Lions are NFL Champions!

Sounds like an April Fool’s joke, doesn’t it? This year will mark the 68th season in which that will not be a newspaper headline. But, fans, once upon a time in Lions La-La Land, that was a true statement! Let’s reminisce together about a time long, long ago.

Many of you were not even a twinkle in your dad’s eye the last time the Lions were champs. Heck, your dad probably wasn’t even a twinkle in his dad’s eye yet. It was 1957. I had just turned 10 years old. Eisenhower was President. Soapy Williams was Governor. Elvis was king. The Russians put the first satellite in orbit, the Interstate Highway system was begun, and the Milwaukee Braves beat the New York Yankees to win the World Series.

The Detroit Lions began as the Portsmouth (OH) Spartans. The team moved to Detroit in 1934 and won the league championship in ’35. The city of Detroit was dubbed the “City of Champions” as the Tigers won the World Series and Red Wings won the Stanley Cup that season as well.

There were twelve NFL teams in 1957, six each in the Western and Eastern conferences. The Lions were in the Western. They played six pre-season games and twelve regular season games. Their home was Briggs (later Tiger) Stadium which they shared with the MLB Tigers.

The team colors were “Honolulu” blue (said to be the color of the ocean off the Hawaiian coast) and silver. The helmets were plain silver. The leaping lion logo was added in 1961.

The average salary for players was about $6,000 with stars getting as much as $15,000. For winning the title in ’57 each player received a bonus of $4,295. Many of the guys had to have second jobs in the off season to make ends meet.

The early fifties were the high point in franchise history. They played in four championship games, losing in 1954 but winning in 1952, ’53 and ’57. All against the Cleveland Browns.

There were 38 players listed on the roster, seven of whom would be enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame (Bobby Layne, Jack Christiansen, Joe Schmidt, Yale Lary, Frank Gatski, John Henry Johnson, Lou Creekmur) and two were Heisman Trophy winners (Leon Hart, Howard “Hopalong” Cassady).

As of this writing, only two survive; Jerry Reichow and Bob Long. Both are 91 years old.

Head Coach, Raymond “Buddy” Parker, who led the Lions to two NFL titles (’52, ‘53), resigned just before the 1957 season started, going to the Pittsburgh Steelers. George Wilson was named to replace him.

Bobby Layne was the quarterback. Ol’ Number 22, who never wore a face mask, was one of my boyhood heroes. Unfortunately, Layne broke his leg during the 11th game of the season. His replacement, Tobin Rote, finished the season and led the Lions to victory in the championship game.

At 8-4, they tied the 49ers for the Western Division and beat them in a playoff. In the championship game in Detroit on December 29, the Lions pummeled the Cleveland Browns 59-14.

After the season, Layne was traded to Pittsburgh and is said to have predicted that the Lions would not win another title for 50 years. They called it the “Curse of Bobby Layne.” He was right. But the curse should have ended 18 years ago!

This will be the 60th Super Bowl, first played in January 1967. The Lions have never played in one and two of them were played in their home stadium!

Let me paraphrase a part of a famous sports poem that seems appropriate.

“Oh, somewhere in this favored land the sun is shining bright;
the band is playing somewhere, and somewhere hearts are light,
and somewhere men are laughing, and somewhere children shout;
but there is no joy in Lions Land—the mighty Lions have struck out.”

Again.

Contact Rick at tct@pageone-inc.com