1956: Lions Hold Off 49ers to Remain Undefeated

The Detroit Lions were undefeated at 5-0 as they faced the San Francisco 49ers on November 4, 1956. Coached by Buddy Parker, the Lions had an offense led by fiery QB Bobby Layne, recovered from a shoulder injury that devastated both him and the team in ’55. Big Leon Hart (6’5”, 255) had been shifted from end to fullback with favorable results and rookie Howard “Hopalong” Cassady, the Heisman Trophy winner out of Ohio State, was at halfback. The tough defense continued to be the key to the team’s success and featured MLB Joe Schmidt and safeties Jack Christiansen and Yale Lary.

The 49ers had a first-year head coach in Frankie Albert, formerly a star quarterback for the team, and were stumbling along at 1-4. Veteran QB Y.A. Tittle had been benched in favor of rookie Earl Morrall but there was still plenty of talent, especially in the backfield and among the receivers. San Francisco had lost a close game to the Lions two weeks earlier in Detroit.

There were 46,706 fans in attendance at Kezar Stadium and they saw a scoreless first quarter. A promising possession for the 49ers ended at the Detroit 10 when FB John Henry Johnson, whose 54-yard carry was the big play in the series, tried to convert a fourth down and was stopped for a four-yard loss.

Early in the second quarter the Lions drove 70 yards in 10 plays. Leon Hart (pictured above), who gained 29 yards on five carries along the way, blasted into the end zone from three yards out to put the visitors on the board. Bobby Layne, now also the team’s placekicker, added the extra point. The lead didn’t hold up for long as HB Joe Arenas took the ensuing kickoff and returned it 90 yards for a TD. Gordie Soltau converted to tie the score.

The Niners then retained possession with a successful onside kick that gave them the ball at the Detroit 47. They advanced 22 yards before Soltau kicked a 30-yard field goal to give San Francisco the lead. Layne kicked a 30-yard field goal for the Lions before the first half was over and the score was tied at 10-10 at halftime.

The Lions went 80 yards to score again in the third quarter, with Hart and “Hopalong” Cassady gaining 58 yards on the ground between them, Layne completed a pass to end Jim Doran for 17 yards, and it was Hart once more reaching paydirt from a yard out. Layne kicked the point after.

San Francisco came right back with a series that led to another Soltau field goal, this time from 40 yards. With five minutes remaining, Hart left the contest with an ankle injury and the Lions began to bog down on offense.

Taking possession at their 11 in the game’s climactic series, the 49ers drove to the Detroit two yard line. But, following a one-yard gain, an apparent dive across the goal line by Johnson was nullified by a penalty. Johnson was tossed for a seven-yard loss on the next play and HB Hugh McElhenny’s option pass into the end zone was intercepted by Jack Christiansen. With less than two minutes remaining, it clinched the win for the Lions by a score of 17-13.

The Lions had the edge in total yards (283 to 246), with 194 yards of that total coming on the ground, and also in first downs (19 to 15). Each team turned the ball over three times.

Leon Hart rushed for 77 yards on 16 carries that included two touchdowns before leaving the game and “Hopalong” Cassady gained 78 yards on 19 attempts. Bobby Layne had trouble with his passing accuracy, completing only 7 of 18 throws for 80 yards, but completions to Jim Doran of 14 and 17 yards kept each of the touchdown drives going. John Henry Johnson (pictured above) accounted for 92 of San Francisco’s 93 rushing yards.

The Lions finally lost for the first time the next week at Washington and ended up second in the Western Conference with a 9-3 record after losing a season-ending game to the Bears in which Layne was knocked out of the contest on a notorious late hit by DE Ed Meadows. San Francisco fell to 1-6 before catching fire and going 4-0-1 to finish out the season at 5-6-1, placing third in the conference.

Bobby Layne was a consensus first-team All-NFL selection as he not only passed well but, thanks to his additional placekicking duties, led the league in scoring with 99 points. Leon Hart was not consistently as strong at fullback as he was against the 49ers, running for 348 yards on 76 carries (4.6 avg.) and five touchdowns. “Hopalong” Cassady was also something of a disappointment, with 97 carries for 413 yards (4.3 avg.) and the less-heralded Gene Gedman supplanted him in the lineup.

