1942 Chicago Cardinals season

1942 Chicago Cardinals season
Head coach	Jimmy Conzelman
Home field	Comiskey Park
Results
Record	3–8
Division place	4th NFL Western
Playoff finish	Did not qualify

The 1942 Chicago Cardinals season was the 23rd season the team was in the league. The team failed to improve on their previous output of 3–7–1, losing eight games.^[1] They failed to qualify for the playoffs for the 17th consecutive season.

Schedule

The Cards opened their 1942 regular season schedule playing the Cleveland Rams at Civic Stadium in Buffalo, New York. This was a regularly scheduled event.^[2] The team also played two regularly-scheduled home games at night — September 20 against the Detroit Lions and October 4 against the Green Bay Packers.^[2]

The team also played an exhibition game during a bye week against the Wichita Aero Commandos, a team associated with a military materiel factory. The game was a mismatch won by the visiting professionals 35–7 in front of a crowd estimated at 4,000 — said to be the biggest of the year for the venue.^[3] During this game the Cardinals injured and ended the season of the star quarterback of the Aero Commandos, Ralph Miller — a three sport athlete drafted by the Brooklyn Dodgers in the 1942 NFL draft who later became a Hall of Fame basketball coach.^[3]

Game	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Venue	Attendance	Recap	Sources
1	September 13	vs. Cleveland Rams	W 7–0	1–0	Buffalo Civic Stadium	18,698	Recap	[4]
2	September 20	Detroit Lions	W 13–0	2–0	Comiskey Park	14,742	Recap
3	October 4	Green Bay Packers	L 13–17	2–1	Comiskey Park	24,897	Recap
4	October 11	at Chicago Bears	L 14–41	2–2	Wrigley Field	38,500	Recap
5	October 18	at Detroit Lions	W 7–0	3–2	Briggs Stadium	14,100	Recap
6	October 25	at Cleveland Rams	L 3–7	3–3	League Park	7,896	Recap
7	November 1	at Green Bay Packers	L 24–55	3–4	City Stadium	14,782	Recap
8	November 8	at Washington Redskins	L 0–28	3–5	Griffith Stadium	35,425	Recap
—	November 15	at Wichita Aero Commandos	W 35–7	—	Lawrence Stadium	4,000		[5][3]
9	November 22	at Pittsburgh Steelers	L 3–19	3–6	Forbes Field	20,711	Recap
10	November 29	at New York Giants	L 7–21	3–7	Polo Grounds	20,354	Recap
11	December 6	Chicago Bears	L 7–21	3–8	Comiskey Park	8,251	Recap
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text. • September 20, October 4: Saturday night games

Standings

NFL Western Division
view talk edit	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	PF	PA	STK
Chicago Bears	11	0	0	1.000	8–0	376	84	W11
Green Bay Packers	8	2	1	.800	6–2	300	215	W2
Cleveland Rams	5	6	0	.455	3–5	150	207	L1
Chicago Cardinals	3	8	0	.273	3–5	98	209	L6
Detroit Lions	0	11	0	.000	0–8	38	263	L11

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

NFL Eastern Division
view talk edit	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	PF	PA	STK
Washington Redskins	10	1	0	.909	7–1	227	102	W9
Pittsburgh Steelers	7	4	0	.636	5–3	167	119	L1
New York Giants	5	5	1	.500	4–4	155	139	W2
Brooklyn Dodgers	3	8	0	.273	2–6	100	168	L6
Philadelphia Eagles	2	9	0	.182	2–6	134	239	L1

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

References

1. 1942 Chicago Cardinals
2. George Strickler (ed.), 1942 Official National Football League Roster and Record Manual. Chicago: National Football League, 1942; back cover.
3. Pete Lightner, "Chicago Cardinals Win Handily: Big League Club Clinches Game in First 10 Minutes," Wichita Eagle, Nov. 16, 1942, p. 8.
4. Gene Korzelius, "Grid Cardinals Discard T Formation to Score First Win Here in Three Starts: 16,689 Fans See Bud Schwenk Pass to Steve Lach for Score," Buffalo News, Sept. 14, 1942, p. 9.
5. "Cardinals Bring All-Star Lineup Here for Battle: Goldberg and Other All-American Stars to Perform in Wichita Stadium," Wichita Eagle, Nov. 15, 1942, p. 4.