1947 Washington Redskins season

NFL team season

1947 Washington Redskins season

Owner	George Preston Marshall
General manager	Dick McCann
Head coach	Turk Edwards
Home field	Griffith Stadium
Results
Record	4–8
Division place	4th NFL Eastern
Playoff finish	Did not qualify
← 1946 Redskins seasons 1948 →

The 1947 Washington Redskins season was the franchise's 16th season in the National Football League (NFL) and their 10th in Washington, D.C. The team failed to improve on their 5–5–1 record from 1946 and finished 4–8. The 1947 Washington Redskins' 416 passing attempts (34.7 per game) are the most by an NFL team in the 1940s.

Although the NFL formally desegregated in 1946, many teams were slow to allow black athletes to compete even after the formal barrier had fallen. None were less willing to desegregate than the Washington Redskins, who sought to be the "home team" for a vast Southern market. The Redskins would remain the last bastion of racial segregation in the NFL, refusing to include a single black player on their roster until 1962.

Before the season

NFL draft

Main article: 1947 NFL draft

Round	Pick	Player	Position	College	Notes
1947 Washington Redskins draft
1	4	Cal Rossi	B	UCLA	Also drafted in 1946
3	17	Gene (Red) Knight	B	LSU
5	28	Hank Foldberg	E	Army
6	39	Mike Garzoni	G	USC
7	48	Bill Gray	G	Oregon State
8	59	Hank Harris	G	Texas
9	68	Roy Kurrasch	E	UCLA	played with New York Yankees (AAFC)
10	79	Ernie Williamson	T	North Carolina
11	88	L. G. Carmody	B	Central Washington
12	99	U.S. Savage	E	Richmond
13	108	Bob Steckroth	E	William & Mary
14	119	Weldon Edwards	T	TCU
15	128	Earl Wheeler	C	Arkansas
16	139	Bill Gold	B	Tennessee
17	148	Jack Hart	T	Detroit
18	159	Tom Nichols	B	Richmond
19	168	Harry Dowda	DB	Wake Forest
20	179	Charlie Webb	E	LSU
21	188	Elmo Bond	T	Washington State
22	199	Jim Hefti	B	St. Lawrence
23	208	Tom Dudley	E	Virginia
24	219	Bob Smith *	DB	Iowa
25	228	Hal Mullins	T	Duke
26	239	Francis Bocoka	E	Washington State
27	248	Otis Sacrinty	B	Wake Forest
28	259	Milt Dropo	C	Connecticut
29	268	Lynn Brownson	B	Stanford
30	279	Joe Colone	B	Penn State
31	286	Herb Shoener	E	Iowa
32	295	Bo Pievo	T	Purdue
Made roster † Pro Football Hall of Fame * Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

Pre-season

Game	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Venue	Attendance
0	August 29	East–West Intra-Squad	W. 36, E. 35	—	Santa Ana, California
1	September 5	at Los Angeles Rams	L 7–20	0–1	L.A. Memorial Coliseum	80,889
2	September 10	vs. Detroit Lions	W 23–14	1–1	University of Denver Stadium	17,000
3	September 17	at Chicago Bears	L 7–28	1–2	Soldier Field	54,723
4	September 21	vs. Green Bay Packers	L 21–31	1–3	Baltimore Memorial Stadium	18,186

Schedule

Game	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Venue	Attendance	Recap
1	September 28	at Philadelphia Eagles	L 42–45	0–1	Shibe Park	35,406	Recap
2	October 2	Pittsburgh Steelers	W 27–26	1–1	Forbes Field	36,585	Recap
3	October 12	New York Giants	W 28–20	2–1	Griffith Stadium	36,533	Recap
4	October 19	at Green Bay Packers	L 10–27	2–2	Wisconsin State Fair Park	28,572	Recap
5	October 26	Chicago Bears	L 20–56	2–3	Griffith Park	36,591	Recap
6	November 2	Philadelphia Eagles	L 14–38	2–4	Griffith Park	36,591	Recap
7	November 9	at Pittsburgh Steelers	L 14–21	2–5	Forbes Field	36,257	Recap
8	November 16	at Detroit Lions	L 21–38	2–6	Briggs Stadium	17,003	Recap
9	November 23	Chicago Cardinals	W 45–21	3–6	Griffith Stadium	35,362	Recap
10	November 30	at Boston Yanks	L 24–27	3–7	Fenway Park	24,800	Recap
11	December 7	at New York Giants	L 10–35	3–8	Polo Grounds	25,594	Recap
12	December 14	Boston Yanks	W 40–13	4–8	Griffith Stadium	33,226	Recap
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Standings

NFL Eastern Division
view talk edit	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	PF	PA	STK
Philadelphia Eagles	8	4	0	.667	6–2	308	242	W1
Pittsburgh Steelers	8	4	0	.667	6–2	240	259	W1
Boston Yanks	4	7	1	.364	3–4–1	168	256	L2
Washington Redskins	4	8	0	.333	3–5	295	367	W1
New York Giants	2	8	2	.200	1–6–1	190	309	L1

Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings until 1972.

