1963: Lions Beat Steelers in Playoff Bowl as Layne Plays for Last Time

The Detroit Lions were appearing in the Playoff Bowl for the third straight year on January 6, 1963. While it was a meaningless postseason exhibition game, it still attested to the fact that they had placed second in the NFL’s Western Conference from 1960-62. Detroit did so again in ’62 with an 11-3 record, third best in the NFL.

Representing the Eastern Conference were the Pittsburgh Steelers, who had gone 9-5 in their sixth season under Head Coach Buddy Parker – the same coach who had led the Lions to back-to-back NFL titles in 1952 and ’53. The Steelers had won six of their last seven games and were largely a veteran club. QB Bobby Layne was nearing the end of his Hall of Fame career, and it was 34-year-old Ed Brown, formerly of the Bears, who would be starting against the Lions. Ninth-year FB John Henry Johnson had the finest season of his distinguished career, rushing for 1141 yards. Split end Buddy Dial was a potent deep threat, while TE Preston Carpenter was chosen for the Pro Bowl. Savvy veterans, center Buzz Nutter and DT Gene “Big Daddy” Lipscomb, were also picked for the Pro Bowl, and other key contributors over 30 were DT/DE Ernie Stautner and LB George Tarasovic. Lou Michaels, a placekicker as well as defensive end, set a new NFL record with 26 field goals.

Detroit had demolished the Steelers during the regular season by a 45-7 margin, but that was at the beginning of the year and before they began to reel off wins. Coached by Parker’s successor, George Wilson, the Lions were renowned for their defense that included tackles Roger Brown and Alex Karras, MLB Joe Schmidt, and the league’s best secondary with cornerbacks Dick “Night Train” Lane and Dick LeBeau and safeties Yale Lary and Gary Lowe. The offense continued to be a problem, and the acquisition of QB Milt Plum (pictured above) from Cleveland during the previous offseason, although an improvement, did not fully resolve the issue.

There were 36,284 fans for the nationally-telecast game at Miami’s Orange Bowl, the game’s best attendance to date (and exceeding the 35,000 threshold that NFL Commissioner Pete Rozelle stated was necessary for Miami to continue hosting the event). The Steelers were also debuting a new (and now familiar) black helmet design, having worn gold helmets previously.

The Detroit offense looked good in the first quarter, twice driving into field goal range. The first possession included passes by Plum of 20 yards to split end Gail Cogdill and 14 to flanker Pat Studstill. However, Wayne Walker missed a 29-yard field goal attempt. The second drive began just before the end of the scoreless opening period as FB Ken Webb ran for 32 yards (the longest carry of the day) to just past midfield. Plum passed the team down to the 18, and this time Walker was successful on a field goal attempt from 27 yards.

The Steelers couldn’t get beyond their 40 yard line until midway through the second quarter when they put together an 11-play drive for a touchdown. A pass interference call on a third-and-16 play got the drive moving, and a 19-yard pass from Ed Brown to Carpenter gained 19 yards, followed by a 26-yard throw to Dial for another 26 down to the Detroit 19. HB Dick Hoak scored on a six-yard run and the Steelers led by 7-3.

The Lions again drove into Pittsburgh territory, but LB Tom Bettis intercepted a pass by Plum at the goal line. However, Detroit LB Carl Brettschneider returned the favor by intercepting a Brown pass and returning it 32 yards to the Pittsburgh 34; the Lions capitalized with a 20-yard TD pass from Plum to Webb in the last minute of the half. It was 10-7 in favor of Detroit at the intermission.

In the third quarter, Pittsburgh’s Michaels tied the score at 10-10 with a 40-yard field goal. Following an interception of Plum by safety Clendon Thomas, Michaels tried another field goal but missed from 38 yards.

The Lions came back as Plum connected with HB Dan Lewis on a 74-yard pass play to the Pittsburgh five. Webb scored his second TD shortly thereafter on a two-yard run, and Detroit was ahead to stay.

In the fourth quarter, Pittsburgh DB Glenn Glass intercepted a pass and returned it 28 yards to the Detroit 35. However, blitzes by the Lions defense resulted in sacks that pushed the ball back to the 47 and the Steelers came up empty.

Brown was replaced at quarterback for Pittsburgh midway through the fourth quarter by Layne, appearing in the last game of his illustrious career, and ironically against the team that he had quarterbacked so successfully from 1950 through the second game of the ’58 season. Having just turned 36, the old pro might have been broken down physically, but still had competitive fire and provided some excitement as he sought to bring the Steelers from behind. He completed three passes to get Pittsburgh to the Detroit 21 yard line. However, two long throws by Layne fell incomplete as the Lions defense held. A field goal attempt by Michaels was blocked.

