-America Football Conference (AAFC) placed a team in Chicago, the Rockets. The new AAFC franchise publicly pushed for the Cardinals to leave town, since the city had three major football teams. Bidwill grew angry and vowed to turn his team into a profitable winner. He stunned the football world in 1947 when he outbid the Rockets for the rights to All-American, Charley Trippi, signing him to a then unprecedented $100,000 contract. [2] Trippi was the final piece of what Bidwill called his "Million Dollar Backfield" of Elmer Angsman, Paul Christman, Pat Harder, and Trippi. [3] They would play their first season together in 1946. The quartet led the Cardinals to defeat their cross-town nemesis, the Chicago Bears, in the season finale to win the NFL's Western Division title with 9–3 record. The backfield then led the team to their first and only undisputed NFL championship in 1947. Charles Bidwill did not live see his "Million Dollar Backfield" win the 1947 title in December; he had died of pneumonia on April 19 after signing Trippi. [4] [5] Control of the team shifted to Violet Bidwill, who owned the team until her death in 1962. Jimmy Conzelman retired as coach of the Cardinals after the 1948 season, with Phil Handler and Buddy Parker being hired to coach the team for the 1949 season, which saw them go 6–5–1. The following year saw Curly Lambeau hired to serve as head coach and given control of the team. The Backfield lost its first member when Christman was traded to the Green Bay Packers by the team before the 1950 season, with the idea to have Jim Hardy serve as quarterback for a bigger passing attack. Hardy proceeded to throw eight interceptions in the first game and the team went 5–7, the first losing season since 1945. Harder was traded in the offseason to the Detroit Lions. The skidding continued, even after Lambeau was fired in 1951. [6] The group never finished higher than 3rd from 1948 until the last member of the backfield in Charley Trippi retired in 1955.
The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Cardinals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) West division, and play their home games at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, a suburb northwest of Phoenix.
Earl Louis "Curly" Lambeau was an American professional football player and coach in the National Football League (NFL). Lambeau, along with his friend and fellow Green Bay, Wisconsin, native George Whitney Calhoun, founded the Green Bay Packers in 1919. He served as team captain in the team's first year before becoming player-coach in 1920. As a player, Lambeau lined up as a halfback, which in the early years of the NFL was the premier position. He was the team's primary runner and passer, accounting for 35 touchdowns in 77 games. He won his only NFL championship as a player in 1929.
Charles W. "Charley" Bidwill Sr. was an American businessman. He was the owner of the Chicago Cardinals of the National Football League (NFL). He owned the team for 14 seasons, from 1933 through 1946. Bidwill was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1967.
Charles Louis Trippi was an American professional football player for the Chicago Cardinals of the National Football League (NFL) from 1947 to 1955. Although primarily a halfback, his versatility allowed him to fill a multitude of roles over his career, including quarterback, safety, punter, and return specialist. A "quintuple-threat", Trippi was adept at running, catching, passing, punting, and defense.
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 1948 NFL season was the 29th regular season of the National Football League. During the season, Halfback Fred Gehrke painted horns on the Los Angeles Rams' helmets, making the first modern helmet emblem in pro football. The last regular season game played on Wednesday until the 2012 season happened on September 22, 1948, between Detroit and Los Angeles. The season ended when the Philadelphia Eagles defeated the Chicago Cardinals in the NFL Championship Game.
The 1950 NFL season was the 31st regular season of the National Football League. The merger with the All-America Football Conference (AAFC) expanded the league to 13 teams. Meanwhile, television brought a new era to the game. The Los Angeles Rams became the first NFL team to have all of its games – both home and away – televised. The Washington Redskins became the second team to put their games on TV. Other teams arranged to have selected games televised.
Paul Joseph Christman was an American football quarterback. He played college football for the Missouri Tigers and professionally for the Chicago Cardinals and the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League (NFL). He was drafted in the second round of the 1941 NFL Draft by the Cardinals. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1956.
Elmer Joseph Angsman Jr. was an American football halfback in the National Football League (NFL).
James Gleason Dunn Conzelman was an American football player and coach, baseball executive, and advertising executive. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1964 and was selected in 1969 as a quarterback on the National Football League 1920s All-Decade Team.
Philip Jacob Handler was an American football player and coach who spent his entire professional career in the city of Chicago. He had a seven-year, 53-game NFL playing career, during which he was named All-Pro four times. On three separate occasions, Handler served as head coach of the Chicago Cardinals, and later as an assistant coach for the Chicago Bears. He served as an assistant coach for the Cardinals when they won the 1947 NFL Championship; and with the Bears when they won the 1963 NFL Championship.
Marlin Martin "Pat" Harder was an American football official and player, playing fullback and kicker. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1993.
Cecil Frank Isbell was an American football quarterback and coach. He played 5 seasons in the National Football League (NFL) with the Green Bay Packers, leading them to the NFL Championship in 1939. He retired after the 1942 season to become an assistant coach at his alma mater, Purdue University, and the following year became its head coach for three seasons.
The 1947 NFL Championship Game was the 15th annual National Football League (NFL) championship game, held December 28 at Comiskey Park in Chicago. The attendance was 30,759, well below capacity.
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. It was quite a turnaround for a franchise who was riding a 19-game losing streak just two years earlier.
Raymond Lucian Mallouf was an American football quarterback and punter who played professionally in the National Football League (NFL). He played four seasons for the Chicago Cardinals, interrupted by World War II, and one season with the New York Giants.
The 1948 Chicago Cardinals season was the 29th season in franchise history. The Cardinals won the Western division on the final weekend at Wrigley Field over the cross-town Bears, and appeared in the NFL championship game for the second consecutive year. The defending champions lost 7–0 to the Eagles in a snowstorm in Philadelphia. It was their final postseason appearance as a Chicago team; they relocated southwest to St. Louis in 1960.
Violet Fults Bidwill Wolfner was the owner of the Chicago / St. Louis Cardinals of the National Football League (NFL) for over 14 years, from 1947 until her death in early 1962. She inherited the team in April 1947, following the death of her husband Charles Bidwill, Sr., who purchased the team in 1933. She was the first woman to become principal owner of an NFL team.
Douglas Park is a public park located at 18th Avenue and 10th Street in Rock Island, Illinois. A former National Football League venue, Douglas Park was the site of the first-ever National Football League game on September 26, 1920. The Rock Island neighborhood that is today called Douglas Park dates back to the 1830s, with the athletic park being constructed in 1904 to 1905 and utilized for football beginning in 1907.
The professional American football team now known as the Arizona Cardinals previously played in Chicago, Illinois, as the Chicago Cardinals from 1898 to 1959 before relocating to St. Louis, Missouri, for the 1960 through 1987 seasons.
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