1955: Cardinals Hand Bears Key Defeat in Major Upset

The Chicago Bears were 6-3 and had won six straight games as they took on their cross-town rivals, the Chicago Cardinals, at Comiskey Park on November 27, 1955. George Halas, the owner and in his third stint as head coach, had announced that this would be his last season on the sideline and the club was focused on winning one last title for “the Papa Bear.” They were in first place in the Western Conference, a half game in front of the Rams, a club they had beaten twice.

The Cardinals were 3-5-1 and had lost their last two games coming into the annual intercity contest with the Bears. Under first-year Head Coach Ray Richards, the club had some outstanding talent in HB Ollie Matson (pictured above) and defensive halfback Dick “Night Train” Lane, but was by no means considered a match for its rival. They were 16.5-point underdogs coming into the game.

There were 47,314 fans in attendance in a heavy snowstorm, and even though it was the Cardinals’ home field, many of those were Bears fans, judging from the cheers for the Bears’ players during the pregame introductions. The turf was soft and muddy due to the weather conditions and the lights were turned on during the first quarter.

The tone for the game was set early as the Cardinals took the opening kickoff and drove 73 yards in 13 plays for the first score. QB Lamar McHan threw a pass intended for end Gern Nagler that was deflected but grabbed by end Don Stonesifer, who completed the play for a 28-yard touchdown.

The Bears took possession and were forced to punt. Matson received the kick at his own 23 yard line and returned it 77 yards for another Cardinals TD. Before the opening period was over, rookie HB Dave Mann scored on a 19-yard run to open up a 21-0 margin for the Cards.

The lead was extended to 27-0 in the second quarter after FB John Olszewski ran for a 41-yard touchdown. While PK Pat Summerall missed the extra point, it hardly mattered. The Bears finally got on the board when QB George Blanda ran for a one-yard TD, but were in a deep hole at 27-7 as the first half ended.

Any hopes that the Bears might climb out of that hole ended when they fumbled the ball away in their first two possessions of the second half. Summerall kicked field goals of 12 and 40 yards, and Mann contributed a long touchdown dash of 61 yards to add to the rout at 40-7 after three periods.

Matson and Stonesifer finished off the scoring in the fourth quarter, with the Hall of Fame halfback plunging in for a TD from a yard out and the end catching a seven-yard pass from McHan. The Bears scored an inconsequential touchdown in the last minutes as third string QB Bob Williams connected with end John Hoffman on a 23-yard pass play. The final score of the stunning upset was 53-14.


The Cardinals gained 301 yards on the ground, averaging 5.7 yards per attempt, and 175 passing for an overall total of 474, to 211 yards for the Bears. Dave Mann (pictured at left) led the club in rushing with 108 yards and two TDs. The Cards also led in first downs, 20 to 12, while the Bears turned the ball over five times (four interceptions, one fumble) to just two suffered by the Cardinals.

The Cardinals also led with 9 penalties, to four by the Bears. While tempers flared occasionally, a fight broke out near the end that caused two Bears and a Cardinal to be ejected.

The Bears, who were the top rushing team in the NFL, gained only 25 yards on the ground, with 186 through the air. QB Ed Brown, normally a reliable thrower, missed on all seven of his pass attempts. It was the worst beating the Cardinals had inflicted on the Bears since 1929, when Ernie Nevers scored six touchdowns.

“When you’re a Cardinal, part of the job is beating the Bears,” said veteran Charley Trippi, a Hall of Fame halfback in his prime who was finishing his career as a punter. “We beat them at their own game, with good blocking and good tackling.”

The loss proved devastating to the Bears’ postseason hopes – they dropped behind the Rams, and while they won their last two games to end up with an 8-4 record, LA did likewise to win the Western Conference title at 8-3-1. The Cardinals went 4-7-1 and tied the Eagles for fourth in the Eastern Conference.

Ollie Matson led the NFL in punt return average (18.8 yards on 13 returns) and, with the touchdown against the Bears, was the only player in the league to return two for scores during the season. His 1325 all-purpose yards (475 rushing, 237 receiving, 245 returning punts, 368 returning kickoffs) ranked second.

Dave Mann ran for 336 yards on 85 carries and caught 16 passes. He also ran back kickoffs as he totaled 609 all-purpose yards and handled much of the team’s punting (in addition to Trippi).

Don Stonesifer (pictured below) led the Cardinals in pass receiving with 28 catches for 330 yards and five touchdowns.

As for George Halas, while he did indeed step down as head coach (while continuing to run the club from the front office), it did not prove to be a permanent retirement. He returned to the sideline in 1958 and won another championship in ’63 before finally retiring for good after the 1967 season.

1959: Rams Trade 9 Players to Cardinals for Ollie Matson

On March 23, 1959 the Los Angeles Rams swung one of the most celebrated trades in pro football history, sending nine players (including two draft picks) to the Chicago Cardinals for the great all-purpose running back, Ollie Matson.

