The 1954 NFL Championship Game was the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the majo ...

's 22nd annual championship game, held on December 26 at Cleveland Stadium in

Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the United States, U.S. U.S. state, state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along ...

Ohio Ohio () is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Of the List of states and territories of the United States, fifty U.S. states, it is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 34th-l ...

. Billed as the "1954 World Professional Football Championship Game," the turnover-plagued contest was won by 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 Conferenc ...

, who defeated the

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 For ...

56–10.

Background

The

(9–2–1) of the Western Conference met the

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

1953 Events January * January 6 – The Asian Socialist Conference opens in Rangoon, Burma. * January 12 – Estonian émigrés found a government-in-exile in Oslo. * January 14 ** Marshal Josip Broz Tito is chosen President of Yugosl ...

. They were attempting to become the first team to win three consecutive league titles 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 ...

).The

Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. It is the t ...

won three consecutive (, , ) when the title was determined by the regular season final standings. The Browns, who entered the league only in 1950 with the demise of the All-America Football Conference, faced a particularly daunting task in taking on the Lions, having lost all eight of the franchise's previous matches against the Detroit club.Al Ennis (ed.), "1954 World Professional Football Championship Game," ''Professional Football: Official 1955 Year Book of the National Football League.'' Baltimore, MS: Stadium Publishing Co., 1955; pp. 5-7. 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. The game had been postponed from early October, due to the

World Series The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, contested since 1903 between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winner of the Worl ...

, and both teams had already clinched their berths in the title game. Detroit was a slight favorite (2½ to 3 points) to three-peat as champions. The underdog Browns won the title at home in a rout, 56–10; placekicker

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 ...

made eight extra points, a new title game record, among many.

Starters

Cleveland Browns

* Pete Brewster, LE *

, LT * Abe Gibron, LG *

Frank Gatski Frank "Gunner" Gatski (March 18, 1921 – November 22, 2005) was an American professional football player who was a center for the Cleveland Browns of the All-America Football Conference (AAFC) and the National Football League (NFL) in the 1940 ...

, C * Chuck Noll, RG * John Sandusky, RT * Dante Lavelli, RE * Otto Graham, QB * Ray Renfro, LHB * Billy Reynolds, RHB *

Maurice Bassett Maurice LaFrancis Bassett (April 26, 1931May 24, 1991) was a professional American football player. Bassett played fullback for three seasons for the Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in C ...

, FB

Detroit Lions

Doak Walker practicing (8679147364) (2) (cropped)

* Dorne Dibble, LE * Lou Creekmur, LT *

Harley Sewell Harley Edward Sewell (April 18, 1931 – December 17, 2011) was an American football guard for the Detroit Lions (1953–1962), the Los Angeles Rams (1963). He was born in Jefferson County, Oklahoma, and attended the University of Texas. He and ...

, LG * Andy Miketa, C * "Jungle Jim" Martin, RG * Charles Ane, RT * Earl "Jug" Girard, RE * Bobby Layne, QB * Doak Walker, LHB * Lewis Carpenter, RHB * Bill Bowman, FB Note: Players often played both offense and defense in this period. Although free substitution existed from 1943, what are today considered defensive starters were categorized as "substitutes" in this era.

