# 1959 Chicago Cardinals season

The 1959 Chicago Cardinals season was the team's 40th and final season in Chicago. The Cardinals opened the season with a 49–21 home win over the Washington Redskins at Soldier Field, but finished with a record of two wins and ten losses, last place in the Eastern Conference. They tied with the Los Angeles Rams for the worst record in the 12-team league.
Their final home game in Chicago was on November 29, a 31–7 loss to the cross-town rival Bears at Soldier Field. The home games of October 25 and November 22, both losses, were played in Minnesota at Metropolitan Stadium in Bloomington, the future home of the expansion Minnesota Vikings, starting two years later in 1961.
In March 1960, the Chicago Cardinals relocated to St. Louis and became the St. Louis Cardinals, bringing the NFL back to Missouri. They subsequently moved from St. Louis to the Phoenix area in Arizona.

## Preseason

| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance |
| 1 | August 5 | at Toronto Argonauts | W 55–26 | 1–0 | Exhibition Stadium | 27,152 |
| 2 | August 15 | vs. Detroit Lions | L 19–21 | 1–1 | Oklahoma Memorial Stadium | 40,000 |
| 3 | August 22 | vs. Pittsburgh Steelers | W 21–10 | 2–1 | Texas Memorial Stadium | 15,000 |
| 4 | August 28 | at Los Angeles Rams | L 21–34 | 2–2 | Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum | 52,013 |
| 5 | September 5 | vs. San Francisco 49ers | W 27–24 | 3–2 | Husky Stadium | 23,000 |
| 6 | September 11 | vs. Pittsburgh Steelers | L 13–21 | 3–3 | Busch Stadium | 30,055 |
| 7 | September 20 | vs. Baltimore Colts | W 31–17 | 4–3 | Fairgrounds Stadium | 16,671 |

## Regular season

For the 1959 season the Cards offered seats in three price tiers. Field box and upper box tickets were $5.00, seats in the reserved grandstand cost $4.00, and bleacher seats were priced at $2.50. Season tickets for a four game home slate at Soldier Field cost $18, $14, and $10, respectively. The club also offered a $10 "family plan," which admitted two children, age 14 or under, to every game with an adult season ticket purchase.

### Schedule

| Game | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance | Recap |
| 1 | September 27 | Washington Redskins | W 49–21 | 1–0 | Soldier Field | 21,892 | Recap |
| 2 | October 4 | Cleveland Browns | L 7–34 | 1–1 | Soldier Field | 19,935 | Recap |
| 3 | October 11 | at Washington Redskins | L 14–23 | 1–2 | Griffith Stadium | 25,937 | Recap |
| 4 | October 18 | at Cleveland Browns | L 7–17 | 1–3 | Cleveland Stadium | 46,422 | Recap |
| 5 | October 25 | Philadelphia Eagles | L 24–28 | 1–4 | Metropolitan Stadium | 20,112 | Recap |
| 6 | November 1 | Pittsburgh Steelers | W 45–24 | 2–4 | Soldier Field | 23,187 | Recap |
| 7 | November 8 | at New York Giants | L 3–9 | 2–5 | Yankee Stadium | 56,779 | Recap |
| 8 | November 15 | at Philadelphia Eagles | L 17–27 | 2–6 | Franklin Field | 28,887 | Recap |
| 9 | November 22 | New York Giants | L 20–30 | 2–7 | Metropolitan Stadium | 26,625 | Recap |
| 10 | November 29 | Chicago Bears | L 7–31 | 2–8 | Soldier Field | 48,687 | Recap |
| 11 | December 6 | at Detroit Lions | L 21–45 | 2–9 | Briggs Stadium | 45,811 | Recap |
| 12 | December 13 | at Pittsburgh Steelers | L 20–35 | 2–10 | Forbes Field | 19,011 | Recap |
| Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text. |||||||||

## Standings

NFL Eastern Conference :
| viewtalkedit | W | L | T | PCT | CONF | PF | PA | STK |
| New York Giants | 10 | 2 | 0 | .833 | 8–2 | 284 | 170 | W4 |
| Philadelphia Eagles | 7 | 5 | 0 | .583 | 6–4 | 268 | 278 | L1 |
| Cleveland Browns | 7 | 5 | 0 | .583 | 6–4 | 270 | 214 | W1 |
| Pittsburgh Steelers | 6 | 5 | 1 | .545 | 6–4 | 257 | 216 | W1 |
| Washington Redskins | 3 | 9 | 0 | .250 | 2–8 | 185 | 350 | L5 |
| Chicago Cardinals | 2 | 10 | 0 | .167 | 2–8 | 234 | 324 | L6 |
    Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings until 1972.