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)

1952 NFL Semifinal-Los Angeles Rams-19, Cleveland Browns-14

"Deacon" Dan Towler

December 28, 1952

Weather-55 degrees, calm

Dan Towler ran for 153 yards, including a 45-yard run up the middle that gave the Rams a lead they would never lose, as they advanced to the championship game with a 19-14 win over Cleveland. Los Angeles built a 12-0 lead through 3 quarters by shutting down the Cleveland ground attack, but the Browns started moving the ball in the fourth quarter. Cleveland QB Otto Graham completed 5 of 7 on 2 late scoring drives in the fourth quarter, finishing with 221 passing yards. Marion Motley scored on a draw play from 30 yards out to cut the Los Angeles lead to 5 late in the fourth, but Norm Van Brocklin hit Tom Fear with a crucial third down pass to keep the Rams final drive alive, and Cleveland never got the ball back. Motley ran for 142 yards in a losing cause.

Los Angeles will travel to Detroit for the NFL Championship game next Sunday.

Cleveland Browns.(9-5)-0-0-0-14-14
Los Angeles Rams.(10-3)-6-3-3-7-19

LA-Towler 45 run (Kick Missed)
LA-Waterfield 10 FG
LA-Waterfield 35 FG
Cle-Jones 1 run (Groza Kick)
LA-Quinlan 2 run (Waterfield Kick)
Cle-Motley 30 run (Groza Kick)

Rushing (season totals in parentheses)
Cle-Motley-14-142-1 (132-682-2), Jones-10-28-1 (85-337-3), Jagade-7-20-0 (69-425-2), Graham-3-3-0 (51-134-4)
LA-Towler-17-153-1 (173-1,047-11), Quinlan-6-17-1 (58-241-2), Van Brocklin-1-2-0 (8-(-8)-0), Younger-2-0-0 (65-331-1), Waterfield-3-(-3)-0 (12-(-17)-1)

Passing
Cle-Graham-31-16-221-0-0 (425-213-3,292-23-25)
LA-Van Brocklin-26-11-212-0-1 (231-124-1,948-14-18), Waterfield-6-2-20-0-0 (115-53-675-3-11)

Receiving
Cle-Speedie-6-74-0 (74-1,108-7), Lavelli-5-47-0 (31-464-5), Jones-3-49-0 (50-739-4), Brewster-1-27-0 (5-144-1), Motley-1-24-0 (14-237-2)
LA-Fears-5-64-0 (53-664-6), Carey-4-115-0 (40-654-1), Hirsch-4-53-0 (29-643-4)

1952 NFL Semifinal-Detroit Lions-27, New York Giants-3

Legendary Detroit QB Bobby Layne

December 28, 1952

Weather-31 degrees, 14 mph SSW

Bobby Layne battled the winds of Tiger Stadium and the New York Giants defense with great success as the Lions ended the Giants run of consecutive NFL titles by crushing New York, 27-3. The teams played a scoreless first quarter, but the Lions unloaded 17 points on the Giants in 5:53 of the second quarter, and New York could never recover. The Detroit defense limited New York to just 166 yards for the game, including only 53 yards on the ground. The Lions offense was led by Bobby Layne, who was excellent all afternoon. Layne completed 16 of 21 for 175 yards and 2 TD, spreading the ball to 6 different receivers.

The Lions will host either the Browns or the Rams for the 1952 NFL Championship next Sunday.

New York Giants...(8-6)-0-0-0-3-3
Detroit Lions.(10-3)-0-17-0-10-27

Det-Harder 16 FG
Det-Girard 5 pass from Layne (Harder Kick)
Det-Hoernschemeyer 6 run (Harder Kick)
Det-Box 11 pass from Layne (Harder Kick)
NY-Poole 23 FG
Det-Harder 14 FG

Rushing (season totals in parentheses)
NY-Price-16-26-0 (224-875-5), Rote-9-16-0 (124-480-2), Conerly-3-7-0 (33-125-0), McChesney-1-4-0 (3-6-0)
Det-Hoernschemeyer-18-51-1 (124-508-5), Layne-13-47-0 (107-458-1), Girard-9-13-0 (70-235-2), Harder-4-8-0 (85-252-2), Doran-1-1-0 (2-37-0)

Passing
NY-Conerly-22-9-123-0-0 (220-103-1,347-13-10)
Det-Layne-21-16-175-2-0 (308-155-2,174-21-20)

Receiving
NY-McChesney-3-62-0 (28-545-6), Stribling-2-24-0 (33-481-5), Price-2-21-0 (15-112-1), Rote-2-16-0 (26-291-2)
Det-Box-5-46-1 (47-970-16), Hart-4-53-0 (36-429-4), Swiacki-3-42-0 (20-255-1), Girard-2-8-1 (19-324-3), Doran-1-14-0 (11-161-1), Hoernschemeyer-1-12-0 (18-151-0)