NFL Western Division
view talk edit	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	PF	PA	STK
Chicago Cardinals	9	3	0	.750	7–1	306	231	W2
Chicago Bears	8	4	0	.667	4–4	363	241	L2
Green Bay Packers	6	5	1	.545	5–3	274	210	L1
Los Angeles Rams	6	6	0	.500	4–4	259	214	W2
Detroit Lions	3	9	0	.250	0–8	231	305	L3

Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings until 1972.

References

Ryan Basen, "Fifty Years Ago, Last Outpost of Segregation in NFL Fell," New York Times, Oct. 6, 2012.
"1947 Washington Redskins Draftees". Pro Football Reference. Retrieved August 11, 2020.
Associated Press, "Teedees Come Fast for 'Skins," Valley Times, Aug. 30, 1947, p. 6.
Bob Meyers (AP), "80,889 See Rams Whip Redskins," Shreveport Journal, Sept. 6, 1947, p. 7.
"Sammy Baugh Leads Redskins to 23–14 Victory Over Lions," Grand Junction Daily Sentinel, Sept. 11, 1947, p. 8.
Edward Prell, "Bears Trounce Redskins, 28 to 78; Baugh Idle: Sore Ribs Keep Passing Star on Sidelines," Chicago Tribune, Sept. 18, 1947, pp. 35, 37.
Paid attendance, plus 2,000 "soldiers and crippled veterans."
Associated Press, "Packers Dump Washington, 31–21; Meet Bears Here Sunday: Relax in Last Quarter After Holding 31–0 Lead," Green Bay Press-Gazette, Sept. 22, 1947, p. 15.

v t e Washington Commanders
Formerly the Boston Braves (1932), Boston Redskins (1933–1936), Washington Redskins (1937–2019), and Washington Football Team (2020–2021) Based in Landover, Maryland Headquartered in Ashburn, Virginia
Franchise	History Seasons All-time roster (A–Ke, Kh–Z) Head coaches Draft first-round picks Starting quarterbacks Records Broadcasters
Stadiums	Braves Field Fenway Park Griffith Stadium RFK Stadium Northwest Stadium
Key personnel	Managing partner: Josh Harris Prominent limited partners: Mitchell Rales, Magic Johnson, Mark Ein President: Mark Clouse General manager: Adam Peters Head coach: Dan Quinn
Culture and lore	"Hail to the Commanders" Marching Band Major Tuddy Hogettes Chief Zee Redskins name controversy Name change advocates Opinion polls Trademark dispute Original Americans Foundation "Go Fund Yourself" The Replacements Everybody's All-American Redskins Rule Operation Flagship Ricky Williams trade The Hogs The Fun Bunch The Over-the-Hill Gang Bears 73, Redskins 0 Body Bag Game Hail Maryland
Rivalries	Dallas Cowboys New York Giants Philadelphia Eagles
Wild Card berths (10)	1971 1973 1974 1976 1986 1990 1992 2005 2007 2024
Division championships (15)	1936 1937 1940 1942 1943 1945 1972 1983 1984 1987 1991 1999 2012 2015 2020
Conference championships (5)	1972 1982 1983 1987 1991
League championships (2)	1937 1942
Super Bowl championships (3)	1982 (XVII) 1987 (XXII) 1991 (XXVI)
Retired numbers	9 21 28 33 49
Hall of Famers	Cliff Battles Sammy Baugh Bill Dudley Turk Edwards Joe Gibbs Darrell Green Russ Grimm Chris Hanburger Ken Houston Sam Huff Deacon Jones Stan Jones Sonny Jurgensen Paul Krause Vince Lombardi Wayne Millner Bobby Mitchell Art Monk John Riggins Bruce Smith Charley Taylor
Affiliations	League: National Football League Conference: National Football Conference Division: East Division
Category Commons

v t e Washington Commanders seasons
Formerly the Boston Braves (1932), Boston Redskins (1933–1936), Washington Redskins (1937–2019), and Washington Football Team (2020–2021)
1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025
Bold indicates NFL Championship or Super Bowl victory Italics indicates NFL Championship or Super Bowl appearance

1947 NFL season

Eastern Division	Boston	New York	Chi Bears	Chi Cardinals	Western Division
	Philadelphia	Pittsburgh	Detroit	Green Bay
	Washington			Los Angeles

Related: 1947 AAFC season

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