August 2, 2026
August 2, 2026
1947 Chicago Cardinals: Million Dollar Dream
The Cardinals football franchise has a long story to tell, though its history in St. Louis and Arizona has been anything but rosy. The original location of the Cardinals, Chicago, Illinois, saw the most success this franchise has ever experienced. The beginning of the Cardinals franchise was actually quite pleasant, serving as a legitimate cross-town rival to the Chicago Bears. The Chicago Cardinals called Comiskey Park their home field.
In 1947 the Chicago Cardinals went 9-3, winning the NFL West division by just one game over the Chicago Bears. The Cardinals handled the division with ease, going 7-1 in divisional play.
The key to the Cardinals’ success was the aggressive spending of owner Charles Bidwell, which amounted to $1 million. Bidwell hired Jimmy Conzelman as head coach shortly after World War II concluded, and Conzelman implemented the aggressive, run-heavy T formation.
In 1947 the Cardinals found themselves in a bidding war for left halfback Charlie Trippi, competing against another cross-town rival, the Chicago Rockets of the All-America Football Conference. Bidwell ultimately signed Trippi to a $100,000 contract, and Trippi rewarded the Cardinals greatly, recording 83 rushing attempts for 401 yards and 2 touchdowns while adding 23 receptions for 240 yards. At the time, the signing of Trippi was considered “an unprecedented amount of money” by the standards of NFL contracts in the 1940s.
The Cardinals needed a quarterback to manage this run-heavy offense, and they relied on Paul Christman to lead the charge. Recording a 45.8 completion percentage, Christman completed 138 of 301 pass attempts for 2,191 yards and 17 touchdowns, while also throwing 22 interceptions. Fullback and kicker Pat Harder made up the core of the team, carrying 113 times for 371 yards on offense. On special teams, Harder made 7 of 10 field goals and 39 of 40 extra point attempts, becoming the NFL’s scoring leader with 102 points and setting an NFL record for the most field goals in a game with 7.
Right halfback Elmer Angsman had 110 rushing attempts for 412 yards and 7 touchdowns while also catching 5 passes for 138 yards and 1 touchdown. According to Charles Bidwell, the combination of Christman, Harder, Trippi, and Angsman was known as his “Dream Backfield,” but football fans and reporters knew them better as the “Million Dollar Backfield,” supposedly the best backfield that money could buy.
There were other contributors to the running game who weren’t part of the Million Dollar Backfield. Halfback Boris “Babe” Dimancheff had 30 rushing attempts for 116 yards while also adding 22 receptions for 438 yards and 1 touchdown. Running back William John “Billy” deCorrevont had 29 rushing attempts for 149 yards and 1 touchdown.
Right end Mal Kutner was a firm receiving presence for the Cardinals when they opted not to run, catching 43 passes for 944 yards and 7 touchdowns. Left end Billy Dewell had 42 receptions for 576 yards and 4 touchdowns.
Charlie Trippi was a great weapon on special teams as well, recording 8 punt returns for 141 yards and 15 kick returns for 321 yards. Billy deCorrevont had 7 kick returns for 102 yards. Cornerback John Thurman “Red” Cochran had 10 punt returns for 147 yards, and Babe Dimancheff had 10 kick returns for 180 yards.
On defense, Cochran had 8 interceptions for 122 yards and 4 fumble recoveries. Right guard Garrard “Buster” Ramsey had 4 interceptions and 1 fumble recovery. Kutner had 3 interceptions for 56 yards and 1 touchdown along with 1 fumble recovery. Center Vince Banonis had 3 interceptions for 55 yards and 2 fumble recoveries for 83 yards and 1 touchdown. Center Bill Blackburn had 3 interceptions and 1 fumble recovery. Trippi had 1 interception for 59 yards and 1 touchdown. Also recording 1 interception on defense were deCorrevont, end and defensive back Jeff Burkett, right tackle Stan Mauldin, guard and linebacker Hamilton Nichols, and halfback and defensive back Charles Smith.
The Cardinals started the regular season 3-0, beginning with a 45-21 victory over the Detroit Lions in Week 2 on September 28, and continuing with a 14-10 win over the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field in Week 4 on October 12. The Cardinals then went on a 4-game winning streak that began with a 27-7 win over the Boston Yanks in Week 6 on October 26, and ended with a tight 21-20 win over the Green Bay Packers in Week 9 on November 16.
The 1947 NFL Championship Game was held on December 28 at Comiskey Park, and the Chicago Cardinals faced the Philadelphia Eagles, a team that would go on to play very good football through the rest of the 1940s. In this game, Eagles quarterback Tommy Thompson did all he could to keep Philadelphia competitive, completing 27 of 44 passes for 297 yards and 1 touchdown while throwing 3 interceptions. The Million Dollar Backfield showed up in a big way, as Elmer Angsman carried 10 times for 159 yards and 2 touchdowns, and Charlie Trippi ran 11 times for 84 yards and 1 touchdown.
In the 1st quarter, Trippi broke off a 44-yard touchdown run, and in the 2nd quarter Angsman ripped off a 70-yard touchdown run. Philadelphia defensive back and halfback Pat McHugh answered with a 53-yard touchdown reception. In the 3rd quarter, Trippi added a 75-yard punt return for a touchdown, and Hall of Fame halfback Steve Van Buren punched in a 1-yard touchdown run for Philadelphia. In the 4th quarter, Angsman broke off another 70-yard touchdown run, and the Eagles responded with a 1-yard touchdown run by defensive back and halfback Russ Craft. Still, the Eagles never managed to close the gap to less than a touchdown.
Winning the 15th annual NFL Championship Game by a score of 28-21, the 1947 Chicago Cardinals’ title has remained the last championship victory in franchise history. The Cardinals could never replicate this success in St. Louis, and they came close again only after a 9-7 2008 season, before falling in Super Bowl XLIII.
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