1959 Washington Redskins season
NFL team season
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The 1959 Washington Redskins season was the franchise's 28th season in the National Football League (NFL). The team failed to improve on their 4–7–1 record from 1958 and finished 3–9.
| 1959 Washington Redskins season | |
|---|---|
| |
| Owner | George Preston Marshall |
| General manager | Dick McCann |
| Head coach | Mike Nixon |
| Home stadium | Griffith Stadium |
| Results | |
| Record | 3–9 |
| Division place | 5th NFL Eastern |
| Playoffs | Did not qualify |
The Redskins continued their ongoing strategy of establishing themselves as dominant NFL franchise for the Southern United States, licensing television broadcast of their games to a network of 40 stations spread across Virginia, the Carolinas, Tennessee, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, and Florida. They also licensed radio broadcasts of their games to a network of 94 stations across the aforementioned eight states, as well as Maryland, West Virginia, Kentucky, Arkansas, and Louisiana. [1]
The team also continued their "Days for Dixie" halftime shows, which highlighted two Southern states each year, marking "Georgia Day" on October 18 and "North Carolina Day" on December 6.[1] Each of these dates featured a guest marching band from the featured state which provided halftime entertainment.[1]
Related to this regional marketing appeal, the Redskins remained the last bastion of racial segregation in the NFL in 1959, with the team standing alone in not including a black player on its roster from 1955 until 1962.[2]
Offseason
NFL draft
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | School/Club team |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Preseason
| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | August 16 | at San Francisco 49ers | L 24–27 | 0–1 | Kezar Stadium | 21,101 |
| 2 | August 21 | at Los Angeles Rams | W 23–21 | 1–1 | Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum | 85,888 |
| 3 | August 28 | at Baltimore Colts | L 10–23 | 1–2 | Baltimore Memorial Stadium | 22,409 |
| 4 | September 5 | vs. Chicago Bears | L 14–52 | 1–3 | Gator Bowl Stadium (Jacksonville, FL) | 28,245 |
| 5 | September 12 | vs. Green Bay Packers | L 13–20 | 1–4 | Bowman Gray Stadium (Winston-Salem, NC) | 15,000 |
| 6 | September 19 | at Detroit Lions | L 14–52 | 1–5 | Briggs Stadium | 28,245 |
Regular season
The Redskins offered seats for $5.00 and $4.50, with very few of the premium seats remaining ahead of the season.[3] Season tickets cost $30 for the upper and South boxes and $25 for all others.[3]
Schedule
| Game | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance | Recap | Sources | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | September 27 | at Chicago Cardinals | L 21–49 | 0–1 | Soldier Field | 21,892 | Recap | ||
| 2 | October 4 | at Pittsburgh Steelers | W 23–17 | 1–1 | Forbes Field | 26,570 | Recap | ||
| 3 | October 11 | Chicago Cardinals | W 23–14 | 2–1 | Griffith Stadium | 25,937 | Recap | ||
| 4 | October 18 | Pittsburgh Steelers | L 6–27 | 2–2 | Griffith Stadium | 28,218 | Recap | ||
| 5 | October 25 | at Cleveland Browns | L 7–34 | 2–3 | Cleveland Municipal Stadium | 42,732 | Recap | ||
| 6 | November 1 | at Philadelphia Eagles | L 23–30 | 2–4 | Franklin Field | 39,854 | Recap | ||
| 7 | November 8 | Baltimore Colts | W 27–24 | 3–4 | Griffith Stadium | 32,773 | Recap | ||
| 8 | November 15 | Cleveland Browns | L 17–31 | 3–5 | Griffith Stadium | 32,266 | Recap | ||
| 9 | November 22 | at Green Bay Packers | L 0–21 | 3–6 | New City Stadium | 31,853 | Recap | ||
| 10 | November 29 | at New York Giants | L 14–45 | 3–7 | Yankee Stadium | 60,982 | Recap | ||
| 11 | December 6 | Philadelphia Eagles | L 14–34 | 3–8 | Griffith Stadium | 24,325 | Recap | ||
| 12 | December 13 | New York Giants | L 10–24 | 3–9 | Griffith Stadium | 26,198 | Recap | ||
| Note: Intra-conference opponents are in bold text. | |||||||||
Standings
| NFL Eastern Conference | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W | L | T | PCT | CONF | PF | PA | STK | ||
| New York Giants | 10 | 2 | 0 | .833 | 8–2 | 284 | 170 | W4 | |
| Philadelphia Eagles | 7 | 5 | 0 | .583 | 6–4 | 268 | 278 | L1 | |
| Cleveland Browns | 7 | 5 | 0 | .583 | 6–4 | 270 | 214 | W1 | |
| Pittsburgh Steelers | 6 | 5 | 1 | .545 | 6–4 | 257 | 216 | W1 | |
| Washington Redskins | 3 | 9 | 0 | .250 | 2–8 | 185 | 350 | L5 | |
| Chicago Cardinals | 2 | 10 | 0 | .167 | 2–8 | 234 | 324 | L6 | |
- Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings until 1972.
Personnel
Staff
|
Front office
Head coaches
Offensive coaches
|
Defensive coaches
|
Roster
Quarterbacks (QB)
Running backs (RB)
Wide receivers (WR)
Tight ends (TE)
|
Offensive linemen (OL)
Defensive linemen (DL)
|
Linebackers (LB)
Defensive backs (DB)
Special teams (ST)
|
Reserve
|
Statistics
Passing
| Player | Comp | Att | Pct | Yds | TD | Int | Rate |
| Eddie LeBaron | 77 | 173 | 44.5% | 1,077 | 8 | 11 | 61.4 |
Rushing
| Player | Attempts | Yards | Average | Long | Touchdowns |
| Don Bosseler | 119 | 644 | 5.4 | 41 | 3 |
Receiving
| Player | Number | Yards | Average | Long | Touchdowns |
| Bill Anderson | 35 | 734 | 66.7 | 70 | 6 |
| Joe Walton | 21 | 317 | 35.2 | 41 | 3 |