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