Detroit Lions: Truly Cursed Or Just Bad Luck?

Bobby Layne is considered one of the most beloved quarterbacks in Detroit Lions history. 

And if you believe he did indeed place a curse on the Lions when he was traded in 1958 to the Pittsburgh Steelers, some could say he is also the most hated.

The debate has gone back and forth regarding whether he actually placed a curse on the Lions.

Granted, he was none to happy when he found out he was traded.

It is rumored that he said the Lions wouldn't win in 50 years. 

What has been verified he did say was "I'd like to win a championship for the Steelers and for myself and shove it down Detroit's throat!"

Since then, Detroit has not won a championship in over 50 years and in 10 playoff appearances, have recorded only one win.

Since everyone seems to have an opinion about the curse, I've put together this slide show starting with a bit of history on the Lions and some examples of what the curse may or may not have caused over the years.

The last slide is a bit of a surprise, just for your entertainment.

Enjoy and let me know what you think!

Acknowledgment - Much of the research can be found on The Curse of Bobby Layne website.

The Portsmouth Spartans

The Detroit Lions began life in 1929 as the Porstmouth Spartans and were an instant hit beating the established Ironton Tanks twice.

Because of the success of the Spartans, the National Football League awarded them full membership in 1930.

The best known game the Spartans played was against the Green Bay Packers in 1932.

Called the Iron Man game because head coach Potsy Clark wanted to prove the Spartans were a better team than the Packers, he refused to make any substitutions against the defending champions and the Spartans won 19-0 using only 11 players for the entire game.

Another game of notoriety was an unscheduled NFL Championship game against the Chicago Bears, also in 1932.

Blizzard conditions forced the game indoors to Chicago Stadium which was capable of allowing only an 80-yard field. 

Side-note—this game could be considered the first arena football game.

Spartans Become The Detrot Lions

In 1933, despite having success on the field, the Spartans suffered from poor revenues and the Great Depression. 

On the verge of folding, George Rogers, owner of the WJR radio station, purchased the team and renamed them the Detroit Lions in recognition of the city's professional baseball team, the Detroit Lions.

The Lions won their first NFL Championship in 1935 with the great Earl "Dutch" Clark at the helm.

Thanksgiving Tradition: Interesting Tidbit

Many believe the Detroit Lions were the originators of the Thanksgiving Day tradition. 

The Ironton Tanks played the first Thanksgiving Day game in 1922. 

They continued playing every Thanksgiving until 1932, their final season.

Many of the Ironton players joined the Portsmouth Spartans who continued to play on Thanksgiving until sold to George Richards in 1934.

Richards asked the players about ways to increase ticket sales and they answered they always had good turnouts on Thanksgiving Day. 

Richards scheduled the Lions to play Thanksgiving that year and the tradition was carried on.

1940's: Not a Good Decade For The Detroit Lions

The 1940's were not kind to the Detroit Lions. 

For the decade, they won a total of 35 games, averaging a mere 3.5 wins per season, including a 0-11 season on 1942.

The 1942 offense was so bad, they scored only 5 touchdowns the entire year and never scored more than 7 points in a game.

The only game of significance of the decade was against the New York Giants. 

The game ended in a 0-0 tie, the last NFL game to end in a scoreless tie.

1950's: The Glory Years and The Start Of "The Curse"

The greatest decade to date for the Lions was from 1950 to 1959, winning three NFL Championships in four attempts. 

All championship games were played against the Cleveland Browns with the Lions winning in 1952, 1953 and 1957.  Browns took the championship in 1954 to prevent the Lions from wining it three consecutive years.

But the decade ended on a sour note when in 1958, the Lions traded Bobby Layne to the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Leading up to the trade was the quarterback controversy in 1957. 

That year, Layne was injured and backup quarterback Tobin Rote took over. 

When Layne came back, head coach George Wilson used both Rote and Layne on a rotational basis, sometimes alternating by quarters.

Layne was furious with the new setup since he felt one quarterback should be in charge. 

