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.

1952: Pat Harder Spurs Lions to Win Over Rams in Conference Playoff

The 1952 NFL season ended with both the Detroit Lions and Los Angeles Rams tied atop the National Conference with 9-3 records, necessitating a playoff game. The clubs met at Detroit’s Briggs Stadium on December 21 to determine who would represent the conference against the Cleveland Browns for the league championship.

The Rams were the defending league champions and had made it to the title game three consecutive years as either the Western Division champ (1949) or champion of the renamed National Conference (1950 and ’51). There had nevertheless been organizational turmoil early in the season as Joe Stydahar, the head coach since 1950, resigned after a bad loss in the opening game and assistant Hamp Pool (with whom Stydahar had been feuding) was elevated to the top job. After getting off to a sluggish 1-3 start, LA won eight straight games. The Rams still boasted the league’s most explosive offense that included quarterbacks Norm Van Brocklin and Bob Waterfield, receivers Tom Fears and Elroy “Crazylegs” Hirsch, and the NFL’s leading rusher, FB Dan Towler.


Detroit, meanwhile, was a team on the rise under second-year Head Coach Buddy Parker. The offense was led by QB Bobby Layne, who had been obtained in 1950 and proved to be an excellent fit with his passing and leadership abilities. Star all-purpose HB Doak Walker missed time due to injury, but HB Bob “Hunchy” Hoernschemeyer (pictured at left) ranked fifth in the NFL in rushing (457 yards). 30-year-old veteran FB Pat Harder (pictured at top) had been obtained from the Cardinals, with respectable results, although more due to his blocking than running. End Cloyce Box led the league in touchdowns with 15. The defense was especially tough, with a backfield that was perhaps the best in the NFL.

There were 47,645 fans present on a cold, foggy day in Detroit. The Lions scored on their first possession, following an uncharacteristically poor punt by Van Brocklin. The Rams were double-teaming Box, as well as Walker out of the backfield, so Layne threw passes down the middle to big (262-pound) end Leon Hart that gained, first, 22 yards and then 13. Harder capped the 52-yard drive with a 12-yard touchdown run and successfully kicked the extra point to make it 7-0.

There was no further scoring in the opening period, but, following a miss by Waterfield on a 34-yard field goal attempt in the second quarter, Detroit put together a six-play, 80-yard drive that ended with Harder running for a four-yard TD. The possession was highlighted by two passes to Walker, one from Layne for a 50-yard gain and the other an option pass by Hoernschemeyer that went for 24 yards and put the Lions in scoring position. The Rams finally got on the board near the end of the half when Van Brocklin tossed a 15-yard touchdown pass to Fears that capped a seven-play drive following an interception and made it 14-7.

Early in the third quarter, Van Brocklin threw a pass to end Bob Carey at the Detroit 40 that looked to be a big play in the making, but Carey fumbled and safety Yale Lary recovered for the Lions. Detroit made the most of the break as Walker threw a halfback option pass to Hart in the end zone for a 24-yard TD. Shortly thereafter, a 43-yard field goal by Harder (who had kicked all of the extra points as well) increased Detroit’s margin to 24-7.

The Rams fought back with an 80-yard drive deep into Lions territory, highlighted by a 47-yard run by HB Skeets Quinlan, but after getting a first down on the six yard line, four straight runs into the line by Towler were stopped and LA was forced to turn the ball over on downs at the Detroit one.

However, in the fourth quarter Los Angeles got a break when Layne went to the air deep in his own territory and was intercepted by middle guard Stan West, who returned it to the Detroit 20. Waterfield replaced Van Brocklin at quarterback and shortly thereafter Towler scored from five yards out to cut the Lions’ margin to 24-14. It was a three-point game when LA’s Verda “Vitamin T” Smith returned a punt 56 yards for another TD.

With the game coming down to the last minute, the Rams had the ball at their own 11 but a pass from Waterfield, intended for Hirsch, was instead intercepted by LB LaVern Torgeson at the LA 30. Hoernschemeyer scored a nine-yard clinching touchdown and the Lions won the game and division title by a score of 31-21.


Detroit outgained the Rams by 365 yards to 307 and had the edge in first downs with 18 to LA’s 15. While the Lions gave up more turnovers (four to three), the two fumbles and the last-minute interception were more costly to Los Angeles.

Pat Harder was the player of the game for Detroit as he ran for 72 yards on 8 carries, including two touchdowns, and caught a pass for six more yards. Adding up the two TDs, one field goal, and four extra points, he accounted for 19 points.

