1957 Detroit Lions season
NFL team season (won NFL Championship)
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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 2025 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.
| 1957 Detroit Lions season | |
|---|---|
| Owner | Detroit Football Company |
| General manager | Nick Kerbawy |
| Head coach | George Wilson |
| Home stadium | Briggs Stadium |
| Results | |
| Record | 8–4 |
| Division place | 1st NFL Western (playoff) |
| Playoffs | Won Conference Playoff (at 49ers) 31–27 Won NFL Championship (vs. Browns) 59–14 |
| All-Pros | 5
|
| Pro Bowlers | 7
|
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]
| Game | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance | Sources | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | September 29 | at Baltimore Colts | L 14–34 | 0–1 | Memorial Stadium | 40,112 | [4] | ||
| 2 | October 6 | at Green Bay Packers | W 24–14 | 1–1 | New City Stadium | 32,132 | [5] | ||
| 3 | October 13 | Los Angeles Rams | W 10–7 | 2–1 | Briggs Stadium | 55,764 | [6] | ||
| 4 | October 20 | Baltimore Colts | W 31–27 | 3–1 | Briggs Stadium | 55,764 | [7] | ||
| 5 | October 27 | at Los Angeles Rams | L 17–35 | 3–2 | L.A. Memorial Coliseum | 77,314 | [8] | ||
| 6 | November 3 | at San Francisco 49ers | L 31–35 | 3–3 | Kezar Stadium | 59,702 | [9] | ||
| 7 | November 10 | at Philadelphia Eagles | W 27–16 | 4–3 | Connie Mack Stadium | 29,320 | [10] | ||
| 8 | November 17 | San Francisco 49ers | W 31–10 | 5–3 | Briggs Stadium | 56,915 | [11] | ||
| 9 | November 24 | Chicago Bears | L 7–27 | 5–4 | Briggs Stadium | 55,769 | [12] | ||
| 10 | November 28 | Green Bay Packers | W 18–6 | 6–4 | Briggs Stadium | 54,301 | [13] | ||
| 11 | December 8 | Cleveland Browns | W 20–7 | 7–4 | Briggs Stadium | 55,814 | [14] | ||
| 12 | December 15 | at Chicago Bears | W 21–13 | 8–4 | Wrigley Field | 41,088 | [15] | ||
| Note: Intra-conference opponents are in bold text. | |||||||||
- Thursday (November 28: Thanksgiving)[16]
Playoffs
| Game | Date | Opponent | Result | Venue | Attendance | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conference | December 22 | at San Francisco 49ers | W 31–27 | Kezar Stadium | 60,118 | [17] |
| Championship | December 29 | Cleveland Browns | W 59–14 | Briggs Stadium | 55,263 | [18] |
Standings
| NFL Western Conference | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W | L | T | PCT | CONF | PF | PA | STK | ||
| Detroit Lions | 8 | 4 | 0 | .667 | 6–4 | 251 | 231 | W3 | |
| San Francisco 49ers | 8 | 4 | 0 | .667 | 7–3 | 260 | 264 | W3 | |
| Baltimore Colts | 7 | 5 | 0 | .583 | 6–4 | 303 | 235 | L2 | |
| Los Angeles Rams | 6 | 6 | 0 | .500 | 5–5 | 307 | 278 | W2 | |
| Chicago Bears | 5 | 7 | 0 | .417 | 4–6 | 203 | 211 | L1 | |
| Green Bay Packers | 3 | 9 | 0 | .250 | 2–8 | 218 | 311 | L3 | |
- Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings until 1972.
Roster
| Detroit Lions 1957 roster | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Quarterbacks
Running backs
Receivers
|
Offensive linemen
Defensive linemen
|
Linebackers
Defensive backs
|
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
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Detroit | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 14 |
| • Baltimore | 7 | 17 | 10 | 0 | 34 |
- Date: September 29
- Location: Memorial Stadium, Baltimore
- Game attendance: 40,112
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
| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lions | 14 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 24 |
| Packers | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 14 |
at New City Stadium, Green Bay, Wisconsin
- Date: October 6
- Pro-Football-Reference.com
| Game information | ||
|---|---|---|
|
Week 3: Los Angeles Rams
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rams | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| • Lions | 0 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
- Date: October 13
- Location: Briggs Stadium, Detroit
- Game attendance: 55,764
| Q2 | LA | Arnett 12 yard pass from Van Brocklin (Cothren kick) | LA 7–0 | |
| Q2 | DET | Reichow 16 yard pass from Rote (Layne kick) | Tie 7–7 | |
| Q2 | DET | Layne 25 yard field goal | DET 10–7 | |
Week 4: Baltimore Colts
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Colts | 7 | 14 | 6 | 0 | 27 |
| • Lions | 0 | 3 | 7 | 21 | 31 |
- Date: October 20
- Location: Briggs Stadium, Detroit
- Game attendance: 55,764
| Q1 | BAL | Mutscheller 15 yard pass from Unitas (Rechichar kick) | BAL 7–0 | |
| Q2 | DET | Martin 47 yard field goal | BAL 7–3 | |
| Q2 | BAL | Moore 72 yard pass from Unitas (Rechichar kick) | BAL 14–3 | |
| Q2 | BAL | Mutscheller 66 yard pass from Unitas (Rechichar kick) | BAL 21–3 | |
| Q3 | BAL | Moore 4 yard pass from Unitas (kick failed) | BAL 27–3 | |
| Q3 | DET | Junker 14 yard pass from Rote (Layne kick) | BAL 27–10 | |
| Q4 | DET | Cassady 26 yard pass from Layne (Layne kick) | BAL 27–17 | |
| Q4 | DET | Johnson 1 yard run (Layne kick) | BAL 27–24 | |
| Q4 | DET | Cassady 29 yard pass from Layne (Layne kick) | DET 31–27 | |
Playoffs vs. San Francisco
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| • Detroit | 0 | 7 | 14 | 10 | 31 |
| San Francisco | 14 | 10 | 3 | 0 | 27 |
- 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
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cleveland | 0 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 14 |
| • Detroit | 17 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 59 |
- Date: December 29
- Location: Briggs Stadium, Detroit
- Game attendance: 55,263
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]