But the Lions management, fed up with Layne's notorious nightlife escapades, felt that Rote could fill the role better than Layne and traded him to Pittsburgh.

Thus, the supposed curse was born.

The Curse: Some Possible Effects

The next few slides could be either coincidence or attributed to Layne's curse. 

I believe in The Curse so I will be attributing each event to it.

1961 : William Cly Ford, Sr. Buys The Lions For $4.5 Million Dollars

I'm not sure that his purchase can be attributed to The Curse. 

But I'm sure there are a lot of Detroit Lions fans that would though.

Since Ford bought the team, he has consistently made bad choices in hiring general managers, head coaches and has consistently tried to find players on the cheap.

Outside of some moderate success in the 1990's, during Ford's tenure as owner the Lions have been the epitome of mediocrity.

1961: Milt Plumb Snatches Defeat From The Jaws Of Victory

This is going to sound awfully familiar to Drew Stanton's gaffe against the New York Jets.

Lions were playing the Green Bay Packers, clinging to a 7-6 lead with 1:46 left in the game.

Lion teammate Joe Schmidt instructed Plum to eat time off the clock by running the ball.  For whatever reason, Plum called for a pass play to wide receiver Terry Barr. 

Farr fell down running the route and the pass was intercepted by Packer Herb Adderly.

Paul Hourning kicked the game winning field goal with 33 seconds left and the Green Bay Packers went on to win the NFL Championship that year.

1963: Alex Karras Suspeneded For Gambling

Alex Karras, along with the Green Bay Packer's Paul Hourning, were suspended indefinitely by NFL commissioner Pete Rozelle for gambling.

He later apologized to Rozelle and the NFL in 1964 which brings up one of the best lines ever quoted by Karras.

His first game back, he went out for the coin toss. 

The referee asked Karras to call it and he declined by saying "I'm sorry sir.  I'm not allowed to gamble."

1970: Tom Dempsey Kicks a 63 Yard Field Goal

The New Orleans Saints, better know as the Aint's in the 1970's, had only one win with the Lions coming to town.

The score was 17-16 with the Lions leading and a mere two seconds on the clock.

Saints Head Coach, J.D. Roberts, sent out Tom Dempsey to attempt a 63-yard field goal.

For those of you who don't know, Dempsey was born with half a foot and was one of the last straight ahead kickers in the NFL.

Dempsey launched a kick from the 37-yard line and it cleared the uprights, giving the Saints a 19-17 win.

1970: Lions Lose Playoff Game To Dallas, 5-0

Despite the loss to the Saints, the Lions advanced to the playoffs to face the Dallas Cowboys.

The result was the lowest scoring playoff game ever played with the Cowboys wining, 5-0.

How dismal was the game? 

Lions QB Greg Landry was the top passer of the game with 48 yards passing. 

Lion wide-out Earl McCulloch led all receivers with a total of 39 yards.

After this playoff loss, it was another 12 years before the Lions returned to the post-season.

1980: Another One Beats Our Butt

The "Roar" was restored for the first few games of the season.

Billy Sims ran wild in the first four games and an inspired Jimmy "Spiderman" Allen recorded his own version of Queen's "Another One Bites The Dust" along with teammates David Hill and Jimmy Hunter.

Queen's version was played loudly at the Pontiac Silverdome when the Lions won games. 

The song must have angered The Curse as it kicked in so strongly, the Lions failed to make the playoffs.

Detroit fans, ever creative, began singing their own version of the song "Another One Beats Out Butts."

The "Snore" was restored for the Lions once again.

1980: Shortest Overtime Game Ever

In 1980, the Lions became part of history, yet again in a negative light.

On Thanksgiving Day, the Lions hosted the Chicago Bears. 

The Lions held the lead for most of the game but with mere seconds remaining on the clock, the Bears kicked a field goal to send the game into overtime.

The Bears won the overtime coin toss and elected to receive. 

Bears return man David Williams ended the game in 21 seconds with a 95-yard kickoff return.

It remained the shortest overtime game ever played for 22 years until the Jets beat the Bills in 14 seconds in 2002.