Doak Walker (pictured above right) ran for 29 yards on 7 attempts, caught two passes for 75 more yards, and threw a touchdown pass. Bob Hoernschemeyer gained 49 yards on 11 rushes, including a TD.

Bobby Layne (pictured below) completed 9 of 21 passes for 144 yards and was intercepted four times. The Lions made good use of their two halfback option passes that totaled 48 yards and directly scored one touchdown while setting up another. Leon Hart was the leading pass receiver for the Lions with 5 catches for 86 yards and a TD.


For the Rams, Norm Van Brocklin completed 15 of 19 passes for 166 yards with a touchdown and none intercepted while Bob Waterfield added 3 of 9 for 13 yards and was picked off once. Tom Fears led the receivers with 7 catches for 76 yards and a TD while Crazylegs Hirsch had 5 receptions for 45 yards. “Deacon Dan” Towler ran for 54 yards on 13 carries and had one touchdown.

The game truly marked a changing of the guard in the West (the conferences would be renamed Western and Eastern in 1953). The Lions went on to defeat the Browns for the NFL Championship in ’52 and won the Western Conference again in 1953 and ’54 (in all instances they faced Cleveland in the title game, winning again in ’53 but losing in 1954). The Rams did not return to the postseason until 1955.

Pat Harder played one more season in 1953. While a good fullback, his kicking made him significant to two championship teams (the 1947 Cardinals as well as ’52 Lions) and he was the NFL’s scoring leader in three consecutive seasons (1947 to ’49). Harder retired with 531 career points that included 38 touchdowns, 35 field goals, and 198 extra points.

The playoff game against the Lions was the last for Bob Waterfield (pictured below). The quarterback who led the Rams to their first championship in 1945 while the franchise was still in Cleveland, he had also been a good defensive back during the single-platoon era and was one of the league’s best kickers as well. Waterfield was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1965.

1960: John David Crow Reaches Thousand Yards with 203 in Season Finale

The move from Chicago to St. Louis following the 1959 NFL season seemed to reinvigorate the Cardinals franchise. Not only did they have an enthusiastic new fan base, but the quality of play improved as well. Coming into the season finale on December 18, 1960 against the Pittsburgh Steelers at Busch Stadium, the Cardinals were 5-5-1 and had a chance to post their first winning record since 1956.

While second-year split end Sonny Randle was having a breakout season, St. Louis was at its best running the ball (they led the league in that category). Head Coach Frank “Pop” Ivy favored a ground game that featured multiple sets and his best and most versatile runner was HB John David Crow.

Crow, in his third year, had come out of Texas A & M, where he was coached by the legendary Paul “Bear” Bryant and won the Heisman Trophy in 1957 (Bryant’s only Heisman winner). At 6’2”, 215 pounds, he was versatile as a runner with speed and power, as a receiver out of the backfield, and as a passer on option plays. He had been selected to the Pro Bowl in ’59 after gaining 666 yards rushing, plus another 328 on 28 catches, and was better in 1960 - going into the game against the Steelers he needed 57 yards to break Ollie Matson’s single-season team rushing record of 924 yards, set in that last winning season of 1956.

There were 20,840 fans present on a cold but sunny day. The Steelers, coached by Buddy Parker, were also 5-5-1 but, unlike the situation with the Cardinals, Pittsburgh appeared to be moving in the wrong direction. In 1958, Parker’s second season, in which Bobby Layne was obtained from the Lions early in the year to take over the quarterback duties, the club went 7-4-1. In ’59 they had been 6-5-1. But Layne was one of several players suffering through an injury-plagued campaign. After a 2-5-1 start, the Steelers had won their last three games.

The game started slowly, with neither team able to generate much offense due to fumbles and penalties. The battered Layne sat out the first 22 minutes as the strong-armed Rudy Bukich started (and eventually finished) at quarterback for the Steelers.

St. Louis finally scored in the last minute of the first half after recovering a fumble at the Pittsburgh 15. FB Frank Mestnik ran for a one-yard touchdown. However, Pittsburgh came right back to tie the score with just three seconds left in the second quarter on a 49-yard pass play from Layne to flanker Jimmy Orr.

On the first possession of the third quarter, Cardinals QB John Roach threw to Randle for a 57-yard gain to the Pittsburgh 20 that set up a 16-yard field goal by Gerry Perry. However, before the period was over, Roach threw two touchdown passes to Randle, of 14 and 8 yards, to effectively put the game out of reach.