Detroit tried to extend its lead on the following possession, but a 32-yard field goal attempt by Walker was partially blocked and fell short, setting the stage for one last try by Layne and the Steelers. A final drive to midfield ended when Layne was intercepted by Yale Lary, essentially finishing the contest. Detroit won by a score of 17-10.

For an exhibition game, there was plenty of hard hitting and several players went down with injuries. John Henry Johnson suffered an apparent concussion, and Pittsburgh DB Willie Daniel broke his jaw while OT Dan James injured his leg. Detroit’s Ken Webb was knocked out when hit by Lipscomb.

The Lions won, despite giving up three interceptions and missing two of three field goal attempts. However, they registered six sacks in all and intercepted two passes while also blocking a field goal attempt.


Milt Plum was selected as the game’s MVP as he completed 16 of 29 throws for 274 yards and a TD (the yardage total ended up being the highest in the 10-game history of the Playoff Bowl). Dan Lewis (pictured at left) had 115 receiving yards while Ken Webb gained 47 yards on the ground to lead the club.

For Pittsburgh, Ed Brown completed 5 of 12 passes for 82 yards while Bobby Layne (pictured below) was good on 4 of 8 throws for 69 yards. Dick Hoak was the leading rusher with 64 yards.

Bobby Layne’s next stop was the Pro Football Hall of Fame five years later. Tragically, “Big Daddy” Lipscomb, who appeared in the Pro Bowl the following week, died from a drug overdose in May.

With the win over the Steelers, the Lions were victors in all three of their Playoff Bowl games. They would not appear in the contest again (the last was played following the 1969 season), but the three wins were the most by any team.

1962: Lions Hand Packers Only Defeat of Season in “Thanksgiving Day Massacre”

After ten weeks of the 1962 NFL season, the Green Bay Packers were undefeated at 10-0 and apparently cruising toward a second consecutive league title. The Detroit Lions were 8-2 with four games left to play and had lost a hard-fought 9-7 game at Green Bay in Week 4. The clubs were scheduled to meet at Tiger Stadium on Thanksgiving Day, November 22, and the Lions were determined to exact their revenge.

Head Coach Vince Lombardi’s Packers were the highest-scoring team in the league, as well as the best all-around. The offensive line, which contained two future Hall of Famers in center Jim Ringo and tackle Forrest Gregg and an outstanding tandem of guards in All-Pro Jerry Kramer and Fred “Fuzzy” Thurston, allowed the team to roll up yardage on the ground. FB Jim Taylor already had 1121 yards rushing. QB Bart Starr could pass effectively (he came into the game ranked second in the NFL) and had outstanding receivers in flanker Boyd Dowler, split end Max McGee, and TE Ron Kramer (also an outstanding blocker).

Detroit, coached by George Wilson, had long been established as a premier defensive club. Tackles Alex Karras and Roger Brown, MLB Joe Schmidt, CB Dick “Night Train” Lane, and safety Yale Lary were all among the best at their positions (Lary was also an outstanding punter). The Packers had been fortunate to beat them in the first meeting, and therein lay the seeds of discontent among Detroit’s offensive and defensive units.

Pro Bowl QB Milt Plum had been obtained by the Lions from the Browns in the previous offseason, and there was speculation that the upgrade at quarterback might boost Detroit past the Packers in the Western Conference. However, the offense continued to lag, and it was an interception thrown by Plum that had set up Green Bay’s winning field goal in the first meeting.

It didn’t take long for the attacking Detroit defense to stop the Packers in their tracks. Before an enthusiastic sellout home crowd of 57,598, they dumped Starr for a 15-yard loss the first time he dropped back to pass on Green Bay’s third play. Later in the first quarter, Dowler shanked a punt that traveled only 15 yards and gave the Lions the ball on the Green Bay 41. On a third-and-two play, Plum froze the defense by faking a handoff to FB Nick Pietrosante and then fired a pass to split end Gail Cogdill who ran past two defenders for a 33-yard touchdown.

Detroit put the Packers away in the second quarter. Green Bay HB Tom Moore, substituting for the injured Paul Hornung, fumbled and LB Carl Brettschneider recovered at his own 47 yard line. Shortly thereafter, Plum hit Cogdill again for a 27-yard TD and 14-0 lead.


