| 1952 Dallas Texans (NFL) season | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Owner | Giles Miller and Connell Miller (first 7 games) NFL (last 5 games) |
| Head coach | Jimmy Phelan |
| Home stadium | Cotton Bowl |
| Results | |
| Record | 1–11 |
| Division place | 6thNFL National |
| Playoffs | Did not qualify |
The1952Dallas Texans season was the franchise's only season in theleague while inDallas after moving from New York, where they were previously known as theYanks, and the continuation of the Boston Yanks and New York Bulldogs. The franchise continued to struggle immensely and lost their first nine games, finishing 1–11,[1] the worst record in the 12-team league.
After its seventh game, the franchise was returned to the NFL on November 14.[2][3] The Texans' home game against theChicago Bears was moved to Thanksgiving and to theRubber Bowl inAkron, Ohio, and was their only victory.[4] The final home game with theLions was moved toBriggs Stadium inDetroit.[5]
Texans franchise was returned to the league Nov 14, 1952 and after they couldn't find a buyer for the team, the franchise was cancelled. The NFL had a hole in their calendar where the Texans were originally and awarded a brand new franchise to the Colts in January of 1953. NFL says that they consider the Colts as a 1953 expansion team;[6]it does not consider the Colts to be a continuation of the Yanks/Bulldogs/Yanks/Texans franchise. As the Colts were a new team with no players and the Texans players were available, many signed with the Colts although others signed with other NFL teams (see below) The physical assets were purchased byCarroll Rosenbloom in1953, and became known as theColts inBaltimore,Maryland, with Hall of FamersGino Marchetti andArt Donovan amongst others signed with the Colts.
E Dick Wilkins went to the NY Giants, HB Bennie Aldridge finished the 1952 year in San Francisco, then went to Green Bay in 1953, DT Don Col went to Cleveland, DE Sonny Gandee went to Detroit, DE Keever Jankovich went to the Chicago Cardinals, HB Ray Pelfrey went to the NY Giants, DB Johnny Pettibon ended up in Cleveland after doing his military service and DB Will Sherman went to the Rams.
Professional football did not return to the "Big D" until1960, with the addition of theCowboys and theAFL'sTexans (who relocated to Kansas City in 1963 and were rebranded as theChiefs).
As of 2025, the Dallas Texans are the most recentprofessional football team to fold[7]
| Game | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance | Recap | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | September 28 | New York Giants | L 6–24 | 0–1 | Cotton Bowl | 17,499 | Recap | |
| 2 | October 5 | San Francisco 49ers | L 14–37 | 0–2 | Cotton Bowl | 12,566 | Recap | |
| 3 | October 12 | atChicago Bears | L 20–38 | 0–3 | Wrigley Field | 35,429 | Recap | |
| 4 | October 18 | Green Bay Packers | L 14–24 | 0–4 | Cotton Bowl | 14,000 | Recap | |
| 5 | October 26 | atSan Francisco 49ers | L 21–48 | 0–5 | Kezar Stadium | 26,887 | Recap | |
| 6 | November 2 | atLos Angeles Rams | L 20–42 | 0–6 | Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum | 30,702 | Recap | |
| 7 | November 9 | Los Angeles Rams | L 6–27 | 0–7 | Cotton Bowl | 10,000 | Recap | |
| 8 | November 16 | atDetroit Lions | L 13–43 | 0–8 | Briggs Stadium | 33,304 | Recap | |
| 9 | November 23 | atGreen Bay Packers | L 14–42 | 0–9 | City Stadium | 16,340 | Recap | |
| 10 | November 27 | Chicago Bears | W 27–23 | 1–9 | Rubber Bowl(Akron, OH) | 3,000 | Recap | |
| 11 | December 7 | atPhiladelphia Eagles | L 21–38 | 1–10 | Shibe Park | 18,376 | Recap | |
| 12 | December 13 | Detroit Lions | L 6–41 | 1–11 | Briggs Stadium | 12,252 | Recap | |
| Note: Intra-conference opponents are inbold text. ^ game moved from Dallas | ||||||||
| NFL National Conference | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W | L | T | PCT | CONF | PF | PA | STK | ||
| Detroit Lions | 9 | 3 | 0 | .750 | 7–3 | 344 | 192 | W3 | |
| Los Angeles Rams | 9 | 3 | 0 | .750 | 8–2 | 349 | 234 | W8 | |
| San Francisco 49ers | 7 | 5 | 0 | .583 | 6–3 | 285 | 221 | W1 | |
| Green Bay Packers | 6 | 6 | 0 | .500 | 3–6 | 295 | 312 | L3 | |
| Chicago Bears | 5 | 7 | 0 | .417 | 4–6 | 245 | 326 | W1 | |
| Dallas Texans | 1 | 11 | 0 | .083 | 1–9 | 182 | 427 | L2 | |
| NFL American Conference | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W | L | T | PCT | CONF | PF | PA | STK | ||
| Cleveland Browns | 8 | 4 | 0 | .667 | 7–3 | 310 | 213 | L1 | |
| Philadelphia Eagles | 7 | 5 | 0 | .583 | 6–4 | 252 | 271 | L1 | |
| New York Giants | 7 | 5 | 0 | .583 | 5–4 | 234 | 231 | W1 | |
| Pittsburgh Steelers | 5 | 7 | 0 | .417 | 4–5 | 300 | 273 | L1 | |
| Chicago Cardinals | 4 | 8 | 0 | .333 | 3–7 | 172 | 221 | L2 | |
| Washington Redskins | 4 | 8 | 0 | .333 | 4–6 | 240 | 287 | W2 | |