Crow passed Matson’s franchise rushing record with a 57-yard run in the fourth quarter, part of a 98-yard drive by the Cardinals following a pass interception deep in their own territory. Roach scored from a yard out to make it 31-7.

A fumble recovery set up a last, late touchdown by St. Louis as Randle caught a 33-yard pass from Roach for his third score of the day that provided the final score of 38-7.

The season-ending win, of course, allowed St. Louis to finish over .500 with a 6-5-1 record that placed fourth in the Eastern Conference. Pittsburgh’s 5-6-1 tally ranked fifth.

The Cardinals gained 379 total yards to 180 for Pittsburgh, and also had a significant edge in first downs, 21 to 9. The Steelers ran the ball poorly, gaining just 30 net yards and one first down on 22 carries. They also turned the ball over four times, to just one suffered by St. Louis.

The Cardinals gained 271 yards rushing, with John David Crow not only setting a new single-season franchise record with 1071, but establishing a single-game mark with 203 yards on 24 attempts. He also caught two passes for 30 yards and completed an option pass for nine more.

Sonny Randle also had a big day, catching 5 passes for 115 yards and three touchdowns. John Roach completed 7 of 21 passes for 145 yards with three of them good for TDs and none intercepted.

Bobby Layne, who came on for Bukich but was injured in the fourth quarter, completed 4 of 8 passes for 92 yards and the lone TD; Rudy Bukich was successful on 6 of 12 passes for 81 yards and gave up two interceptions. Jimmy Orr led the receivers with 4 catches for 78 yards and a touchdown. HB Tom Tracy led the anemic running game with 33 yards on 13 carries.

“The boys really gave me some wonderful blocking - all of 'em,” Crow said afterward. “You have to have it for 203 yards in this league.”

Coach Ivy said Crow “can go inside or outside with as much power and speed combined as any back I've ever seen. What's more, he can receive passes well and throw that running halfback pass well.”


Sonny Randle (pictured at left) also set Cardinals club records with 62 catches and 15 touchdowns for the year. John Roach’s three TD passes gave him a total of 17, tying the franchise’s single-season high. But it was the big halfback who drew most of the attention.

For the year, in addition to the 1071 yards on 183 carries with six touchdowns, Crow also was the team’s second-leading pass receiver with 25 receptions for 462 yards and another three scores. He threw the ball often, completing 9 of 18 passes for 247 yards with two TDs against one interception. However, while Crow led the NFL with his 5.9 yards-per-carry and 1533 yards from scrimmage, he also led the league with 11 fumbles.

In summing up his regard for Crow, Frank Ivy said, “I believe he is at least the equal of Jimmy Brown (Cleveland's great runner who again led the NFL in rushing), although Brown has the advantage of a little better offensive line.”

At the time, the comparison to Jim Brown was not as outrageous as it would seem in retrospect. Unfortunately, after the outstanding effort in 1960 injuries, starting with a broken leg during the 1961 preseason, cut significantly into Crow’s playing time. He ran the ball only 48 times in ’61 and had nine attempts in 1963.

While there were other productive seasons, Crow was not able to consistently maintain the high level of performance that had made him one of pro football’s premier backs in 1960. His fumbling also became more of an issue, particularly in 1962 when he scored a career-high 17 touchdowns but again led the NFL in fumbles with 14.

The rushing numbers added up to 4963 yards on 1157 carries (4.3 avg.) with 38 touchdowns and the pass receiving totals were 258 catches for 3699 yards and another 35 TDs. Overall he scored 74 touchdowns, including one on a fumble recovery, certainly a respectable number considering the time lost to injuries.

Crow’s versatility was apparent to the end – dealt to the 49ers in 1965, where he continued to play halfback, he was switched to tight end in his final season of 1968, catching 31 passes for 531 yards and five touchdowns. He also threw an amazing 70 option passes over the course of his career, completing 33 for 759 yards with five touchdowns and five interceptions.

Crow was selected to four Pro Bowls – with the Cardinals in 1959, ’60, and ’62 and the 49ers in 1965.

