 Program for the 1947 Championship Game | |||||||||||||||||||
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| Date | December 28,1947 | ||||||||||||||||||
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| Stadium | Comiskey Park Chicago, Illinois | ||||||||||||||||||
| Favorite | Chicago by 12 points | ||||||||||||||||||
| Attendance | 30,759 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Radio in the United States | |||||||||||||||||||
| Network | ABC | ||||||||||||||||||
| Announcers | Harry Wismer,Red Grange | ||||||||||||||||||
The1947 NFL Championship Game (formally: the1947 World Professional Football Championship Game[1]) was the 15th annual end-of-season title contest held by theNational Football League (NFL). The game took place in icy conditions on December 28 atComiskey Park inChicago before an audience of 30,759 — well below stadium capacity.[2]
This was the Cardinals' last playoff win as a franchise until January 2,1999; at 51 years and five days, it was the longest post-season win drought in NFL history. As of 2025, this is the Cardinals’ last championship, and they now hold the longest title drought in North American sports. The team moved toSt. Louis as theSt. Louis Cardinals in1960 and Arizona as thePhoenix Cardinals in1988 (changing to Arizona Cardinals in1994).
The game featured the Western Division championChicago Cardinals(9–3) and the Eastern Division championPhiladelphia Eagles(8–4). A week earlier, the Eagles defeated thePittsburgh Steelers21–0 in atiebreaker playoff to determine the Eastern winner.[3][4] Both the Eagles and Cardinals were making their first appearances in the championship game. The Cardinals had won the regular season meeting in Philadelphia three weeks earlier by 24 points and after a week off, were 12-point favorites to win the title game at home.[5]
This was thesecond NFL title game played after Christmas Day, and the latest to date. Scheduled for December 21, it was pushed back a week due to the Eastern division playoff. The temperature at kickoffwas 29 °F (−2 °C).[6] On a frozen field, the Cardinals elected to wear sneakers.[7] The decision paid off handsomely, as Chicago outgained Philadelphia on the ground 280 yards to just 60 for the day.[8]
The Cardinals built a 14–0 lead in the second quarter, then the teams traded touchdowns. The Eagles closed the gap to 28–21 with five minutes to go, but the Cardinals controlled the ball the rest of the game on an extended drive to win the title.[2]
This was the only NFL title game played at Comiskey Park and is one of two Cardinals NFL Championship victories. The two teams returned for a rematch in1948 inPhiladelphia, but theEagles won in a snowstorm. The Cardinals have not won a league championship since this one, over seven decades ago, the longest drought in the NFL. They made it toSuper Bowl XLIII in the2008 season representingArizona, but they lost to thePittsburgh Steelers.
The Cardinals' win kept the NFL title within the city of Chicago; the North Side'sBears had won theprevious season. The team did not receive championship rings until the 50th anniversary of their win in 1997.[9]
Despite the fact that free substitution was part of the NFL in 1947,[10] in keeping with thesingle-platoon tradition only eleven starters for each team were named.[11] A total of 26 members of the Cardinals and 27 members of the Eagles saw game action, however.[11] The starters were as follows:
| Philadelphia Eagles | — | Chicago Cardinals |
| Name | Position | Name |
|---|---|---|
| Jack Ferrante | Left End | Bill Blackburn |
| Vic Sears | Left Tackle | Dick Plasman |
| Cliff Patton | Left Guard | Loyd "Pig" Arms |
| Alex Wojciechowicz | Center | Hamilton Nichols |
| Bucko Kilroy | Right Guard | Vince Banonis |
| Al Wistert | Right Tackle | Stan Mauldin |
| Pete Pihos | Right End | Jack Doolan |
| Pat McHugh | Quarterback | Bill Campbell |
| Steve Van Buren | Left Halfback | Red Cochran |
| Bosh Pritchard | Right Halfback | Marshall Goldberg |
| Joe Muha | Fullback | Walt Rankin |
| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eagles | 0 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 21 |
| Cardinals | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 28 |
atComiskey Park,Chicago, Illinois
| Game information | ||
|---|---|---|
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| Statistics | Philadelphia | Chicago |
|---|---|---|
| First Downs | 22 | 11 |
| Rushing Yards | 60 | 282 |
| Yards Per Carry | 1.6 | 7.2 |
| Passing Yards | 297 | 54 |
| Interceptions | 3 | 2 |
| Sack Yds Lost | 0 | 0 |
| Net Pass Yards | 297 | 54 |
| Total Yards | 357 | 336 |
| Fumbles-Lost | 2-0 | 2-1 |
| Turnovers | 3 | 3 |
| Penalties-Yards | 7-55 | 10-97 |
The following five officials were used in the game.[11] The NFL added a fifthofficial, the back judge, for the first time during the1947 season[13]
The player compensation pool was set at 70% of net revenue — that is, total gross receipts, including paid gate and radio and motion picture rights, less costs for stadium rental and taxes.[11] Total receipts were just under $160,000 and expenses nearly $40,000, for a net receipts pool of about $120,000.[11] This generated a team pool of about $45,300 for the winning Cardinals, divided into 40 shares of $1,132.[11] The losing Eagles similarly were allotted a pool of $30,200, split into 40 shares of $754.[11]
A pool of about $8,400 for each of the divisional second place clubs — theChicago Bears andPittsburgh Steelers — was also established.[8]
41°49′55″N87°38′02″W / 41.832°N 87.634°W /41.832; -87.634
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