Dallas Texans




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1952: After Ted Collins sold the New York Yanks back to the NFL, a Dallas-based group led by a pair of young millionaires, Giles Miller and his brother, Connell, bought the team and the players and established the first Professional Football team in Texas, calling their team the Dallas Texans. Expecting big crowds in Texas, the Millers were disappointed when only 17,499 fans showed up at the 75,000 seat Cotton Bowl to see the Texans face the New York Giants in their first game on September 28th. The Texans coached by Jim Phelan scored the game’s first touchdown, but missed the extra point and los 24-6. The Texans were clearly lacking talent and attempted to find anybody that could play for them, acquiring 11 players from the Los Angeles Rams for the draft rights of Les Richter. Unfortunately the 11 players were basically football players in name only as none contributed to the Texans fortunes. Attendance at the Cotton Bowl would continue to dwindle as the Texans continued to rack up the losses. On November 9th less than 10,000 fans were on hand to see the Texans fall to the Rams 27-6, dropping their record to 0-7. The Millers would be forced to give up the team following the loss as they failed to get business support from Dallas and missed payroll. For the remainder of the season the Texans would operate out of Hershey, Pennsylvania with the NFL managing the team. Following two more losses on the road, the Texans would play a home game in Akron, Ohio against the Chicago Bears on Thanksgiving. The game how so few spectators, that Texans Coach Jim Phelan suggested the players greet the fans personally after the win. The Texans would jump out to a 20-2 lead against the Bears second stringers, the Bears would make a late charge but the Texans would get their only win 27-23. The Texans would lose their final two games, including a 41-6 loss to the Detroit Lions at Briggs Stadium, in a game originally scheduled for the Cotton Bowl. Following their disastrous 1-11 season, the Texans would fold. Most of the Texans players would end up playing for the Baltimore Colts. However, the Colts never claimed any association with the Texans and were considered an expansion team in 1953. The Dallas Texans would be the last NFL team to fold. The league’s popularity would exploded with the growth of television, as the sport was perfect for the new medium. The NFL would return to Dallas in 1960 with the expansion Dallas Cowboys, a team called the Dallas Texans also made their debut for the upstart AFL. Despite winning the 1962 AFL Championship, the Texans would move to Kansas City and become the Chiefs, as the Cowboys popularity grew making them “America’s Team” in the 1970’s.
©MMXV Tank Productions. Stats researched by Frank Fleming, all information, and team names are property of the National Football League. This site is not affiliated with the Dallas Texans or the National Football League. This site is maintained for research purposes only. All logos used on this page were from Chris Creamer’s Sports Logos Page.
Page created on March 22, 2015. Last updated on March 22, 2015 at 11:30 pm ET.