1983: Monte Clark Prays For a Win

Lions came in as the wild card in 1983 and headed to San Francisco with high hopes.

Leading 23-17 with 5 minutes to play, The Curse had the Lions go into a prevent defense which we all know prevents the Lions—and all teams—from winning. 

San Francisco scored a touchdown to take a 24-23 lead.

Lions didn't give in easily and they got into field goal range for "Steady" Eddie Murray, one of the best clutch kickers of his time. 

He had kicked a 54-yarder earlier in the game and so the 43-yard attempt to win the game was a lock—or so everyone thought.

With the game on the line, the camera panned to Monte Clark with his hands clasped together in prayer with his eyes looking to the heavens.

The field goal went wide, the season was over and Clark's prayers went unanswered.

The failed kick sent the two teams in opposite directions.

The 49ers would win three of their five Super Bowls in the 1980's—the Lions never won more than seven games for the rest of the decade.

1988: Mayday, Mayday!

Lions were holding a slim 14-12 lead over the New Orleans Saints. 

Backed up on their own 12-yard line on fourth down, the Lions set up to punt.

Prior to the snap, an unidentified Saints defensive player yelled "MayDay!" which was the Lions code for the receivers they weren't being covered and that a fake punt was on.

Punter Jim Arnold took the snap and threw a perfect spiral to rookie wide receiver Carl Painter. 

The problem was that Painter never had a clue the fake punt was on—like anyone would call for one at their own 12-yard line—and the ball hit him square in the back as he ran down field.

Lions lost the game 22-14 and were again on the wrong side of luck. 

It did give the NFL one of the funniest moments in history though.

1995: Lomas Brown Guarantees a Victory

The Curse possessed Lomas Brown, considered an excellent left tackle who pretty much kept to himself.

However, on the wake of giddiness the Lions developed while winning their last 7 games of the season to save head coach Wayne Fontes, Lomas had a moment of insanity.

Lions drew the Philadelphia Eagles in the first round of the playoffs. 

After the win streak in the regular season, Brown was so optimistic that he guaranteed a victory over the Eagles.

Eagles head coach Ray Rhodes used the quote as bulletin board material and the Eagles destroyed the Lions in what many Lions fans consider to be the worst Lions playoff game ever played. 

Eagles scored 31 points in the second quarter and cruised to a 58-37 victory.

To rub salt into the wound, the starting quarterback for the Eagles was none other than Rodney Peete.

1999: Barry Sanders Retires

On the cusp of breaking Walter Payton's all-time rushing record, Barry Sanders retired just prior to the start of the 1999 preseason.

David Ware, his representative, informed the Lions, Barry would return his bonus if the Lions traded him immediately. 

The Lions declined to honor that request.

Rumors had it some of his reasons for retiring were the dismal 5-11 season of 1998, his belief that the Lions organization was not committed to building a winner and they allowed too many Lions players such as Lomas Brown, Kevin Glover and Zefross Moss to leave via free agency.

He also didn't get along well with Bobby Ross who had a vastly different coaching style than Wayne Fontes.

2001: Johnny Morton and Jay Leno Feud

I wasn't sure that I was going to include this but after thinking about it, I decided this is a perfect example of just how sick the Lions players and fans are about the mediocrity of the team.

The Lions began the 2001 campaign 0-10 which started talk of a winless season, something that had not been duplicated since the 1976 Tampa Bay Buccaneers first season when they went 0-14.

Jay Leno, the "Tonight Show" host, incorporated many of the Lions miscues into his nightly monologues and skits.

The Lions finally achieved a win over the Minnesota Vikings and as Johnnie Morton walked off the field, he exclaimed that "Jay Leno can kiss my ass!"

That Monday night, Leno, ever the showman, brought in a live donkey and kissed it while Morton watched on a split screen.

As a final jab. Leno claimed the Vikings were on suicide watch after losing to the Lions.

2002: The Overtime Coin Toss

Perhaps the most telling sign the Lions are cursed was Marty Mornhinweg's decision to kick off after winning the coin toss in a sudden death overtime against the Chicago Bears.

