1952 NFL Championship-Detroit Lions-17, Los Angeles Rams-13

Hoernschemeyer led the Lions on the ground

January 4, 1953

Weather-26 degrees, 10 mph SW, snow

The Detroit Lions raced 77 yards in 1:31 of the fourth quarter (the drive culminating with a game-winning TD pass from Bobby Layne to Cloyce Box with 21 seconds to play) to win a thrilling NFL Championship game, 17-13. Detroit had led throughout, first taking the lead on a 25-yard run from Bob Hoernschemeyer. Detroit had a 10-6 fourth quarter lead when Norm Van Brocklin cleverly mixed the run and the pass on a long drive that ended with a short TD pass to Tom Fears to give Los Angeles a 13-10 lead. The ensuing drive was the 8-play masterpiece crafted by Layne and company, highlighted by a 43-yard run from Hoernschemeyer on a draw play. Hoernschemeyer finished with 99 yards on the ground. Layne completed 14 of 20 for 155 yards and a TD.

Van Brocklin led the Rams by completing 20 of his 24 attempts for 171 yards and a score, including 6 to Fears. The game was so closely played that each team gained exactly 303 yards. The Lions championship is the first in franchise history.

Los Angeles Rams.(10-4)-0-0-3-10-13
Detroit Lions....(11-3)-0-7-0-10-17

Det-Hoernschemeyer 25 run (Harder Kick)
LA-Waterfield 14 FG
LA-Waterfield 27 FG
Det-Harder 22 FG
LA-Fears 3 pass from Van Brocklin (Waterfield Kick)
Det-Box 4 pass from Layne (Harder Kick)

Rushing (season totals in parentheses)
LA-Towler-15-78-0 (188-1,125-11), Younger-7-27-0 (72-358-1), Smith-2-22-0 (59-155-3), Quinlan-7-12-0 (65-253-2)
Det-Hoernschemeyer-13-99-1 (137-607-6), Layne-9-26-0 (116-484-1), Smith-1-18-0 (4-30-0), Girard-8-11-0 (78-246-2), Harder-2-0-0 (87-252-2)

Passing
LA-Van Brocklin-24-20-171-1-0 (255-144-2,119-15-18)
Det-Layne-20-14-155-1-0 (328-169-2,329-22-20)

Receiving
LA-Fears-6-41-1 (59-705-7), Hirsch-5-51-0 (34-694-4), Carey-4-41-0 (44-695-1), Towler-3-15-0 (14-83-0), Quinlan-1-12-0 (15-277-2), Hecker-1-11-0 (1-11-0)
Det-Box-4-43-1 (51-1,013-17), Girard-3-35-0 (22-359-3), Hart-3-31-0 (39-460-4), Doran-2-26-0 (13-187-1), Hoernschemeyer-1-10-0 (19-161-0), Swiacki-1-10-0 (21-265-1)