Game Summary

First quarter On its first possession, Lions' fullback Bill Bowman ran for 50 yards but lost the ball to Cleveland on a fumble. The Lions regained possession at the Cleveland 35 when Joe Schmidt intercepted an Otto Graham pass. The Browns defense held and Detroit was forced to settle for a 36-yard field goal by Doak Walker. Billy Reynolds returned the subsequent kickoff 46 yards, crossing midfield to the Lions' 41 yard line. Cleveland was forced to punt but a roughing penalty gave the Browns new life and Graham hit Ray Renfro with a 35-yard pass for a touchdown. Following the Lou Groza conversion, the score stood at Cleveland 7, Detroit 3. On the next possession another Layne interception by defensive back Paul was run back 33 yards, setting up Cleveland in the red zone on the Detroit 8 yard line, with Graham hitting left end Darrell Brewster for the score. Following Groza's kick the score was Browns 14, Lions 3. Second quarter Detroit was again stopped on their next possession and its punt was taken by Cleveland's Billy Reynolds and returned 46 yards to the Detroit 10 yard line. Grinding the ball to the 1 yard line, Graham ran a quarterback sneak and hit paydirt. Following the Groza conversion the score stood at Browns 21, Lions 3. Lion running back Lewis Carpenter tore up a 52-yard run in Detroit's next possession, setting up Detroit for its only touchdown of the day when fullback Bill Bowman scored from five yards out. Following the conversion by Lions kicker Doak Walker, it was Browns 21, Lions 10. Cleveland was forced to punt, but on the next Detroit possession defensive lineman McCormack ripped the ball from Layne, with the Browns recovering on the Detroit 31. Four plays later Graham ran for another touchdown, reaching the end zone standing up. With the conversion the score was Browns 28, Lions 10, and the rout was on. Yet another Bobby Layne pass was intercepted by Cleveland's Michaels, who was listed as a substitute fullback and was thus probably playing the modern equivalent of the safety position. With the ball on the Lions' 31, Otto Graham launched a pass to halfback Ray Renfro, who made a great catch at the five yard line and took the ball over the score. With Groza's conversion, the halftime score was Browns 35, Lions 10. Third quarter The Browns opened the second half with a six play drive, highlighted by a 43-yard strike from Otto Graham to Pete Brewster, who was stopped just short of the goal line. Graham scored his third touchdown of the day with a quarterback sneak, with Groza converting to make the score Browns 42, Lions 10. Kenny Konz grabbed the first of his two interceptions, running the ball back to the Detroit 13. Two plays later substitute fullback Curly Morrison scored on a 12-yard run. Following the Groza extra point, the third quarter score stood at Browns 49, Lions 10. Fourth quarter Yet another pick by Konz set up the final touchdown of the day, when substitute halfback Chet Hanulak scored from the 10. With Groza's extra point, the final score was reached: Browns 56, Lions 10.

Line summary

''Sunday, December 26, 1954''
Kickoff: 2 p.m. EST *First quarter **DET – FG Walker, 36 yards, 3–0 DET **CLE – Renfro 35-yard pass from Graham (Groza kick), 7–3 CLE **CLE – Brewster 8-yard pass from Graham (Groza kick), 14–3 CLE *Second quarter **CLE – Graham 1-yard run (Groza kick), 21–3 CLE **DET – 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 – Morrison 12-yard run (Groza kick), 49–10 CLE *Fourth quarter **CLE – Hanulak 10-yard run (Groza kick), 56–10 CLE

Game statistics

* Total yards: Cleveland 303; Detroit 331 * Passing: Cleveland: (9-12) 165 yards; Detroit (19-44) 195 yards * Yards rushing: Cleveland 140; Detroit 136 * First downs: Cleveland 17; Detroit 16 * Turnovers: Cleveland 4 (2 int., 2 fum.); Detroit 9 (6 int., 3 fum.) * Punts: Cleveland 4 (43.0 average); Detroit 6 (41.3 average) * Penalties: Cleveland (4 for 40 yards); Detroit (5 for 63 yards)

Officials

*Referee: Tom Timlin *Umpire: Sam Wilson *Head Linesman: Dan Tehan *Back Judge: James Hamer *Field Judge: William McHugh 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 su ...

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

Financial summary

* Paid attendance: 43,827 * Gross receipts (includes TV and radio): $289,126.43 * Net receipts: $263,606.07 * Total players' pool (70% of net): $184,524.25 * Winners' pool: $99,643.10 ($2,478.57 per player) * Losers' pool: $66,428.73 ($1,585.63 per player) * Pool for second place clubs (Eagles, Bears): $18,452.42 * Browns ownership share: $19,770.45 * Lions ownership share: $19,770.46 * League share: $39,540.91

Legacy

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. The 56–10 score was the second most lopsided in the 22-year history of the event, exceeded only by the 1940 game, in which 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 ...

embarrassed the

Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) ...

73–0. The 46 point margin of victory is the second highest in championship history since the NFL began the annual game in 1933. The largest margin of victory in the Super Bowl (which is the NFL Championship Game) was 45 points in

Super Bowl XXIV Super Bowl XXIV was an American football game between the National Football Conference (NFC) champion San Francisco 49ers and the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Denver Broncos to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion fo ...

. The victory was the second World Professional Football Championship win for the Browns. The gross receipts for the game, including over $101,000 for radio and television rights, were just over $289,000. Each player on the winning Browns team received $2,478, while Lions players made $1,585 each.