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1953 New York Giants season

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

1953 New York Giants season
OwnerTim Mara
Head coachSteve Owen
Home fieldPolo Grounds
Results
Record3–9
Division place5th NFL Eastern
Playoff finishDid not qualify

The 1953 New York Giants season was the franchise's 29th season in the National Football League. The Giants were looking to improve on their 7–5 record from the previous season. However, the Giants hit rock bottom in 1953, losing their first three games of the season on their way to a disappointing 3–9 record and in 5th place in their division. The season included a 62–14 loss to the Cleveland Browns, the 62 points being the second most points surrendered in franchise history at the time as they had given up 63 points the year before in 1952 to the Pittsburgh Steelers, until it was surpassed by the 1966 team that gave up 72 points to Washington in the highest scoring game in NFL history.

Head coach Steve Owen was fired at the end of the season. After his departure, rumors emerged that future legendary coach Vince Lombardi was a candidate to replace him as the next head coach. However, the Giants ultimately settled on Jim Lee Howell as their next coach, while Lombardi was hired as co-offensive coordinator.

Schedule

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Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance Recap
1 September 27 at Los Angeles Rams L 7–21 0–1 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum 49,579 Recap
2 October 3 at Pittsburgh Steelers L 14–24 0–2 Forbes Field 31,500 Recap
3 October 11 at Washington Redskins L 9–13 0–3 Griffith Stadium 26,241 Recap
4 October 18 Chicago Cardinals W 21–7 1–3 Polo Grounds 30,301 Recap
5 October 25 Cleveland Browns L 0–7 1–4 Polo Grounds 30,773 Recap
6 November 1 at Chicago Cardinals W 23–20 2–4 Comiskey Park 17,499 Recap
7 November 8 at Philadelphia Eagles L 7–30 2–5 Connie Mack Stadium 24,331 Recap
8 November 15 Pittsburgh Steelers L 10–14 2–6 Polo Grounds 20,411 Recap
9 November 22 Washington Redskins L 21–24 2–7 Polo Grounds 16,887 Recap
10 November 29 Philadelphia Eagles W 37–28 3–7 Polo Grounds 20,294 Recap
11 December 6 at Cleveland Browns L 14–62 3–8 Cleveland Municipal Stadium 40,235 Recap
12 December 13 Detroit Lions L 16–27 3–9 Polo Grounds 28,390 Recap
Note: Intra-conference opponents are in bold text.

Standings

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NFL Eastern Conference
W L T PCT CONF PF PA STK
Cleveland Browns 11 1 0 .917 9–1 348 162 L1
Philadelphia Eagles 7 4 1 .636 6–3–1 352 215 W1
Washington Redskins 6 5 1 .545 6–3–1 208 215 L1
Pittsburgh Steelers 6 6 0 .500 5–5 211 263 W2
New York Giants 3 9 0 .250 3–7 179 277 L2
Chicago Cardinals 1 10 1 .091 0–10 190 337 W1
Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings until 1972.

New York Giants coaching vacancy

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Before the end of the 1953 season, the New York Daily News had a headline in their paper that Vince Lombardi was the top candidate to become the Giants new head coach.[1] Although Giants co-owner Wellington Mara was a classmate of Lombardi at Fordham University, the Giants were actually interested in Army head coach, Colonel Red Blaik. Blaik had declined the job, but recommended Lombardi, who was his offensive co-ordinator at Army.[2] Despite being Red Blaik's top aide, Vince Lombardi was anxious and frustrated. Three other Army assistants, including Murray Warmath were now head coaches.[3] In June, Lombardi had turned forty years old. Lombardi would be hired as the offensive co-ordinator for the 1954 season.[4]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Giants Among Men, p. 152, Jack Cavanaugh, 2008, Random House, New York, ISBN 978-1-4000-6717-6
  2. ^ Giants Among Men, p. 153, Jack Cavanaugh, 2008, Random House, New York, ISBN 978-1-4000-6717-6
  3. ^ When Pride Still Mattered, David Maraniss, p.146, Simon & Schuster Paperbacks, New York, 1999, ISBN 978-0-684-84418-3
  4. ^ Giants Among Men, p. 154, Jack Cavanaugh, 2008, Random House, New York, ISBN 978-1-4000-6717-6