1959 NFL season


The 1959 NFL season was the 40th regular season of the National Football League.
Tragedy struck on October 11 as NFL Commissioner Bert Bell suffered a fatal heart attack at Philadelphia's Franklin Field while watching the Philadelphia Eagles and the Pittsburgh Steelers play. He died at age 65 at the nearby university hospital. League Treasurer Austin Gunsel was named interim commissioner for the rest of the season.
The Chicago Cardinals played their final season in the Windy City before relocating to St. Louis for the following season.
In the NFL Championship Game on December 27, the Baltimore Colts defeated the New York Giants for the second year in a row.

Draft

The 1959 NFL Draft was held on December 1, 1958, and January 21, 1959 at Philadelphia's Warwick Hotel. With the first pick, the Green Bay Packers selected quarterback Randy Duncan from the University of Iowa.

Conference races

The NFL had six teams in each conference; each played a home-and-away game against the other five conference teams, and two games outside the conference. The Bears and Cardinals, and the Redskins and Colts, faced each other in an interconference game each year, as they were close geographic rivals.
After the second week, when the 1–1–0 Giants had to share the Eastern Conference lead with all five of the other clubs, the Giants won seven of the next eight games to clinch the title in Week Ten. In the Western Conference, the San Francisco 49ers, who had come close several times since joining the NFL, were 6–1 and had a two-game lead over their closest rival, the 4–3 Colts. In Week Nine, though, the 49ers lost in Baltimore, 45–14 and they shared the lead at 6–3–0. Two weeks later, San Francisco had the home field advantage when they faced the Colts for a rematch. Baltimore won again, 34–14, and clinched the title the following week.
WeekWesternEastern
13 teams 1–0–03 teams 1–0–0
2Tie 2–0–06 teams 1–1–0
3Green Bay Packers3–0–03 teams 2–1–0
43 teams 3–1–0New York Giants3–1–0
5Tie 4–1–0New York Giants4–1–0
6San Francisco 49ers5–1–0New York Giants5–1–0
7San Francisco 49ers6–1–0New York Giants6–1–0
8San Francisco 49ers6–2–0Tie 6–2–0
9Tie 6–3–0New York Giants7–2–0
10Tie 7–3–0New York Giants8–2–0
11Baltimore Colts8–3–0New York Giants9–2–0
12Baltimore Colts9–3–0New York Giants10–2–0

Final standings

W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, PCT= Winning Percentage, PF= Points For, PA = Points Against
Note: The NFL did not officially count tie games in the standings until 1972

NFL Championship Game

at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore, Maryland, on December 27.

Awards

Coaching changes