Detroit Lions Won Three NFL Championships in 1950s

Published on November 20th, 2023 4:52 pm EST
Written By: Dave Manuel


Any fan of the Detroit Lions will tell you that there have been plenty of dark moments for the franchise.

After all, since 1932, the Detroit Lions have only made the playoffs 18 times - that makes for a lot of lean years.

There was a time, however, when the Detroit Lions were the class of the National Football League.

There was a time when the Detroit Lions won THREE titles in just six years.

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The 1950s were a special time for the NFL, as the league started in soar in popularity due to the invention of the television set.

The Detroit Lions were one of the best teams in the NFL during this period.

At the time, the Lions played in Tiger Stadium, and that venue was a scary place for opposition teams to play.

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The Lions started to break out in 1952 when, led by Head Coach Buddy Parker, the Lions finished with a record of 9-3 and made it through to the NFL Championship game.

The Lions were appearing in their first championship game since winning in 1935, and they certainly made the most of it, defeating the Cleveland Browns by a score of 17-7.

The Lions stifled the Browns on defense and made the most of their opportunities on offense - the game was never really in doubt.

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The teams would square off again in 1953, with the 10-2 Lions taking on the 11-1 Cleveland Browns.

The Browns were led by the dynamic Otto Graham, who would give defenses fits over the course of his career.

This was a much closer game than in 1952, with the Lions managing to squeak out a 17-16 victory. The Lions had to put down a last-minute offensive march by the Browns, and they managed to do so by intercepting a deflected Otto Graham pass.

The Lions had done it again, and were now back-to-back champions.

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The Lions would make it to yet another championship game in 1954, only this time they were waxed by the Cleveland Browns by a score of 56-10.

The Browns, who were led by the dynamic Otto Graham, enacted their revenge in an embarrassing route for the Lions.

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The Lions would lay low for a few years before exacting their revenge on the Browns in the 1957 title game.

The two teams would play in the big game for the fourth time in less than a decade, and the Lions would come out on top for the third time.

Despite having Jim Brown on their squad, the Browns would get waxed by the Detroit Lions by a score of 59-14.

The Lions were on top of the world yet again, though this would be the last title that they would ever win.

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If you told people in 1957 that the Detroit Lions would not win another title for a minimum of 65+ years, they surely wouldn't have believed you.

The Lions have made the playoffs 12 times since winning their title in 1957, though they haven't even come close to having a sniff at the championship.