1965 St. Louis Cardinals (NFL) season

1965 St. Louis Cardinals season
Head coach	Wally Lemm
Home field	Busch Stadium
Results
Record	5–9
Division place	6th NFL Eastern
Playoff finish	did not qualify

The 1965 St. Louis Cardinals season was the team's 46th year in the National Football League (NFL) and their sixth season in St. Louis. After losing the season opener in Philadelphia, the Cardinals reeled off four consecutive wins to move into a tie with the Cleveland Browns at 4–1 after five weeks. However, the Cardinals lost their finals six games to finish in sixth place at 5–9, ahead of only the 2–12 Pittsburgh Steelers in the NFL Eastern Conference.

It was the final season at Busch Stadium, formerly known as Sportsman's Park. Head coach Wally Lemm resigned after the 1965 season and returned to his previous position with the Houston Oilers of the AFL. The Cardinals moved to the new Busch Memorial Stadium for the 1966 season.

Offseason

NFL Draft

In November 1964, the Cardinals selected quarterback Joe Namath of Alabama in the first round of the 1965 NFL Draft, but he signed a record contract with the New York Jets of the American Football League.^[1] It was the height of the bidding war between the leagues, which subsided with the merger announcement in June 1966.

Regular season

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Attendance
1	September 19, 1965	at Philadelphia Eagles	L 34–27	54,260
2	September 26, 1965	at Cleveland Browns	W 49–13	80,161
3	October 4, 1965	Dallas Cowboys	W 20–13	32,034
4	October 10, 1965	at Washington Redskins	W 37–16	50,205
5	October 17, 1965	at Pittsburgh Steelers	W 20–7	31,085
6	October 24, 1965	Washington Redskins	L 24–20	32,228
7	October 31, 1965	at New York Giants	L 14–10	62,807
8	November 7, 1965	Pittsburgh Steelers	W 21–17	31,899
9	November 14, 1965	at Chicago Bears	L 34–13	45,663
10	November 21, 1965	New York Giants	L 28–15	31,704
11	November 28, 1965	Philadelphia Eagles	L 28–24	28,706
12	December 5, 1965	Los Angeles Rams	L 27–3	27,943
13	December 11, 1965	at Dallas Cowboys	L 27–13	38,499
14	December 19, 1965	Cleveland Browns	L 27–24	29,348

Standings

NFL Eastern Conference
	W	L	T	PCT	CONF	PF	PA	STK
Cleveland Browns	11	3	0	.786	11–1	363	325	W1
Dallas Cowboys	7	7	0	.500	6–6	325	280	W3
New York Giants	7	7	0	.500	7–5	270	338	L1
Washington Redskins	6	8	0	.429	6–6	257	301	W1
Philadelphia Eagles	5	9	0	.357	5–7	363	359	L1
St. Louis Cardinals	5	9	0	.357	5–7	296	309	L6
Pittsburgh Steelers	2	12	0	.143	2–10	202	397	L7

Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings until 1972.

References

1. Smits, Ted (June 19, 1966). "Namath's a pro, but pins dubious". Eugene Register-Guard. p. 2B.

External links

• 1965 St. Louis Cardinals at Pro-Football-Reference.com