# 1947 Washington Redskins season

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

1947 Washington Redskins draft :
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | College | Notes |
| 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 :
| viewtalkedit | 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 :
| viewtalkedit | 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.