1958: Newly-Acquired Bobby Layne Leads Steelers to Win in First Game

On October 12, 1958 at Pitt Stadium, star quarterback Bobby Layne took the field with his new team, the Pittsburgh Steelers, after eight highly accomplished seasons in Detroit (he originally came into the NFL as a backup with the Bears and also spent a year with the short-lived New York Bulldogs). No one could say that the hard-driving, hard-drinking Texan threw picturesque passes, but Layne more than made up for it with his fiery leadership and ability in the clutch. Under the guidance of Head Coach Buddy Parker and with formidable offensive weapons at his disposal, he became the master of the two-minute drill and a feared deep passer. The Lions made it to three consecutive NFL Championship games from 1952-54, all against Paul Brown’s Cleveland Browns, and won the first two.

After a down year in 1955 (Layne suffered a shoulder injury in the off-season), the Lions just missed winning the Western Conference in ’56 when Layne was knocked out of the decisive encounter with the Chicago Bears by a late blind-side tackle by DE Ed Meadows. A veteran quarterback, Tobin Rote, was obtained from Green Bay for 1957 to add depth at the position, and then Coach Parker abruptly quit the team during the preseason. Under Parker’s successor, George Wilson, Layne and Rote split time, and when Layne suffered a broken leg late in the season, it was Rote leading the club the rest of the way to the NFL Championship.

With a quarterback controversy brewing and friction developing with Wilson, the 31-year-old Layne was dealt to the Steelers for third-year QB Earl Morrall and two draft picks following the second week of the 1958 season. In Pittsburgh, he was reunited with Buddy Parker. He was also with a club that had not posted a winning record in the past eight years (they went 6-6 under Parker in ’57).

The Steelers had lost their first two games with Morrall at quarterback and were badly embarrassed by the Browns in their last game prior to Layne’s joining the club. It was a different situation with Layne in the lineup for Week 3 against the Philadelphia Eagles.

The Eagles, after three straight losing seasons, were in transition under a new coach, Buck Shaw, and a new veteran quarterback, Norm Van Brocklin, who had been obtained from the Rams.

Early in the first quarter, Philadelphia FB Clarence Peaks fumbled and DT Joe Lewis recovered for the Steelers. On the first play, HB Tom Tracy (a former teammate of Layne’s in Detroit) scored a touchdown with a 31-yard carry on a reverse. The Eagles responded with a 36-yard field goal by Bobby Walston that made the score 7-3.

The Steelers got another TD before the end of the period after DT Frank Varrichione recovered a fumbled punt by Eagles DB Rocky Ryan which gave them the ball on the Philadelphia 30 yard line - a penalty moved it up to the 15. Layne hit end Dick Lucas with a nine-yard pass to set up a one-yard scoring run by FB Tank Younger.

In the second quarter, Pittsburgh recovered yet another fumble in Eagles territory, again at the 30 yard line. Tracy ran in from the one after a drive that featured an 11-yard run by Layne and the Steelers took a 21-3 lead into halftime.

In the third quarter, safety Gary Glick intercepted a Van Brocklin pass and returned it 23 yards to the Philadelphia 37. Layne and the Steelers kept the ball on the ground and Tom Miner kicked a 26-yard field goal to conclude the scoring. Pittsburgh won Layne’s debut by the decisive score of 24-3.

The opportunistic Steelers defense made the most of three Eagles fumbles and the interception. The Eagles gained just 59 yards on the ground, as opposed to 214 for the Steelers. Pittsburgh led in first downs, 19 to 16.

Bobby Layne completed 10 of 20 passes for 81 yards - two long passes were narrowly missed by Pittsburgh receivers. Norm Van Brocklin, playing from behind the entire game, completed 16 of 37 passes for 148 yards.

Said Layne afterward, “I never got the seat of my pants dirty when I went back to pass and that’s just one of the reasons I know the Pittsburgh Steelers are a good team.”

The Steelers lost their next two games, but then ran off five straight wins and ended up with a 7-4-1 record to place third in the Eastern Conference. The Eagles ended up tied at the bottom with the Cardinals at 2-9-1.

Bobby Layne led the NFL in yards per attempt (8.7) and yards per completion (17.6). His 2510 passing yards and low 3.7 interception percentage both ranked second. He tossed 14 touchdown passes and had 12 throws picked off. Rookie split end Jimmy Orr especially benefited from his presence, leading the league with a gaudy 27.6 yards-per-catch on 33 receptions for 910 yards with seven touchdowns.

Layne played another four seasons with the Steelers but, while still effective, he didn’t attain the level of success that he had in Detroit. A multi-talented player earlier in his career – he had been a good running quarterback (he led NFL quarterbacks in rushing three times) and placekicker – wear and tear were beginning to erode his skills. One of the last players to not wear a facemask, he also chose to take the field with minimal padding throughout his career (no hip or thigh pads and the thinnest possible shoulder pads). He retired as the NFL’s career leader in pass completions (1814), yards (26,768), and touchdowns (196).

