The 1953 NFL Championship Game was the 21st annual

championship game In sport, a championship is a Competition#Sports, competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match sy ...

, held on December 27 at

Briggs Stadium Tiger Stadium, previously known as Navin Field and Briggs Stadium, was a multi-purpose stadium located in the Corktown, Detroit, Corktown neighborhood of Detroit. The stadium was nicknamed "The Corner" for its location at the intersection of U. ...

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...

. The defending NFL champion

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) North Division. The team play their home games at Ford ...

(10–2) of the Western Conference were led by quarterback

Bobby Layne Robert Lawrence Layne (December 19, 1926 – December 1, 1986) was an American football quarterback who played for 15 seasons in the National Football League. He played for the Chicago Bears in 1948, the New York Bulldogs in 1949, the Detroit ...

and running back

Doak Walker Ewell Doak Walker II (January 1, 1927 – September 27, 1998) was an American football player. He played college football as a halfback at Southern Methodist University (SMU), where he won the Heisman Trophy in 1948. Walker then played professio ...

, and the

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. Named after original coach and co-founder Paul Brown, they compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference ( ...

(11–1) of the Eastern Conference were led by head coach

Paul Brown Paul Eugene Brown (September 7, 1908 – August 5, 1991) was an American football coach and executive in the All-America Football Conference (AAFC) and National Football League (NFL). Brown was both the co-founder and first coach of the Clevela ...

and quarterback

Otto Graham Otto Everett Graham Jr. (December 6, 1921 – December 17, 2003) was an American professional football player who was a quarterback for the Cleveland Browns in the All-America Football Conference (AAFC) and National Football League (NFL). Graha ...

. The game was a rematch of the previous year, which was won by the Lions, 17–7. This was the Browns' fourth consecutive NFL championship game appearance since joining the league in , and they were favored by three points. The Lions were attempting to become the third team in the championship game era (since

1933 Events January * January 11 – Sir Charles Kingsford Smith makes the first commercial flight between Australia and New Zealand. * January 17 – The United States Congress votes in favour of Philippines independence, against the wis ...

) to win two titles in a row, following the

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) North division. The Bears have won nine NF ...

( 1940,

1941 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January–August – 10,072 men, women and children with mental and physical disabilities are asphyxiated with carbon monoxide in a gas chamber, at Hadamar Eu ...

) and

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team plays ...

(

1948 Events January * January 1 ** The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) is inaugurated. ** The Constitution of New Jersey (later subject to amendment) goes into effect. ** The railways of Britain are nationalized, to form British ...

1949 Events January * January 1 – A United Nations-sponsored ceasefire brings an end to the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947. The war results in a stalemate and the division of Kashmir, which still continues as of 2022. * January 2 – Luis ...

). The home underdog Lions rallied in the fourth quarter with a late touchdown and conversion to win by a single point, 17–16. The two teams met the following year for a third consecutive title match-up. Ticket prices ranged from three to seven

dollars Dollar is the name of more than 20 currencies. They include the Australian dollar, Brunei dollar, Canadian dollar, Hong Kong dollar, Jamaican dollar, Liberian dollar, Namibian dollar, New Taiwan dollar, New Zealand dollar, Singapore dollar, U ...

Game summary

The Lions struck first with a

touchdown, and both scored field goals in the second quarter and the Lions led at halftime, 10–3. The Browns scored thirteen straight points in the second half to take the lead. Trailing 16–10 with four minutes and 10 seconds of play remaining, the Lions started from their own 20-yard line and fought their way 80 yards in eight plays, the touchdown coming on a 33-yard pass from Bobby Layne to

Jim Doran James Robert Doran (August 11, 1927 – June 30, 1994) was a National Football League (NFL) wide receiver for the Detroit Lions (1951–1959) and the Dallas Cowboys (1960–1961). He played college football at Iowa State University. He was ...

in the end zone, and Walker's extra point gave the Lions the lead. Trailing 17–16, the Browns had one last chance; Ken Carpenter started the drive with a run to his own 28, but an

pass intended for

Pete Brewster Darrel Burton Brewster (September 1, 1930 – January 3, 2020), known as Pete Brewster, was an American football End (American football), end, Coach (sport), coach, and College football, collegiate football and College basketball, basketball play ...

was deflected by rookie defensive halfback Carl Karilivacz, intercepting the throw, clinching the Lions their third title.

Scoring summary

''Sunday, December 27, 1953''
Kickoff: 1:00 p.m. EST *First quarter **DET –

1-yard run (Walker kick), 7–0 DET *Second quarter **CLE – FG

Lou Groza Louis Roy Groza (January 25, 1924 – November 29, 2000), nicknamed "the Toe", was an American professional football player who was a placekicker and offensive tackle while playing his entire career for the Cleveland Browns in the All-America F ...

13 yard, 7–3 DET **DET – FG Walker 23 yard, 10–3 DET *Third quarter **CLE –

Chick Jagade Harry Charles Jagade (December 9, 1926 – November 1968) was an American football fullback in the National Football League for the Cleveland Browns and Chicago Bears. He also played in the All-America Football Conference for the Baltimore ...

9-yard run (Groza kick), 10–10 tie *Fourth quarter **CLE – FG Groza 15 yard, 13–10 CLE **CLE – FG Groza 43 yard, 16–10 CLE **DET –

33-yard pass from

(Walker kick), 17–16 DET

Officials

*Referee:

Ron Gibbs Ron Gibbs (born 14 April 1962), also known by the nickname of "Rambo", is an Australian former rugby league footballer who played professionally in Australia and England. An Australian Aboriginal and Country New South Wales representative three ...

*Umpire: Sam Wilson *Head Linesman: Dan Tehan *Back Judge: James Hamer *Field Judge: Carl Rebele *Alternate: John Glascott *Alternate: Yans Wallace The NFL added the fifth

official An official is someone who holds an office (function or mandate, regardless whether it carries an actual working space with it) in an organization or government and participates in the exercise of authority, (either their own or that of their ...

, the back judge, in ; the line judge arrived in , and the side judge in .

Players' shares

The gross receipts for the game, including radio and television rights, were just under $359,000. Each player on the winning Lions team received $2,424, while Browns players made $1,654 each, the highest to date.

Video

You Tube
– 1953 NFL Championship Game – game footage (without audio)
You Tube
– World's Championship Football Game (Cleveland Browns at Detroit Lions, 1953) - highlight film with audio commentary

References

External links

Harold Sauerbrie, "Browns Lose Title Game, 17–16", Cleveland Plain Dealer, December 27, 1953, Browns history database retrieved December 12, 2007 {{NFL on DuMont Championship Game, 1953 1953 NFL Championship Game Cleveland Browns postseason Detroit Lions postseason December 1953 sports events in the United States 1953 in sports in Ohio Sports competitions in Cleveland