On Green Bay’s next possession, Roger Brown (pictured at left) hit Starr while setting up to pass and forced a fumble that DE Sam Williams picked up and ran into the end zone for a six-yard touchdown. When the Packers got the ball back, again pinned deep in their own territory, Starr faded back into his end zone and was sacked for a safety by Brown, who had run over both Thurston and Taylor in his pursuit of the quarterback. The Lions had scored 16 points in under three minutes of action.

Green Bay got a break late in the second quarter when McGee was roughed while punting from his end zone and the offense put together a sustained drive of 56 yards that included five completed passes by Starr. But Jerry Kramer’s field goal attempt missed after being partially blocked and the Lions carried the 23-0 lead into halftime.

Detroit didn’t let up in the third quarter, as Lane intercepted Starr’s first pass of the second half to set up a 47-yard field goal by Plum. That was the end of the scoring for the Lions. The Packers managed two late touchdowns in the fourth quarter – one by the defense – and the final score was 26-14.

Detroit’s domination of the game that came to be referred to as “The Thanksgiving Day Massacre” was more complete than the score indicated. While both teams turned the ball over five times, the Lions outgained the Packers, 304 yards to 122. The usually unstoppable Green Bay running attack was held to just 73 yards on 27 attempts. Bart Starr was sacked 10 times for a net loss of 93 yards, giving Green Bay just 49 net passing yards (Plum was not sacked at all).

While the defense dominated, Detroit’s offense played just well enough. Milt Plum completed 8 of 16 passes for 137 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions. FB Ken Webb, who took over for the injured Nick Pietrosante, gained 62 yards on 11 carries while HB Tom Watkins ran the ball 17 times for 55 yards. Gail Cogdill (pictured below) caught three passes for 79 yards and the two big TDs.


As for the Packers, when Bart Starr was able to throw, he completed 11 of 19 for 142 yards with no TDs and two interceptions. Jim Taylor gained just 47 yards on 13 carries with a touchdown – most of it came later in the game, as he was held to -3 yards in the first half. Ron Kramer caught four passes for 62 yards, and Boyd Dowler also had four receptions, for 41 yards.

“It's a known fact that the Detroit defense is good,” summed up Vince Lombardi. “They
completely overpowered us in the first half…My club wasn't flat. We were ready. They just overwhelmed us.”

Green Bay didn’t lose another game (they came back the next week to thrash the hapless Rams by a score of 41-10) and finished the season at 13-1 atop the Western Conference. They defeated the Giants once again to repeat as NFL champions. The Lions lost the season finale to end up at 11-3 and in second place; their reward was a trip to Miami for the meaningless Playoff Bowl for the third straight year.

The Detroit defense was ranked number one overall in the NFL, giving up a total of 3217 yards (30 yards less than the Packers), and were also best against the run (1231 yards). The 177 points allowed was second best to Green Bay’s 148. Roger Brown, Joe Schmidt, “Night Train” Lane, and Yale Lary were all consensus first team All-Pro selections and were selected to the Pro Bowl along with Alex Karras.

1962: Sonny Randle Catches 16 Passes for 256 Yards vs. Giants

Split end Ulmo “Sonny” Randle came to the Chicago Cardinals out of the University of Virginia in 1959, and after spending a year learning his craft, broke out with an All-Pro season in ’60 (the franchise’s first year in St. Louis) in which 15 of his 62 receptions were good for touchdowns.

One of the fastest players in the NFL, his success was all the more impressive coming with a team that lacked an established quarterback. In an attempt to dramatically upgrade for 1961, the Cardinals signed 31-year-old Sam Etcheverry, an all-time great quarterback in the Canadian Football League, but he proved to be a sore-armed disappointment in the NFL. Randle’s numbers dropped to 44 catches and 9 TDs, but he was still chosen to the Pro Bowl.

St. Louis had a new head coach in 1962, Wally Lemm, and after a faltering start Etcheverry gave way to second-year QB Charley Johnson. The team was 2-4-1 and coming off of a win over the Cowboys as they took on the defending champions of the Eastern Conference, the New York Giants, at Yankee Stadium on November 4.

The Giants, under Head Coach Allie Sherman, were 5-2 and had just pulled off a big win over Washington in which QB Y.A. Tittle passed for 505 yards and seven touchdowns. They had already beaten the Cardinals convincingly in St. Louis (31-14), but that was with Etcheverry starting at quarterback and Johnson coming on in relief - they would find that Johnson was developing quickly.

