1957 Detroit Lions season

Last updated

1957 Detroit Lions season
Owner Detroit Football Company
General manager Nick Kerbawy
Head coach George Wilson
Home stadium Briggs Stadium
Results
Record8–4
Division place1st NFL Western (playoff)
PlayoffsWon Conference Playoff
(at 49ers) 31–27
Won NFL Championship
(vs. Browns) 59–14
All-Pros
5
Pro Bowlers

The 1957 season was the Detroit Lions' 28th season in the National Football League (NFL), their 24th as the Detroit Lions, and their first under head coach George Wilson. Despite dropping one more game than the previous season, the Lions tied the San Francisco 49ers for first place in the NFL Western Conference. In the tiebreaker game, the Lions defeated the 49ers 31–27 to advance to their fourth championship appearance of the decade. Playing as underdogs, the Lions defeated the Cleveland Browns 59–14 to win their fourth NFL championship. As of the 2024 season, this is the last time the Lions have appeared in an NFL title game, the second-longest drought in the NFL and fourth-longest in the four major sports.

Contents

In the penultimate regular season game with the Cleveland Browns on December 8, Hall of Fame quarterback Bobby Layne was lost for the season with a broken right ankle. With backup Tobin Rote in at quarterback in the second quarter, [1] the Lions won that game and overcame a ten-point deficit at halftime the following week to defeat the Chicago Bears 21–13, whom they had lost to three weeks earlier at home. [2] They ended the regular season with three consecutive wins and an 8–4 record. All four losses were within the Western Conference, splitting the two games with all but the Green Bay Packers, whom they swept.

Schedule

Regular season

According to the team, a total of 39,844 season tickets were sold by the Lions for the 1957 campaign. [3] The Lions played their home games in Briggs Stadium (Tiger Stadium), which had a regular listed seating capacity of 46,194, with an additional 7,000 bleacher seats for football to bring total capacity to 53,194. [3]

GameDateOpponentResultRecordVenueAttendanceSources
1September 29at Baltimore Colts L 14–340–1 Memorial Stadium 40,112 [4]
2October 6at Green Bay Packers W 24–141–1 New City Stadium 32,132 [5]
3October 13 Los Angeles Rams W 10–72–1 Briggs Stadium 55,764 [6]
4October 20 Baltimore Colts W 31–273–1 Briggs Stadium 55,764 [7]
5October 27at Los Angeles Rams L 17–353–2 L.A. Memorial Coliseum 77,314 [8]
6November 3at San Francisco 49ers L 31–353–3 Kezar Stadium 59,702 [9]
7November 10at Philadelphia Eagles W 27–164–3 Connie Mack Stadium 29,320 [10]
8November 17 San Francisco 49ers W 31–105–3 Briggs Stadium 56,915 [11]
9November 24 Chicago Bears L 7–275–4 Briggs Stadium 55,769 [12]
10November 28 Green Bay Packers W 18–66–4 Briggs Stadium 54,301 [13]
11December 8 Cleveland Browns W 20–77–4 Briggs Stadium 55,814 [14]
12December 15at Chicago Bears W 21–138–4 Wrigley Field 41,088 [15]
Note: Intra-conference opponents are in bold text.

Playoffs

GameDateOpponentResultVenueAttendanceSources
Conference December 22at San Francisco 49ersW 31–27 Kezar Stadium 60,118 [17]
Championship December 29Cleveland BrownsW 59–14 Briggs Stadium 55,263 [18]

Standings

NFL Western Conference
WLTPCTCONFPFPASTK
Detroit Lions 840.6676–4251231W3
San Francisco 49ers 840.6677–3260264W3
Baltimore Colts 750.5836–4303235L2
Los Angeles Rams 660.5005–5307278W2
Chicago Bears 570.4174–6203211L1
Green Bay Packers 390.2502–8218311L3
Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings until 1972.

Roster

Detroit Lions 1957 roster
Quarterbacks

Running backs

Wide receivers

Tight ends

Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

Linebackers

Defensive backs

Special teams

Reserve lists

rookies in italics

Season summary

At the "Meet the Lions" banquet on Monday, August 12, seventh-year head coach Buddy Parker surprised the audience by abruptly announcing his resignation; [19] [20] longtime assistant coach George Wilson was promoted the following day. [21] [22] Two weeks later, Parker became the head coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers. [23] [24]

Pre-season

Week 1: at Baltimore

Team1234Total
Detroit700714
Baltimore71710034

The Lions opened the regular season on the road with a 34–14 loss to the Baltimore Colts on September 29. Quarterback Johnny Unitas threw four touchdown passes while the Baltimore defense held the Lions to 23 rushing yards and intercepted Bobby Layne three times. Detroit's touchdowns were scored by Howard Cassady (a short run for his first NFL touchdown) and Jerry Reichow on a 32-yard pass from backup quarterback Tobin Rote. [25]

Week 2: at Green Bay Packers

Quarter1234Total
Lions1430724
Packers0001414

at New City Stadium, Green Bay, Wisconsin

Game information

Week 3: Los Angeles Rams

Team1234Total
Rams07007
Lions0100010

[26]

Week 4: Baltimore Colts

Team1234Total
Colts7146027
Lions0372131

[27]

Playoffs vs. San Francisco

Team1234Total
Detroit07141031
San Francisco14103027
  • Date: December 22
  • Location: Kezar Stadium, San Francisco
  • Game attendance: 60,118

On December 22, the Lions defeated the San Francisco 49ers, 31–27, in a Western Conference playoff game. The two teams had finished the regular season tied in the standings at 8–4, which called for a tiebreaker game.

