1954 NFL Championship Game

Cleveland

Location in the United States

The 1954 National Football League championship game was the 22nd annual championship game, held on December 26 at Cleveland Municipal Stadium in Cleveland, Ohio.^{[1][2][3][4][5]}

The Detroit Lions (9–2–1) of the Western Conference met the Cleveland Browns (9–3) of the Eastern Conference in the NFL title game for the third consecutive year. The Lions won the previous two: 17–7 at Cleveland in 1952 and 17–16 at home in Briggs Stadium in 1953. They were attempting to become the first team to win three consecutive league titles in the championship game era (since 1933). The Green Bay Packers won three consecutive (1929, 1930, 1931) when the title was determined by the regular season final standings.

The Lions were led by quarterback Bobby Layne, running back Doak Walker, and head coach Buddy Parker. The Browns were led by head coach Paul Brown and quarterback Otto Graham. The Lions had won the regular season meeting 14–10 the week before on December 19, also at Cleveland, with a late touchdown.^[6] Detroit was a slight favorite (2½ to 3 points) to three-peat as champions.^[7][8]

The underdog Browns won the title at home in a rout, 56–10;^[3][4][5] placekicker Lou Groza made eight extra points, a new title game record, among many.^[9]

Game Summary

The Lions struck first with a 36-yard field goal by Walker. Six plays after the next kickoff, the Browns took the lead on Graham's 36-yard scoring pass to Ray Renfro, and never relinquished the lead as the Lions' run game was stopped effectively by the Browns' defense. The lead at halftime was 35–10, and the Lions did not score again.

Detroit quarterback Layne (18 for 42, passing for 177 yards) was intercepted six times, with Len Ford and Kenny Konz pulling in two each. The Browns also recovered three Detroit fumbles, with two of the recoveries leading to scores. Tom Dublinski replaced Layne as the Lion quarterback after the score reached 49–10 late in the third quarter.

Scoring summary

Sunday, December 26, 1954
Kickoff: 2 p.m. EST

• First quarter
  • DET – FG Doak Walker, 36 yds, 3–0 DET
  • CLE – Ray Renfro 35-yard pass from Otto Graham (Lou Groza kick), 7–3 CLE
  • CLE – Pete Brewster 8-yard pass from Graham (Groza kick), 14–3 CLE
• Second quarter
  • CLE – Graham 1-yard run (Groza kick), 21–3 CLE
  • DET – Bill Bowman 5-yard run (Walker kick), 21–10 CLE
  • CLE – Graham 5-yard run (Groza kick), 28–10 CLE
  • CLE – Renfro 31-yard pass from Graham (Groza kick), 35–10 CLE
• Third quarter
  • CLE – Graham 1-yard run (Groza kick), 42–10 CLE
  • CLE – Curly Morrison 12-yard run (Groza kick), 49–10 CLE
• Fourth quarter
  • CLE – Chet Hanulak 12-yard run (Groza kick), 56–10 CLE

Officials

The NFL added the fifth official, the back judge, in 1947; the line judge arrived in 1965, and the side judge in 1978.

Players' shares

The gross receipts for the game, including over $101,000 for radio and television rights, were just over US$289,000. Each player on the winning Browns team received $2,478, while Lions players made $1,585 each.^[9][10]

References

Heaton, Chuck (December 26, 1954). "Browns Regain Title 56 to 10". Cleveland Plain Dealer. Retrieved December 12, 2007. 

Coordinates: 41°30′22″N 81°42′00″W / 41.506°N 81.700°W / 41.506; -81.700