The Longest Losing Streak in NFL History

When Football Was Football

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EPISODE SUMMARY

When Jacksonville recently dropped its 19th straight game, it marked just the fifth time in history that a club experienced that regrettable distinction. In fact, since the Super Bowl began in 1967, it was only the third time that an NFL organization suffered that many consecutive setbacks. Jacksonville equaled the Detroit Lions mark of 19 losses in a row from 2007-2009, but both teams still fell short of the woeful Tampa Bay Buccaneers. During the 1976-1977 seasons, the Bucs lost 26 straight games, the second-worst such streak in NFL history.

But today, we’ll look back at the longest losing mark in NFL history from a team that was on the short end of the score 29 straight times. 29 straight losses? Is that possible in today’s age of parity? It’s possible, but the team holding this dismal record found every conceivable way to lose 29 ball games. It managed to keep the streak alive due to player disappearances, bad luck, poor play, and even a punter knocking himself out on one of his kicks. It is a streak of hopelessness and humor, ugly play and valiant efforts, but it is still, unfortunately, the worst ever. For nearly three full years, this team never saw daylight. So, in this episode of “When Football Was Football” we’ll take a closer look at the Chicago Cardinals from 1942 through 1945, the holders of the record that every coach wants to avoid in his career, although some have strayed very close to doing so!

Read the entire episode blog post and check out some other cool info regarding this episode here.

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WHEN FOOTBALL WAS FOOTBALL BACKGROUND

Each episode takes the listener back to the very early days of the National Football League. Author Joe Ziemba will share a forgotten or lost story from one of the NFL’s two oldest teams: The Bears and the Cardinals. Team championships, individual exploits, or long-buried items of interest from the earliest years of the NFL will be dusted off and resurrected for the listener. Not for the football faint-of-heart since these programs will document when the struggling Bears nearly went out of business or when Cardinals’ players earned $15 a game and were proud of it! It’s NFL history—with a twist!. See Joe's books below.

Cadets, Canons, and Legends: The Football History of Morgan Park Military Academy

When Football Was Football: The Chicago Cardinals and the Birth of the NFL

Music for the episode - https://www.purple-planet.com/