The 49ers took a 24–7 lead at halftime, as Y. A. Tittle threw three touchdown passes in the first half. A field goal early in the third quarter extended the lead to 27–7, then the Lions responded with 24 unanswered points. Detroit's touchdowns were scored by Steve Junker on a four-yard pass from Tobin Rote, two runs by Tom Tracy (1-yard and 58-yard runs), and Gene Gedman on a two-yard run. [28]

NFL Championship Game

Team1234Total
Cleveland077014
Detroit1714141459

On December 29, the Lions defeated the Cleveland Browns 59–14 in the NFL championship game. The Browns had been favored to win by three points. Tobin Rote, filling in at quarterback after Bobby Layne broke his ankle on December 8, [1] was credited with "a brilliant performance" as he completed 12 of 19 passes for 280 yards and four touchdowns and rushed for a touchdown, leading the Lions to their greatest point total in history. [29] The Lions capitalized on five interceptions and two fumble recoveries, including a 19-yard interception return for touchdown by Terry Barr, and held Cleveland star rookie Jim Brown to 69 rushing yards on 20 carries. [29] [30]

The longest play of the game was a 78-yard touchdown pass from Rote to Jim Doran. Rookie Steve Junker was the Lions' leading scorer with 12 points on touchdown receptions covering 26 and 23 yards. Jim Martin followed with 11 points on eight extra-point conversions and a 31-yard field goal. [30] The victory gave the Lions their third NFL championship in six years. It was also referred to as "the perfect revenge" for the Browns' 56–10 rout of the Lions in the title game in 1954. [29]

References

  1. 1 2 "Lions lose Layne but win, 20-7". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Associated Press. December 9, 1957. p. 26.
  2. "Lions uphill fight whips Bears, 21-13". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Associated Press. December 16, 1957. p. 31.
  3. 1 2 Edward M. "Bud" Erickson (ed.), Detroit Lions Facts Book 1963: Press, Radio, TV. Detroit, MI: Detroit Football Company, 1963, p. 4.
  4. "Detroit Lions at Baltimore Colts - September 29th, 1957". Pro Football Reference. Retrieved September 7, 2025.
  5. "Detroit Lions at Green Bay Packers - October 6th, 1957". Pro Football Reference. Retrieved September 7, 2025.
  6. "Los Angeles Rams at Detroit Lions - October 13th, 1957". Pro Football Reference. Retrieved September 7, 2025.
  7. "Baltimore Colts at Detroit Lions - October 20th, 1957". Pro Football Reference. Retrieved September 7, 2025.
  8. "Detroit Lions at Los Angeles Rams - October 27th, 1957". Pro Football Reference. Retrieved September 7, 2025.
  9. "Detroit Lions at San Francisco 49ers - November 3rd, 1957". Pro Football Reference. Retrieved September 7, 2025.
  10. "Detroit Lions at Philadelphia Eagles - November 10th, 1957". Pro Football Reference. Retrieved September 7, 2025.
  11. "San Francisco 49ers at Detroit Lions - November 17th, 1957". Pro Football Reference. Retrieved September 7, 2025.
  12. "Chicago Bears at Detroit Lions - November 24th, 1957". Pro Football Reference. Retrieved September 7, 2025.
  13. "Green Bay Packers at Detroit Lions - November 28th, 1957". Pro Football Reference. Retrieved September 7, 2025.
  14. "Cleveland Browns at Detroit Lions - December 8th, 1957". Pro Football Reference. Retrieved September 7, 2025.
  15. "Detroit Lions at Chicago Bears - December 15th, 1957". Pro Football Reference. Retrieved September 7, 2025.
  16. Johnson, Chuck (November 29, 1957). "Lion mudders beat Green Bay in rain". Milwaukee Journal. p. 13, part 2.
  17. "Divisional Round - Detroit Lions at San Francisco 49ers - December 22nd, 1957". Pro Football Reference. Retrieved September 7, 2025.
  18. "Championship - Cleveland Browns at Detroit Lions - December 29th, 1957". Pro Football Reference. Retrieved September 7, 2025.
  19. "Buddy Parker quits as Detroit grid coach". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Associated Press. August 13, 1957. p. 16.
  20. Diles, Dave (August 13, 1957). "Parker quits Lions". Owosso Argus-Press. (Michigan). Associated Press. p. 11.
  21. "George Wilson to coach Lions". Pittsburgh Press. United Press. August 13, 1957. p. 30.
  22. "Aide succeeds Buddy Parker". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Associated Press. August 14, 1957. p. 22.
  23. Sell, Jack (August 28, 1957). "Parker new coach of Steelers". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. p. 1.
  24. Livingston, Pat (August 28, 1957). "Parker takes over Steeler reins". Pittsburgh Press. p. 48.
  25. Bob Latshaw (September 29, 1957). "Colts Kick Lions in the Teeth, 34-14". Detroit Free Press. pp. 37, 41 via Newspapers.com. Open Access logo PLoS transparent.svg
  26. Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2015-Jan-05.
  27. Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2015-Jan-05.
  28. Lyall Smith (December 23, 1957). "The Lions' 1957 Fight Song: 'Oh, We Won Because We Won --'". Detroit Free Press. p. 33 via Newspapers.com. Open Access logo PLoS transparent.svg
  29. 1 2 3 Latshaw, Bob (December 30, 1957). "Lions Win, 59–14! 55,263 See Browns Humbled; It's[sic] Third Title in Six Years". Detroit Free Press. pp. 1–2.
  30. 1 2 "Cleveland Browns 14 at Detroit Lions 59". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved March 15, 2016.