1956 Detroit at Chicago

[Saban1]

Layne's injury in that 1956 Chicago game could have been a blessing in disguise for Detroit. Buddy Parker said that the injury to Layne in that game was the reason that he made the trade for Tobin Rote. If not for that trade, the Lions probably would not have won the NFL Championship in 1957, because Rote replaced an injured Bobby Layne near the end of that season and led Detroit to the championship.

If Layne had not been injured in the 1956 Chicago game, the Rote trade may not have been made and Detroit may not have won the Chicago game anyway. Even if Detroit did beat the Bears, they still would have had to go to New York to play the Giants in the championship game; the Giants that beat the Bears, 47 to 7, in the NFL Championship game. Not too sure of that one either.

[JuggernautJ]

Or, had Layne not been injured in the 1956 game nor in the 1957 season the Lions might have gone back-to-back making it four championships for the 1950's with him as their QB.
It's all supposition but again, I wouldn't bet against Bobby Layne.
Injuries are what seemed to derail him much of the time.

[Saban1]

Or, had Layne not been injured in the 1956 game nor in the 1957 season the Lions might have gone back-to-back making it four championships for the 1950's with him as their QB.
It's all supposition but again, I wouldn't bet against Bobby Layne.
Injuries are what seemed to derail him much of the time.

Anything is possible.

Layne was a great quarterback who played for some great Detroit teams. Wonder why the Lions traded him?

[JuggernautJ]

Layne was a great quarterback who played for some great Detroit teams. Wonder why the Lions traded him?

From what I've read George Wilson said he knew he couldn't have two starting QBs on the same team (Layne and Tobin Rote).
Bobby Layne would never be satisfied (and perhaps wouldn't stand for) being second string and the fans would kill the coach if he traded Rote (who had just won a title for the Lions) so he felt compelled to let Layne go.

I would also hazard a guess that Buddy Parker offered more (Earl Morrall and two picks) for Bobby Layne than Wilson could get for Rote?

[BD Sullivan]

Layne was a great quarterback who played for some great Detroit teams. Wonder why the Lions traded him?

From what I've read George Wilson said he knew he couldn't have two starting QBs on the same team (Layne and Tobin Rote).
Bobby Layne would never be satisfied (and perhaps wouldn't stand for) being second string and the fans would kill the coach if he traded Rote (who had just won a title for the Lions) so he felt compelled to let Layne go.

I would also hazard a guess that Buddy Parker offered more (Earl Morrall and two picks) for Bobby Layne than Wilson could get for Rote?

As noted before, Buddy Parker was the George Allen of his era, routinely trading first round picks away for veterans. He obviously had enough experience with Layne to know he could offer a good quick fix, though the three QB's he had in his first year were Morrall, Len Dawson and Jack Kemp. Morrall got a baptism under first, but all three were still years away from making an impact.

[JuggernautJ]

Morrall got a baptism under first, but all three were still years away from making an impact.

Morrall actually did pretty well in 1957, playing for Buddy Parker.
He went to the Pro Bowl for a surprisingly decent 6-6 Steelers team.
But I guess Buddy wanted his own guy. And, of course, Bobby was a lot better than Earl (especially at that time).

https://www.pro-football-reference.com/ ... rrEa00.htm

https://www.pro-football-reference.com/ ... t/1957.htm

[Saban1]

So far, three people here think that Chicago would have won anyway if Layne did not get hurt in that 1956 game at Wrigley. One person here says that Detroit wins if they had a healthy Bobby Layne play the whole game.

Any more opinions out there? No one will get mad if your opinion is different from theirs (I think). Go for it.

[Saban1]

Here is something about Head Coach Buddy Parker that I find interesting. The Detroit Lions had a Board of Directors, who pretty much ran the team. Apparently, there was an anti-Parker faction on the Board. Here is what one director said after the Chicago game in 1956:

"A lot of us were disappointed over the way the Lions played last Sunday in Chicago. The unvarnished truth is the Lions were outcoached. Halas and his staff used their imaginations. And we have no assurance that the 1957 coaching will have as much luck as it had this season. Conceivably we could finish last, as we did in 1955."

Hard to believe that anyone in Detroit or with the team would feel that way. That is on page 38 of the Detroit Lions version of the "Great Teams, Great Years" series of books. It is out of print now, but copies can probably be found in big city libraries or on Amazon or other book sellers.

I think that if Parker did get fired after the 1956 season, there would be a bunch of teams trying to hire him. As it turned out, Parker ended up with the Pittsburgh Steelers after Buddy quit the Lions during the training camp.

"

[Jay Z]

I was reading the book "George Halas and the Chicago Bears" by George Vass.

The book goes into detail about the 1956 season. The Cardinals also complained about the Bears taking shots at Lamar McHan. And earlier in the season, the Bears knocked out George Shaw while playing the Colts.

Shaw's injury led to Johnny Unitas, who flopped in that initial appearance, but soon got better. Shaw and his knee were really never the same. Shaw was never going to be Unitas, who could be. But he was a great athlete. Think he probably would have been the next Tobin Rote had he stayed healthy. But he couldn't, and he lost confidence sitting behind Unitas.

[Saban1]

I was reading the book "George Halas and the Chicago Bears" by George Vass.

The book goes into detail about the 1956 season. The Cardinals also complained about the Bears taking shots at Lamar McHan. And earlier in the season, the Bears knocked out George Shaw while playing the Colts.

Shaw's injury led to Johnny Unitas, who flopped in that initial appearance, but soon got better. Shaw and his knee were really never the same. Shaw was never going to be Unitas, who could be. But he was a great athlete. Think he probably would have been the next Tobin Rote had he stayed healthy. But he couldn't, and he lost confidence sitting behind Unitas.

Sounds like a book that I would like to read.

I would like to see on film the Meadows hit on Bobby Layne, but it probably isn't on film anyplace. Just would like to see how late the hit was and how dirty. Chicago traded Meadows to Philadelphia after the 1957 season.

Jim Brown once said that the four dirtiest teams in the NFL were Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Chicago, and Detroit.