1957: Buddy Parker Abruptly Quits as Coach of Lions

On August 12, 1957 a “Meet the Lions” banquet was held at a hotel in Detroit. The team was still in training camp with the first preseason game coming up shortly and some 600 fans were in attendance. When it was time for Head Coach Buddy Parker to speak, it was assumed that he would utter the usual cliches typical of such occasions. Instead, he said “I can’t handle this team anymore. It’s the worst team I’ve ever seen in training camp. They have no life, no go, just a completely dead team. I’m leaving Detroit football. And I’m leaving tonight.”

At least one member of the audience laughed, thinking that Parker was joking. He was serious, however, and in the end simply walked off the podium and out of the building, leaving behind a stunned group of team executives, fans, and reporters.

Under Buddy Parker, the Lions had been one of the NFL’s strongest teams. Since taking over as head coach in 1951, they had gone 47-23-2 and won three conference titles and back-to-back league championships in 1952 and ’53.

The offense, directed by fiery fellow Texan Bobby Layne at quarterback (pictured at bottom with Parker), was solid and prominently included OT Lou Creekmur, guards Harley Sewell and Dick Stanfel, ends Cloyce Box and Dorne Dibble, and halfbacks Doak Walker and Bob “Hunchy” Hoernschemeyer. Parker proved adept at adjusting the offense to his personnel, effectively utilizing the power of FB Pat Harder, obtained from the Cardinals at age 29 in 1951, and then featuring the outside speed of halfbacks Hoernschemeyer and Gene Gedman while maximizing Walker’s all-around talents. With the resourceful Layne at quarterback, the Lions utilized play action passes to great effect and pioneered in the development of the two-minute offense.

As effective as the offense was, the Lions were especially renowned for their defense. Middle guard Les Bingaman had provided a 300-pound impediment to opposing runners and, when he retired, Joe Schmidt became a groundbreaking and exceptional middle linebacker. The secondary was particularly outstanding, as the Lions led the way in the art of drafting athletes for the defensive backfield. Known as “Chris’s Gang” due to the presence of safety Jack Christiansen, the unit also included fellow safety (and eventual fellow member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame) Yale Lary as well as halfbacks Jim David, Bob Smith, and Bill Stits.

In three consecutive seasons, Parker and the Lions faced off for the NFL title against Paul Brown and the Cleveland Browns; the Lions won the first two of those encounters. But Parker was shattered by the failure to win a third consecutive championship in 1954, losing badly to the Browns by a score of 56-10.

Detroit sank to 3-9 in 1955, but in ’56 the Lions recovered to post a 9-3 record and missed winning the Western Conference by a half game to the 9-2-1 Bears. In the showdown for first place, Layne had been knocked out of the game when blindsided by Chicago’s DE Ed Meadows on a very late hit, although the inability to stop Bears FB Rick Casares, who gained 190 yards rushing, was likely an even larger factor in the loss.

But by the 1957 preseason, a number of issues were rumbling beneath the surface where Buddy Parker and the Lions were concerned. While Parker never elaborated on his reason for the abrupt departure, it was known that he was frustrated with divisions among the team’s owners that had led to meddling and open second-guessing of the coach’s decisions. An hour prior to the banquet, he had been summoned to a suite at the hotel where one of the owners was throwing a cocktail party, and found several of the players there. It might well have been the last straw.

Assistant coach George Wilson was elevated to head coach and the Lions went on to win the NFL championship, once more defeating the Browns in the climactic game. Bobby Layne broke his leg late in the season, but veteran backup Tobin Rote – obtained to provide solid relief in the event of another injury to Layne – capably guided the offense the rest of the way.

Buddy Parker didn’t remain unemployed long - after rumors had him replacing Weeb Ewbank in Baltimore, he was hired by the Pittsburgh Steelers two weeks after leaving the Lions. Layne was reunited with Parker in 1958, and the perennially-losing Steelers put together a 7-4-1 record.

Parker may have been an excellent tactician who was adept at game management, but he was also temperamental and prone to outbursts. The Lions obtained his services after he had quit the Chicago Cardinals in a huff, where he had been co-coach for a year and was caught in the midst of an ownership dispute. He would abruptly quit the Steelers shortly before the 1965 season, after compiling a 51-47-6 tally through eight years, and was finished as an NFL head coach at age 51.