1955 NFL season

[74_75_78_79_]

The Browns, winning their final title under Paul Brown, were clearly the best that year. They go into the LA Coliseum and bury Gillman’s Rams, 38-14, for the championship. But who do you think was 2nd-best?

The Redskins had their last good season (8-4) in more than 15 years. In the opener they beat the champs at Cleveland, 27-17. With two weeks to go in the season, Washington was just a half-game behind the Browns for the conference. What happened to them after that season, as they began their decade-and-a-half of mediocrity (bottoming-out big-time in ’60 & ’61 at a combined 2-21-3)?

In the other conference, Halas’s Bears start 0-3 only to then go 8-1 from there - sweeping Western-champs-to-be, Rams, in the process. But came up just shy by a half-game. The Bears, nor Rams, played against Washington, nor Browns, during the regular season.

Who do you think was 2nd-best in ’55? Does anyone actually think that Chicago was actually the better team than Cleveland once that 0-3 start was out the way? They did, despite Halas stepping down after the ’55 season, finish with the best-record the following year (only to get blasted in the title game).

What else, in-general, can be said about this first Rock and Roll NFL season?

[Mark L. Ford]

What else, in-general, can be said about this first Rock and Roll NFL season?

It can be said that the NFL was still team fight songs and marching bands at halftime and fans wearing their Sunday best during that first rock and roll season.... certainly, the post is about the '55 season rather than about music, but it does raise an interesting question of how and when the league went to its "Hell's Bells" era. My understanding is that the old Denver NHL team was the first to play "Gary Glitter's Rock and Roll Part II", back in '85.

[JohnH19]

The Colorado Rockies moved to New Jersey after the 81-82 season and the Quebec Nordiques moved to Denver for the 1995-96 season.

My first memory of NBA Showtime invading hockey is Minnesota North Stars games at the Met Center during the 1990-91 season. Unfortunately, we still have to listen to unceasing noise during every stoppage in play almost 30 years later.

[sheajets]

What else, in-general, can be said about this first Rock and Roll NFL season?

It can be said that the NFL was still team fight songs and marching bands at halftime and fans wearing their Sunday best during that first rock and roll season.... certainly, the post is about the '55 season rather than about music, but it does raise an interesting question of how and when the league went to its "Hell's Bells" era. My understanding is that the old Denver NHL team was the first to play "Gary Glitter's Rock and Roll Part II", back in '85.

And my New Jersey Devils still played it as a post goal anthem up to a few years ago until management got upset that fans worked in a "you suck" chant directed at the opposing goalie during the song. Though I believe 1982-1992 it wasn't our official goal song yet, it was still played intermittently.

[sheajets]

Curious how much of the Redskins decline had to do with them being the last team to integrate (1962) and even after that I wonder if they had the smallest percentage of blacks in the league. They just simply denied themselves top talent

The NFL overall was still very flat top and non rock n roll into the early 60's. Things started to change though with the rise of the AFL as well as bigger brighter characters and personalities. Longer hair, more cheerleaders, mascots, the emergence of the Raiders etc. but it was a slow growth

Chicago that year had an impressive turnaround though getting absolutely massacred by the Cardinals week 11 sort of exposed them as not a true contender. They rebounded with two victories to finish off the year but they were anything but impressive wins.

[BD Sullivan]

When the Cowboys introduced their cheerleaders who were decidedly not the usual high school variety that had been a staple for decades, other teams tried to out-do them. The Redskins' outfits in the late 70's were "scandalous" snough that even Jack Pardee complained.

I imagine when MTV became all-encompassing--and actually played music videos( )--the NFL saw a potential money-maker.

[Bryan]

I imagine when MTV became all-encompassing--and actually played music videos( )--the NFL saw a potential money-maker.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QxkKlzInR4Y

The LA Rams certainly did.