| Team: | Washington Redskins |
| Year: | 1959 |
| Record: | 3–9 |
| Division Place: | 5th NFL Eastern |
| Owner: | George Preston Marshall |
| General Manager: | Dick McCann |
| Coach: | Mike Nixon |
| Stadium: | Griffith Stadium |
| Playoffs: | Did not qualify |
| Shortnavlink: | Redskins seasons |
The Washington Redskins season was the franchise's 28th season in the National Football League (NFL). The team failed to improve on their 4–7–1 record from 1958 and finished 3–9.
The Redskins continued their ongoing strategy of establishing themselves as dominant NFL franchise for the Southern United States, licensing television broadcast of their games to a network of 40 stations spread across Virginia, the Carolinas, Tennessee, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, and Florida.[1]
The team also continued their "Days for Dixie" halftime shows, which highlighted two Southern states each year, marking "Georgia Day" on October 18 and "North Carolina Day" on December 6. Each of these dates featured a guest marching band from the featured state which provided halftime entertainment.
Related to this regional marketing appeal, the Redskins remained the last bastion of racial segregation in the NFL in 1959, with the team standing alone in not including a black player on its roster from 1955 until 1962.[2]
See main article: article and 1959 NFL Draft.
| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance | Recap | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | September 27 | at Chicago Cardinals | L 21–49 | 0–1 | Soldier Field | 21,892 | Recap | |
| 2 | October 4 | at Pittsburgh Steelers | W 23–17 | 1–1 | Forbes Field | 26,570 | Recap | |
| 3 | October 11 | Chicago Cardinals | W 23–14 | 2–1 | Griffith Stadium | 25,937 | Recap | |
| 4 | October 18 | Pittsburgh Steelers | L 6–27 | 2–2 | Griffith Stadium | 28,218 | Recap | |
| 5 | October 25 | at Cleveland Browns | L 7–34 | 2–3 | Cleveland Municipal Stadium | 42,732 | Recap | |
| 6 | November 1 | at Philadelphia Eagles | L 23–30 | 2–4 | Franklin Field | 39,854 | Recap | |
| 7 | November 8 | Baltimore Colts | W 27–24 | 3–4 | Griffith Stadium | 32,773 | Recap | |
| 8 | November 15 | Cleveland Browns | L 17–31 | 3–5 | Griffith Stadium | 32,266 | Recap | |
| 9 | November 22 | at Green Bay Packers | L 0–21 | 3–6 | New City Stadium | 31,853 | Recap | |
| 10 | November 29 | at New York Giants | L 14–45 | 3–7 | Yankee Stadium | 60,982 | Recap | |
| 11 | December 6 | Philadelphia Eagles | L 14–34 | 3–8 | Griffith Stadium | 24,325 | Recap | |
| 12 | December 13 | New York Giants | L 10–24 | 3–9 | Griffith Stadium | 26,198 | Recap | |
| Note: Intra-conference opponents are in bold text. | ||||||||
| Player | Comp | Att | Pct | Yds | TD | Int | Rate |
| 77 | 173 | 44.5% | 1,077 | 8 | 11 | 61.4 | |
| Player | Attempts | Yards | Average | Long | Touchdowns |
| 119 | 644 | 5.4 | 41 | 3 | |
| Player | Number | Yards | Average | Long | Touchdowns |
| 35 | 734 | 66.7 | 70 | 6 | |
| 21 | 317 | 35.2 | 41 | 3 | |