The 6’2”, 220-pound Matson had certainly been an outstanding player in his six seasons with the Cardinals, appearing at halfback, fullback, in the defensive backfield, and as a record-breaking kick returner. He gained 3331 yards rushing on 761 carries for a 4.4-yard average and 24 touchdowns – his highest season total was 924 yards in 1956. He also caught 130 passes for 2150 yards (16.5 yards per catch) and another 16 TDs. Matson returned 86 kickoffs for a 28.5-yard average and record six touchdowns, leading the league with a 35.5 average in ’58. Returning punts, he averaged 10.9 yards on 48 returns with three more TDs. Adding in 51 yards on three interception returns, he had accumulated 8459 all-purpose yards, twice leading the NFL in that category. Honors included selection to the Pro Bowl after all six seasons and consensus first team All-Pro honors after four of them.

For all of Matson’s heroics, the Cardinals had not done well on the field. From 1952 through ’58 (and excluding 1953, when Matson missed the season due to military service), the team went a combined 22-48-2 with just one winning record (7-5 in ’56). The opportunity to deal their star for a big package of players was not one to disregard.

The Rams gave up OT Ken Panfil, DT Frank Fuller, DE Glenn Holtzman, DT Art Hauser plus 1959 draftees RB Don Brown, RB Larry Hickman, and end John Tracey along with two picks in the 1960 draft (second and fourth rounds). The deal, swung by GM Pete Rozelle (the future NFL commissioner), proved to be disastrous for the Rams, but didn’t lift the Cardinals into contention either.


The trade was certainly considered a good one for the Cardinals at the time. The key players sent to Chicago were Fuller and Panfil. Fuller (pictured at left), a four-year defensive tackle in LA, went to the Pro Bowl in 1959 and remained with the Cardinals until the end of his career in 1963, proving to be the best of the acquisitions. Panfil had been with the Rams for three seasons and started at right tackle – he also went to the Pro Bowl with the Cardinals in ’59 but played only one more full year before suffering a cracked kneecap in a 1961 preseason game that effectively ended his career as he appeared in just four contests in ‘61 and ’62. Glenn Holtzman had been a starter on the Rams defensive line, but never played in another regular season game. Art Hauser was another four-year veteran with the Rams who had missed the 1958 season and appeared in just two games with Chicago before being sent to the Giants.

Of the rookies in the deal, Larry Hickman lasted one season and gained 18 yards rushing on five carries and caught one pass. John Tracey did little as a tight end with the Cardinals before being moved to linebacker in his second season – he ended up starring at that position, but with the AFL’s Buffalo Bills. Don Brown didn’t play for the Cardinals due to injury.

The choices in the 1960 draft were used to take G Mike McGee out of Duke, who played three seasons with the Cardinals, and Marquette end Silas Woods, who didn’t make the club.

Overall, the team’s record was a disappointing 2-10 in 1959, the franchise’s last year in Chicago before relocating to St. Louis in ’60. With the move came greater competitiveness on the field as the Cardinals went 6-5-1 in 1960 and 7-7 in ’61. However, they would not become contenders until after the impact of the Matson deal had largely passed.

Matson played well for the Rams, gaining 863 yards to finish third in rushing in 1959. But the team that had contended with an 8-4 record in ’58 dropped to 2-10 and a last place finish. They would remain a losing team until the arrival of George Allen as head coach in 1966. Matson became a target of controversy as the club lost games and the deal that had brought him to Los Angeles was viewed as the chief reason for the downfall. It didn’t help that, particularly after Bob Waterfield replaced Sid Gillman as head coach in 1960, his production dropped off significantly.

Waterfield moved Matson to safety late in the 1960 season, but he was moved back to offense in ‘61 and used as a slot back and blocking fullback. While he caught 29 passes for 537 yards, he ran the ball only 24 times for 181 yards. The situation worsened in 1962 as Matson, typically quiet and classy, complained about the way he was being used and ended up being benched for much of the season.

Matson’s numbers in the three seasons following his solid 1959 showing were 88 rushes for 351 yards (4.0 average) with three touchdowns, 47 catches for 684 yards (14.6 average) and four scores, a 4.1-yard average on 15 punt returns and 23.2 average on 25 kickoff returns. They were hardly the statistics anticipated when Matson was dealt for at such a huge price, but he couldn’t be blamed for multiple errors by the front office (the Matson trade wasn't the only questionable move made by the Rams in the late 50s) and misuse by his coaches.

Matson was dealt to Detroit and played sparingly in 1963, but resurrected his career with the Philadelphia Eagles at age 34 in ’64, where he proved to be a valuable backup at halfback for the final three seasons of his Hall of Fame career.