John Henry Johnson ran for 301 yards on 80 attempts (3.8 avg.) and remained the third wheel in the San Francisco backfield behind Hugh McElhenny and FB Joe Perry.

1951: Layne Throws 4 TD Passes as Lions Win Showdown with Bears

The Detroit Lions, under first-year Head Coach Buddy Parker, had won the first two games of the 1951 NFL season before slumping to 0-2-1. Bouncing back to win at Green Bay, they faced the Chicago Bears, a team they had lost to two weeks earlier at home, on November 11 with a 3-2-1 record in an important National Conference showdown.

Fourth-year QB Bobby Layne (pictured at right), originally drafted by the Bears out of Texas before moving on to Detroit by way of the New York Bulldogs, directed an offense that included halfbacks Bob Hoernschemeyer and Doak Walker and big (6’5”, 265) end Leon Hart. With a tough defense, the Lions had the look of a team on the rise.

Chicago was leading the conference at 5-1. Guided by owner and head coach George Halas, the Bears utilized a solid running game behind an outstanding line while sore-shouldered Johnny Lujack and Steve Romanik split time at quarterback.

There was a crowd of 46,210 in attendance at Wrigley Field. On the opening series, Layne threw twice to end Dorne Dibble, first for a 47-yard gain and then for a 26-yard touchdown just two minutes into the contest.

Chicago battled back with Steve Romanik completing a 54-yard touchdown pass to end John Hoffman early in the second quarter. Doak Walker returned the ensuing kickoff 51 yards to set up his 10-yard field goal that gave the Lions a three-point lead. A fumble by Romanik was recovered by DE Ed Berrang for the Lions at the Detroit 27. Layne connected on three passes to Leon Hart of 11, 25, and a TD-scoring 17 yards.

Berrang, who had a big day defensively, intercepted a deflected pass by Romanik shortly thereafter and returned it to the Chicago nine. From there, Layne threw to Hart (pictured below) for a nine-yard TD. The Lions went into halftime with a 24-7 lead.

The Bears proved to be mistake-prone and repeatedly hurt themselves. Meanwhile, Layne had outstanding pass protection which proved especially significant during Detroit’s 17-point second quarter.

Chicago FB Fred “Curley” Morrison returned the second half kickoff 86 yards to the Detroit 10. Johnny Lujack tossed a touchdown pass from there to end Gene Schroeder in a bid to get the Bears back into the game. However, another drive by the Bears into scoring territory came up empty when rookie safety Jack Christiansen intercepted a Lujack pass in the end zone. The Lions then proceeded to go 80 yards to score again on a three-yard run by FB Pat Harder.

Down 31-14 in the fourth quarter, Chicago scored as Lujack threw to end Jim Keane for a seven-yard touchdown. But once more the Lions responded in kind, with Harder catching a pass from Layne for a 15-yard TD and then adding a 43-yard field goal. HB George Gulyanics ran four yards for a touchdown for the Bears, but the outcome had long been decided. Detroit won by a convincing score of 41-28.

The Lions led in total yards (436 to 377) and first downs (24 to 21). They also benefited from six Chicago turnovers while turning the ball over just twice themselves. Bobby Layne had a big day as he completed 16 of 30 passes for 259 yards and four touchdowns. Johnny Lujack was successful on 14 of 20 throws for 187 yards for the Bears.

The defeat of the Bears put them in a tie with the Rams at 5-2 atop the National Conference while Detroit pulled to within a half-game of first with a 4-2-1 record. The battle for the conference title went down to the last week, with San Francisco also in the mix. In the end, it was the Rams on top at 8-4 and Detroit and the 49ers tied for second with 7-4-1 records. Chicago, upset by their cross-town rivals, the Cardinals, in the season finale, ended up fourth at 7-5.

Bobby Layne ranked first in the NFL in pass attempts (332), completions (152), yards (2403), and touchdown passes (26) – although he also ranked first with 23 interceptions, tied with Adrian Burk of the Eagles. He was named to the Pro Bowl for the first of five times in his Hall of Fame career.

Leon Hart caught 35 passes for 544 yards and 12 touchdowns, receiving consensus first-team All-Pro honors as well as Pro Bowl recognition. Rookie Dorne Dibble ranked second in yards per catch (20.4) on 30 receptions for 613 yards, six of which went for TDs.