1959 NFL season

1959 National Football League season
Regular season
Duration
East Champions	New York Giants
West Champions	Baltimore Colts
Championship Game
Champions	Baltimore Colts
National Football League seasons  < 1958 1960 >

The 1959 NFL season was the 40th regular season of the National Football League. Tragedy struck as NFL Commissioner Bert Bell died of a heart attack on October 11 at Philadelphia's Franklin Field while watching the Philadelphia Eagles and the Pittsburgh Steelers play. League Treasurer Austin Gunsel was named interim commissioner for the rest of the season.

The Chicago Cardinals played their final season in the Windy City before relocating to St. Louis, MO for the following season.

The season ended when the Baltimore Colts defeated the New York Giants in the NFL Championship Game for the second year in a row.

Conference races

The NFL had six teams in each conference. Each team would play a home-and-away game against the other 5 teams in its conference, and two games outside the conference. The Bears and Cardinals, and the Redskins and Colts, faced each other in an interfconference game each year.

After the second week, when the 1-1-0 Giants had to share the Eastern Conference lead with all five of the other clubs, the Giants won seven of the next eight games to clinch the title in Week Ten. In the Western Conference, the San Francisco 49ers, who had come close (1952, 1953, 1954 and 1957) several times since joining the NFL, were 6-1 and had a two game lead over their closest rival, the 4-3 Colts. In Week Nine, though, the 49ers lost in Baltimore, 45-14 (November 22) and they shared the lead at 6-3-0. Two weeks later, San Francisco had the home field advantage when they faced the Colts for a rematch. Baltimore won again, 34-14, and clinched the title the following week.

Week	WESTERN		EASTERN
1	3 teams (Bal, GB, SF)	1-0-0	3 teams (Cards, NYG, Pit)	1-0-0
2	Tie (GB and SF)	2-0-0	6 teams (Cards, Cle, NYG, Phi, Pit, Was)	1-1-0
3	GREEN BAY PACKERS	3-0-0	3 teams (NYG, Phi, Was)	2-1-0
4	3 teams (Bal, GB, SF)	3-1-0	NEW YORK GIANTS	3-1-0
5	Tie (Bal, SF)	4-1-0	NEW YORK GIANTS	4-1-0
6	SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS	5-1-0	NEW YORK GIANTS	5-1-0
7	SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS	6-1-0	NEW YORK GIANTS	6-1-0
8	SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS	6-2-0	Tie (Cle, NYG)	6-2-0
9	Tie (Bal, SF)	6-3-0	NEW YORK GIANTS	7-2-0
10	Tie (Bal, SF)	7-3-0	NEW YORK GIANTS	8-2-0
11	BALTIMORE COLTS	8-3-0	NEW YORK GIANTS	9-2-0
12	BALTIMORE COLTS	9-3-0	NEW YORK GIANTS	10-2-0

Final standings

W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, PCT= Winning Percentage, PF= Points For, PA = Points Against

Note: The NFL did not officially count tie games in the standings until 1972

Eastern Conference
Team	W	L	T	PCT	PF	PA
New York Giants	10	2	0	.833	284	170
Cleveland Browns	7	5	0	.583	270	214
Philadelphia Eagles	7	5	0	.583	268	278
Pittsburgh Steelers	6	5	1	.545	257	216
Washington Redskins	3	9	0	.250	185	350
Chicago Cardinals	2	10	0	.167	234	324

Western Conference
Team	W	L	T	PCT	PF	PA
Baltimore Colts	9	3	0	.750	374	251
Chicago Bears	8	4	0	.667	252	196
Green Bay Packers	7	5	0	.583	248	246
San Francisco 49ers	7	5	0	.583	255	237
Detroit Lions	3	8	1	.273	203	275
Los Angeles Rams	2	10	0	.167	242	315

NFL Championship Game

Baltimore 31, N.Y. Giants 16 at Memorial Stadium, Baltimore, Maryland, December 27, 1959

Awards

Most Valuable Player	Johnny Unitas, Quarterback, Baltimore Colts
Coach of the Year	Vince Lombardi, Green Bay

References

• NFL Record and Fact Book (ISBN 1-932994-36-X)
• NFL History 1951-1960 (Last accessed December 4, 2005)
• 1959 season in details
• Total Football: The Official Encyclopedia of the National Football League (ISBN 0-06-270174-6)