New York took a 7-0 lead in the first quarter on a 39-yard pass play from Tittle to flanker Frank Gifford. But the Cardinals responded with two touchdowns in the second quarter, an eight-yard pass from Johnson to TE Taz Anderson and a four-yard run by HB John David Crow. In between, Don Chandler kicked a 33-yard field goal for the Giants. But the Cardinals defense played well, New York’s offense seemed flat after the big performance the previous week, and it was St. Louis ahead at halftime by a 14-10 score.

In addition, Coach Lemm had moved Randle from his usual split end position to flanker, where he was defended by CB Dick Lynch rather than Erich Barnes, and it was paying off.

The Cardinals defense continued to stymie the Giants in the scoreless third quarter. New York was able to gain only 29 yards on its possessions and Tittle missed on 12 consecutive passes before finding Gifford again for a 32-yard touchdown early in the fourth quarter. The Giants were back in front at 17-14, but the action began to heat up considerably.

St. Louis came right back, with Johnson throwing to Randle for a 55-yard touchdown and a 21-17 lead. New York fought back on the next drive, with a fake field goal being the key play. Facing a fourth down on the St. Louis 31, the Giants lined up for an apparent 38-yard field goal attempt by Chandler, but the holder, backup QB Ralph Guglielmi, instead fired a pass to DE Andy Robustelli, who was lined up as a receiver with the field goal unit, for a 26-yard gain to the five yard line. Two plays later, FB Alex Webster ran off tackle from three yards out for a TD and the Giants were back in front at 24-21.

The St. Louis offense wasn’t finished and drove 80 yards in 12 plays, four of which were passes to Randle. Johnson also ran for a 16-yard gain and capped the drive with a one-yard plunge. With 4:55 left on the clock, the Cardinals were back in the lead by 28-24.

The Giants struck quickly after the ensuing kickoff was returned 33 yards by HB Sam Horner. Tittle tossed a pass to HB Phil King that gained 37 yards to the St. Louis 20, and then followed up with a pass to Webster for the final 20 yards and a touchdown.

The Cardinals again battled back, but with under two minutes remaining Lynch, a talented player who had his hands full covering Randle, intercepted a pass by Johnson at the New York 27 to avoid the upset and nail down the 31-28 win.

In defeat, the big story was Sonny Randle’s performance as he caught 16 passes for 256 yards and a touchdown. It was the second-highest single-game pass receiving performance up to that time, and against one of the NFL’s most highly-regarded defenses.

The Cardinals rolled up an impressive 494 total yards and 29 first downs, to 266 yards and 15 first downs for New York. However, they also gave up five turnovers, to one by the Giants.


Charley Johnson (pictured at left) completed 26 of 41 passes for 365 yards with two touchdowns and three interceptions. John David Crow was the leading rusher for St. Louis, gaining 56 yards on 19 attempts, including a TD. FB Prentice Gautt added 44 yards on 12 carries.

In winning, Y.A. Tittle was successful on only 8 of 31 passes for 172 yards, but three were for touchdowns against one interception. Phil King had three catches for 62 yards while Frank Gifford scored on both of his pass receptions that totaled 71 yards. Alex Webster was New York’s top ground gainer with 50 yards on 16 attempts, including a TD, and caught one pass for the game-winning touchdown.

The Giants, having survived the scare, went undefeated the rest of the way through the regular season to finish at 12-2 and again win the Eastern Conference, although they lost to Green Bay in the NFL title game once more. St. Louis ended up at 4-9-1 and in sixth place in the conference, but the stage was set for significant improvement over the next two seasons.

Sonny Randle finished second in the league in both receptions (63 – one ahead of teammate Bobby Joe Conrad) and yards (1158). His seven TD catches tied for seventh, and his 18.4 yards per catch was his highest to date. Randle was selected to the Pro Bowl for the third straight year. He played eight years with the Cardinals, going to one more Pro Bowl following the 1965 season, then was with the 49ers in 1967 and the start of his last year in ’68. Randle moved on to Dallas, where he ended his career – his final totals were 365 receptions for 5996 yards (16.4 avg.) and 65 touchdowns.

Charley Johnson ranked second in the NFL in yards per completion (16.3) as he threw for 2440 yards with 16 touchdowns and 20 interceptions. His emergence, aided by an outstanding receiving corps and Etcheverry’s tutelage, would correspond with the club’s improvement.