December 28, 1952: The Detroit Lions and the Cleveland Browns, both NFL powerhouses? Well, this was a long time ago.
Quarterback Bobby Layne and running back Doak Walker were teammates and best friends at Highland Park High School in Dallas. But they were rivals in college: Layne at the University of Texas in Austin, Walker staying in Dallas at Southern Methodist University (SMU). After 2 years with other teams, Layne was traded to the Lions in 1950, which, due to military service interrupting his college career, was Walker's rookie season with them.
By the time they got to Detroit, the Lions hadn't done much since their 1935 NFL Championship. Raymond "Buddy" Parker was a rookie running back on that team, and was now head coach of the Lions. In contrast, Paul Brown, as head coach and general manager, had built the Browns into the best franchise in the sport, winning the title in all 4 seasons of operation by the All-America Football Conference, coming into the NFL in 1950, winning the title, and then getting back to the title game in 1951 but losing it -- in both cases, against the Los Angeles Rams.
The Browns went through the 1952 regular season 8-4, winning the Eastern Division. The Lions rebounded from a 1-2 start to go 9-3, including a 17-6 win over the Browns at Briggs Stadium (renamed Tiger Stadium in 1961) on November 2. The Lions tied the Rams for the Western Division title, and beat the Rams in a Playoff on December 21, 31-12 at Briggs Stadium.
That set up an NFL Championship Game against the Browns. Being an even-numbered year, it was the East winners' turn to host, so it would be at Cleveland Municipal Stadium. There would be 14 future members of the Pro Football Hall of Fame on that field. For the Lions: Layne, Walker, guard Dick Stanfel, tackle Lou Creekmur, and safeties Yale Lary and Jack Christiansen. For the Browns: Quarterback Otto Graham, running back Marion Motley, center Frank Gatski, guard Bill Willis, tackle-placekicker Lou Groza, receivers Dante Lavelli and Mac Speedie, and defensive end Len Ford.
There was no scoring in the 1st quarter. The only scoring in the 2nd quarter was a 2-yard touchdown run by Layne. In the 3rd quarter, Walker broke off a 67-yard run to put the Lions up, 14-0. Harry "Chick" Jagade run 7 yards for a touchdown later in the quarter, to close Cleveland within 7. But in the 4th quarter, Pat Harder kicked a 36-yard field goal, and the Lions had a 17-7 win.
The teams would face each other again the next 2 years. The Lions had home-field advantage, but the Browns played them tougher. Perhaps the addition of rookie linebacker Joe Schmidt, a future Hall-of-Famer, made a difference, as the Lions won, 17-16. Back in Cleveland in 1954, it was no contest: The Browns blew the Lions away, 56-10.
In 1955, the Browns played the Rams in the title game, winning 38-14 at the Los Angeles Coliseum. The team went into a transition, as this was Graham's last game. The 1956 title game was the New York Giants blowing the Chicago Bears away, 47-7.
But in 1957, with both teams having been revamped, the Browns and Lions again faced each other at Briggs Stadium. Parker had left the Lions in a dispute, and became head coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers. George Wilson replaced him. And Layne got hurt, and had to be replaced by Tobin Rote. And the Browns had the top rookie in the League, running back Jim Brown. Still, the Lions wrecked the Browns, 59-14. It remains the 2nd-most points scored in an NFL championship game, under any name, behind the 73 the Chicago Bears scored in 1940.
The Lions haven't been to an NFL championship game since. Only in the 1991 season have they even reached the NFC Championship Game. The Browns won the Championship in 1964, but that was their last title. They reached the NFL Championship Game in 1965, '68 and '69; and reached the AFC Championship Game in the seasons of 1986, '87 and '89 -- losing each of those.
Along with the Chicago, now Arizona, Cardinals, the Lions and Browns are 2 of the 3 teams to have won an NFL Championship, but not since the title game was renamed the Super Bowl. Indeed, of the 4 teams that have never reached the Super Bowl, the Houston Texans are a 2002 expansion team; the Jacksonville Jaguars are a 1995 expansion team, one that has, at least, reached 3 AFC Championship Games; and the other 2 are the Browns and the Lions, whose last titles could be called Super Bowl -II and Super Bowl -IX, respectively.
The fact that the Lions', Browns' and Cardinals' titles came before the advent of the Super Bowl means that they get discounted: Even before the distance of time became what it is now, NFL fans have come to regard any title won before the Super Bowl, NFL or AFL, as not a "real" championship.
And the fact that the 1970 AFL-NFL merger put the Browns in the AFC ended any real rivalry between the Browns and the Lions. So while Ohio State vs. Michigan is one of the biggest rivalries in college football, Cleveland vs. Detroit is much bigger in baseball and the NBA than it is in the NFL.
UPDATE: The Lions do not have a team Hall of Fame. But they did name an All-Time Team in 2019, in connection with the NFL's 100th Season. From their 1952, 1953 and 1957 NFL Championship teams, they named quarterback Bobby Layne, running back Doak Walker, guards Dick Stanfel and Harley Sewell, offensive tackle Lou Creekmur; and defensive backs Jack Christiansen, Jim David, Yale Lary and Don Doll.
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December 28, 1952 was a Sunday. There were no college football bowl games played on this day. Baseball was out of season. There were 4 games played in the NBA:
* The New York Knicks beat the Philadelphia Warriors, 72-54 at the old Madison Square Garden.
* The Syracuse Nationals beat the Indianapolis Jets, 84-73 at the Onondaga War Memorial (now the Upstate Medical University Arena) in Syracuse, New York.
* The Boston Celtics beat the Fort Wayne Pistons, 89-66 at the War Memorial Coliseum in Fort Wayne, Indiana.
* And the Minneapolis Lakers beat the Milwaukee Hawks, 86-77 at the Minneapolis Auditorium.
And there were 2 games in the NHL. The New York Rangers lost to the Chicago Black Hawks, 6-3 at the old Madison Square Garden, which hosted the NBA and the NHL on the same day. And the Detroit Red Wings beat the Boston Bruins, 7-1 at the Olympia Stadium in Detroit. Gordie Howe, Ted Lindsay and Marty Pavelich each scored 2 goals. The Canadian teams, the Montreal Canadiens and the Toronto Maple Leafs, were not scheduled.
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