| Regular season | |
|---|---|
| Duration | September 26 – December 13, 1959 |
| East Champions | New York Giants |
| West Champions | Baltimore Colts |
| Championship Game | |
| Champions | Baltimore Colts |
The1959 NFL season marked the 40thregular season of theNational Football League. It was the 14th and final season overseen by commissionerBert Bell, as he died of a heart attack on October 11.
A twelve-game season was played, culminating in aleague championship game between the Western Division winningBaltimore Colts and theNew York Giants, winners of the Eastern Division. The Colts emerged victorious in the battle between the league's best offense and its best defense with a fourth quarter comeback, winning by a score of 31–16.
Colts quarterbackJohnny Unitas, who lead the league in passing yards and passing touchdowns, was selected as the Most Valuable Player of the 1959 NFL season.
The1959 NFL draft was held on December 1, 1958, and January 21, 1959, atPhiladelphia'sWarwick Hotel. Thirty rounds of selections were conducted, with a total of 360 players selected by the 12 teams of the league.
With the first pick, theGreen Bay Packers selected quarterbackRandy Duncan from theUniversity of Iowa.
In September, roster limits were increased by one, to 36 players per team.[1]
Tragedy struck on October 11 ascommissionerBert Bell suffered a fatalheart attack atPhiladelphia'sFranklin Field while watching theEagles host thePittsburgh Steelers. He died at age 65 at the nearbyuniversity hospital;[2] league treasurerAustin Gunsel was named interim commissioner for the rest of the season.[3]
TheChicago Cardinals played their final season inChicago before relocating toSt. Louis for thefollowing season.
In theNFL Championship Game on December 27, the Baltimore Colts defeated the New York Giants for the second year in a row.[4][5]
For the third consecutive season, running backJim Brown of theCleveland Browns lead the NFL in rushing, gaining a total of 1329 yards on 290 touches, an average of 4.6 yards per carry.[6] Brown's 14 touchdowns scored tied for the league high with wide receiverRaymond Berry of the Colts.[6]
Leading the NFL with 3,899 yards passing was Colts quarterbackJohn Unitas, who also lead all quarterbacks with 32 passing touchdowns against 14 interceptions.[6] Unitas also led the league in both attempts and completions, going 193 for 367 (52.6%) for the year.[6] The best completion percentage in the league (58.64%) was posted byMilt Plum of the Browns, who narrowly edged outBill Wade of theLos Angeles Rams (58.62%).[6]
Topping the league in receiving was Raymond Berry of the Colts, who hauled down 66 passes for 959 yards, an average of 14.5 yards per reception.[6] Berry's closest competitor was 6'3" endDel Shofner of the Rams, who posted 936 yards gained on 47 receptions, for an average of 19.9 yards per catch.[6]
The leading punter for 1959 wasYale Lary of theDetroit Lions, with an average of 47.1 yards on his 45 punts, according to official statistics.[6]
Defensive statistics like sacks and tackles were not recorded during this era of professional football, with interceptions the sole metric recorded. Three players tied with 7 interceptions during the 12-game season —Dean Derby of the Steelers and a pair of Colts, defensive halfback (cornerback)Milt Davis and linebackerDon Shinnick.[6]
The top defense of the 1959 season was that of the New York Giants, who allowed just 170 points for the year (14.2 points per game). The top offense belonged to the Baltimore Colts, who racked up 374 total points (31.2 points per game) during the regular season.
The NFL had six teams in each division; each played a home-and-away game against the other five division teams, and two games outside the division. The Bears and Cardinals, and the Redskins and Colts, faced each other in an interdivision game each year, as they were close geographic rivals.
After the second week, when the 1–1–0 Giants had to share the Eastern Division lead with all five of the other clubs, the Giants won seven of the next eight games to clinch the title inWeek Ten. In the Western Division, the San Francisco 49ers, who had come close (1952, 1953, 1954, and 1957) 4 times since joining the NFL, were 6–1 and had a two-game lead over their closest rival, the 4–3 Colts. InWeek 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 |
|
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Baltimore 31, NY Giants 16 atMemorial Stadium inBaltimore,Maryland, on December 27.[4][5]
| Most Valuable Player | Johnny Unitas,quarterback, Baltimore Colts |
| Coach of the Year | Vince Lombardi, Green Bay |
