The 1955 NFL season was the 36th

regular season In an organized sports league, a typical season is the portion of one year in which regulated games of the sport are in session: for example, in Major League Baseball the season lasts approximately from the last week of March to the last week of ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...

paid $100,000 to replace DuMont as the national television network for the

NFL Championship Game Throughout its history, the National Football League (NFL) and other rival American football leagues have used several different formats to determine their league champions, including a period of inter-league matchups to determine a true national c ...

. The season ended when the

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. Named after original coach and co-founder Paul Brown, they compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (A ...

defeated the Los Angeles Rams in the title game.

Draft

The

1955 NFL Draft The 1955 National Football League draft was held January 27–28, 1955 at the Warwick Hotel in New York City. This was the ninth year that the first overall pick was a bonus pick determined by lottery. With the previous eight winners ineligib ...

was held from January 27–28, 1955 at

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...

's Warwick Hotel. With the first pick, the Baltimore Colts selected running back George Shaw from the

University of Oregon The University of Oregon (UO, U of O or Oregon) is a public research university in Eugene, Oregon. Founded in 1876, the institution is well known for its strong ties to the sports apparel and marketing firm Nike, Inc, and its co-founder, billion ...

Major rule changes

*The ball is dead immediately when the ball carrier touches the ground with any part of his body except his hands or feet while in the grasp of an opponent. *A new exception is made in regard to scoring a safety: When a defender intercepts a pass, his intercepting momentum carries him into his own end zone, and he is stopped before returning the ball back into the field of play, then the ball will be next put in play at the spot of the interception.

Conference races

The defending champion Browns dropped their opener, at home, to the Redskins 27–17, but a six-game win streak put them back in front to win the Eastern race. The Western race was crowded a few times, as the Rams had to share the lead. In ''Week Eight'', the Bears beat Los Angeles 24–3, to give both teams 5–3 records, The next week (November 20), the Bears took the lead with a 24–14 at Detroit while the Rams got a 17–17 tie at Baltimore. As had happened many times before in the annual battle of Chicago, the Bears were upset by the Cardinals in ''Week Ten'' (November 27), 53–14; the Rams eked out a 23–21 in Philadelphia on

Les Richter Leslie Alan Richter (October 6, 1930 – June 12, 2010) was an American football linebacker who played for the Los Angeles Rams of National Football League (NFL). He also served as the head of operations for NASCAR and president of the River ...

's field goal with 0:07 left in the game."Rams Recapture NFL Lead on Richter's Clutch Field Goal", ''Press-Telegram'' (Long Beach, California), Nov 28, 1955, pA-12 In ''Week Eleven'' (December 4), the Rams won 20–14 over Baltimore, and the Bears kept their hopes alive with a difficult 21–20 win over Detroit. In the latter game, the Lions'

Doak Walker Ewell Doak Walker II (January 1, 1927 – September 27, 1998) was an American football player. He played college football as a halfback at Southern Methodist University (SMU), where he won the Heisman Trophy in 1948. Walker then played professio ...

missed an extra point, lost a fumble late in the game on the Detroit 28, and was wide on a 35-yard field goal attempt in the final seconds. The Bears won their last game (December 11), 17–10 over Philadelphia, to finish 8–4, and hoped for the 7–3–1 Rams would lose their game in Los Angeles against Green Bay. The Rams did not lose, clinching a spot in the title game, with a 31–17 win.

Final standings

NFL Championship Game

Cleveland 38, Los Angeles 14 at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles, Monday, December 26, 1955

League leaders

Awards

* NEA NFL Most Valuable Player –

Harlon Hill Harlon Junius Hill (May 4, 1932 March 21, 2013) was an American professional football player who was an end for nine seasons in the National Football League (NFL). Hill played for the Chicago Bears, Pittsburgh Steelers, and Detroit Lions. He w ...

, Chicago Bears * UPI NFL Most Valuable Player –

Otto Graham Otto Everett Graham Jr. (December 6, 1921 – December 17, 2003) was an American professional football player who was a quarterback for the Cleveland Browns in the All-America Football Conference (AAFC) and National Football League (NFL). Graha ...

* ''Sporting News'' NFL Player of the Year – Otto Graham, Cleveland Browns

Coaching changes

Chicago Cardinals The professional American football team now known as the Arizona Cardinals previously played in Chicago, Illinois, as the Chicago Cardinals from 1898 to 1959 before relocating to St. Louis, Missouri, for the 1960 through 1987 seasons. Roots ...

: Joe Stydahar was replaced by

Ray Richards Raymond William Richards (July 16, 1906 – September 18, 1974) was an American football player and coach on both the college and professional levels, including head coach for the Chicago Cardinals of the National Football League (NFL). Richard ...

. * Los Angeles Rams: Hamp Pool was replaced by

Sid Gillman Sidney Gillman (October 26, 1911 – January 3, 2003) was an American football player, coach and executive. Gillman's insistence on stretching the football field by throwing deep downfield passes, instead of short passes to running backs or w ...

. *

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National ...

Buck Shaw Lawrence Timothy "Buck" Shaw (March 28, 1899 – March 19, 1977) was an American football player and coach. He was the head coach for Santa Clara Broncos football, Santa Clara University, the California Golden Bears football, University of Califor ...

was replaced by

Red Strader Norman Parker "Red" Strader (December 21, 1902 – May 26, 1956) was an American football player and coach who served in both capacities at the collegiate and professional levels. In the college ranks, he spent two years as head coach at Saint Ma ...

References

* ''NFL Record and Fact Book'' ()
NFL History 1951–1960
(Last accessed December 4, 2005) * ''Total Football: The Official Encyclopedia of the National Football League'' () {{DEFAULTSORT:1955 Nfl Season National Football League seasons