The Washington Redskins season was the franchise's 21st season in the National Football League (NFL) and their 15th in Washington, D.C. the team failed to improve on their 5âÂÂ7 record from 1951 and finished 4âÂÂ8.
Although the NFL formally desegregated in 1946, many teams were slow to allow black athletes to compete even after the formal barrier had fallen. None were less willing to desegregate than the Washington Redskins, who sought to be the "home team" for a vast Southern market. The Redskins would remain the last bastion of racial segregation in the NFL, refusing to include a single black player on their roster until 1962.