1951 New York Yanks season
Head coachJimmy Phelan
Home fieldYankee Stadium
Results
Record1–9–2
Division place6th NFL National
Playoff finishDid not qualify

The 1951 New York Yanks season was their second as the Yanks (previously being the New York Bulldogs), and their final season before the franchise was sold and moved to Dallas. The team failed to improve on their previous season's output of 7–5, winning only one game.[1] They played eight of their twelve games on the road, including seven of the first eight. The sole victory came at Green Bay in early December.[2][3][4] The final game against the neighboring Giants drew less than 6,700, played on an icy field with game time temperature of 17 °F (−8 °C).[5]

The baseball Yankees had the rights to Yankee Stadium, so the football Yanks were forced to move their first two home games (weeks 1 and 2) onto the road, which were both night games.[6][7] The World Series concluded in six games on October 10 and the first home football game came in week five on October 28.[8]

After the season, the erratic franchise was sold again to a consortium from Dallas, where the players and assets became known as the Texans, using the blue and white color scheme and carrying on the franchise's legacy of the Dayton Triangles, the final remaining Ohio League founding APFA member.

Regular season

Main article: 1951 NFL season

Schedule

Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance Recap
1 September 28[6] Los Angeles Rams L 14–54 0–1 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum 30,315 Recap
2 October 8[7] Detroit Lions L 10–37 0–2 Briggs Stadium 24,194 Recap
3 October 14 at Chicago Bears L 21–24 0–3 Wrigley Field 37,697 Recap
4 October 21 at Detroit Lions T 24–24 0–3–1 Briggs Stadium 21,807 Recap
5 October 28 Green Bay Packers L 27–29 0–4–1 Yankee Stadium 7,351 Recap
6 November 4 at New York Giants L 31–37 0–5–1 Polo Grounds 25,682 Recap
7 November 11 at San Francisco 49ers L 14–19 0–6–1 Kezar Stadium 25,538 Recap
8 November 18 at Los Angeles Rams L 21–48 0–7–1 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum 34,717 Recap
9 November 25 San Francisco 49ers T 10–10 0–7–2 Yankee Stadium 10,184 Recap
10 December 2 at Green Bay Packers W 31–28 1–7–2 City Stadium 14,297 Recap
11 December 9 Chicago Bears L 21–45 1–8–2 Yankee Stadium 13,075 Recap
12 December 16 New York Giants L 17–27 1–9–2 Yankee Stadium 6,658 Recap
Note: Intra-conference opponents are in bold text.

Standings

NFL National Conference
W L T PCT CONF PF PA STK
Los Angeles Rams 8 4 0 .667 7–2 392 261 W1
San Francisco 49ers 7 4 1 .636 5–2–1 255 205 W3
Detroit Lions 7 4 1 .636 5–4–1 336 259 L1
Chicago Bears 7 5 0 .583 6–2 286 282 L1
Green Bay Packers 3 9 0 .250 1–8 254 375 L7
New York Yanks 1 9 2 .100 1–7–2 241 382 L2

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

References

  1. ^ 1951 New York Yanks Archived September 23, 2013, at the Wayback Machine
  2. ^ Larson, Lloyd (December 3, 1951). "Yanks nip Packers, 31-28, on Celeri's three TD passes". Milwaukee Sentinel. p. 4, part 2.
  3. ^ Kuechele, Oliver E. (December 3, 1951). "Celeri's spectacular passing steals victory from Packers". Milwaukee Journal. p. 8.
  4. ^ "Yanks win first, nip Packer, 31-28". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Associated Press. December 3, 1951. p. 24.
  5. ^ "Price sets NFL record as Giants beat Yanks". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Associated Press. December 17, 1951. p. 23.
  6. ^ a b "Rams rout Yanks, 54-14; pass record is set". Milwaukee Sentinel. Associated Press. September 28, 1951. p. 4, part 2.
  7. ^ a b "Walker, Harder score twice Lions' victory". Milwaukee Journal. Associated Press. October 9, 1951. p. 8, part 2.
  8. ^ "Packers win, 29-27, on last-minute field goal". Milwaukee Sentinel. Associated Press. October 29, 1951. p. 3, part 2.


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