Draft

The 1959 NFL Draft was held on December 1, 1958, and January 21, 1959 at Philadelphia's Warwick Hotel. Thirty rounds of selections were conducted, with a total of 360 players selected by the 12 teams of the league.

With the first pick, the Green Bay Packers selected quarterback Randy Duncan from the University of Iowa.

Significant events

Tragedy struck on October 11 as NFL Commissioner Bert Bell suffered a fatal heart attack at Philadelphia's Franklin Field while watching the Philadelphia Eagles and the Pittsburgh Steelers. He died at age 65 at the nearby university hospital.^[1] League Treasurer Austin Gunsel was named interim commissioner for the rest of the season.^[2]

The Chicago Cardinals played their final season in Chicago before relocating to St. Louis for the following season.

In the NFL Championship Game on December 27, the Baltimore Colts defeated the New York Giants for the second year in a row.^[3][4]

Statistical leaders

For the third consecutive season, running back Jim Brown of the Cleveland Browns lead the NFL in rushing, gaining a total of 1329 yards on 290 touches, an average of 4.6 yards per carry.^[5] Brown's 14 touchdowns scored tied for the league high with wide receiver Raymond Berry of the Colts.^[5]

Leading the NFL with 3,899 yards passing was Colts quarterback John Unitas, who also lead all quarterbacks with 32 passing touchdowns against 14 interceptions.^[5] Unitas also led the league in both attempts and completions, going 193 for 367 (52.6%) for the year.^[5] The best completion percentage in the league (58.64%) was posted by Milt Plum of the Browns, who narrowly edged out Bill Wade of the Los Angeles Rams (58.62%).^[5]

Topping the league in receiving was Raymond Berry of the Colts, who hauled down 66 passes for 959 yards, an average of 14.5 yards per reception.^[5] Berry's closest competitor was 6'3" end Del Shofner of the Rams, who posted 936 yards gained on 47 receptions, for an average of 19.9 yards per catch.^[5]

The leading punter for 1959 was Yale Lary of the Detroit Lions, with an average of 47.1 yards on his 45 punts, according to official statistics.^[5]

Defensive statistics like sacks and tackles were not recorded during this era of professional football, with interceptions the sole metric recorded. Three players tied with 7 interceptions during the 12 game season — Dean Derby of the Steelers and a pair of Colts, defensive halfback (cornerback) Milt Davis and linebacker Don Shinnick.^[5]

The top defense of the 1959 season was that of the New York Giants, who allowed just 170 points for the year (14.2 points per game). The top offense belonged to the Baltimore Colts, who racked up 374 total points (31.2 points per game) during the regular season.

Conference races

The NFL had six teams in each conference; each played a home-and-away game against the other five conference teams, and two games outside the conference. The Bears and Cardinals, and the Redskins and Colts, faced each other in an interconference game each year, as they were close geographic rivals.

After the second week, when the 1–1–0 Giants had to share the Eastern Conference lead with all five of the other clubs, the Giants won seven of the next eight games to clinch the title in Week Ten. In the Western Conference, the San Francisco 49ers, who had come close (1952, 1953, 1954, and 1957) several times since joining the NFL, were 6–1 and had a two-game lead over their closest rival, the 4–3 Colts. In Week Nine, though, the 49ers lost in Baltimore, 45–14 (November 22) and they shared the lead at 6–3–0. Two weeks later, San Francisco had the home field advantage when they faced the Colts for a rematch. Baltimore won again, 34–14, and clinched the title the following week.