When attempting to justify his call at his press conference following the game, he said that he wanted the wind.

Even a monkey knows to take the ball in any situation when it comes to overtime.

ESPN ranks Mornhinweg's call as the third worst decision in sports.

Not just football, in all of sports.

Makes you wonder what the other two decisions were?

2006: The Phantom Safety

Lions were playing the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field.

With the score tied in the fourth quarter, the Lions had the Pack backed up on their one-foot line.

On the Packers ensuing play, the referees called two penalties in the end-zone on the Packers, awarding the Lions with a safety and a two point lead—or so everyone thought.

Despite the fact that penalties are not reviewable, the Packers threw the red flag to challenge the call.

Worse yet, the officials never looked at the replay, reversed the call and gave the ball back to the Packers.

The Lions ended up losing the game in overtime which resulted in their 15th consecutive loss at Lambeau Field.

2006: Naked Coach at Wendy's Drive Thru

This just goes to show the "high quality" coaches the Lions have hired.

Joe Cullen, who had also been nailed for drunk driving a week after this escapade, was caught naked going through a Wendy's drive thru.

The employee stated that Cullen wasn't acting all that unusual, just that he was naked.  He ordered a single combo with fries and a drink.

Wendy's should have cashed in and called it the Cullen combo!

The last time a defensive coached caused this much trouble, he was promoted to head coach—I am speaking of Wayne Fontes who was charged with possession of cocaine and a DUI charge.

2007: Jon Kitna Predicts 10 Wins

Kitna, a journeyman quarterback at best, boldly predicted the Lions would win 10 games and a trip to the playoffs.

OK, he really didn't predict a 10-win season but rather if the Lions win 10 games, they could go to the playoffs—subtle difference but the media twisted it.

With the Lions getting off to a 6-2 start though, Kitna looked like a genius. 

But The Curse had other things in mind.

After blowing out the Denver Broncos 44-7 to get them to 6-2, the Lions promptly dropped six of the seven remaining games, finishing with a 7-9 record and no trip to the playoffs.

2008: Dan Orovsky Safety

The curse was supposed to end this day.

Fifty years to the day, Bobby Layne placed the 50-year cruse on the Detroit Lions.

It gave the Lions and their fans felt "The Curse" was indeed over as the Lions led the Minnesota Vikings late in the fourth quarter.

The Lions recovered a fumble at their own one yard line, thwarting a scoring threat by the Vikings. 

On the ensuing play, quarterback Dan Orlovsky took the snap, dropped back and rolled to his right to avoid the pass rush.

Unfortunately Dan ran out of the back of the end-zone.

While the Lions still held the lead despite giving up the safety, they ended up losing the game as the Vikings kicked a field goal as time expired to win by—you guessed it—two points.

2008: Historic 0-16 Season

The Curse reached it's peak in the 2008 season.

Initially it gave the fans hope as the the Lions went 4-0 in the preseason.

There are those that say preseason games are meaningless and I tend to agree.

Normally, I don't even keep track of them. 

But, I will admit, that after beating the Giants, Bengals, Browns and Bills, the 2008 season was beginning to look pretty good.

Then the regular season began with Detroit going to Atlanta to face rookie QB Matt Ryan in his first NFL game.

The Curse was swift in plunging the dagger. 

Nearly two minutes into the game, Ryan dropped back for his first NFL pass and connected with Michael Jenkins for a 62-yard touchdown.  Ryan became the first Atlanta Falcon rookie QB to throw for a TD on his first pass.

The Curse also exposed the weak run defense by allowing Michael Turner to run for 220 yards and two touchdowns.

On 22 attempts, Turner averaged 10 yards per carry.

No wonder Matt Ryan only attempted 13 passes, connecting on nine of them.

The only good thing about the 0-16 season? 

Lions were able to draft Matthew Stafford. 

Unfortunately, he's only played about half a season in two years due to shoulder injuries.

2010: The Catch That Wasn't

The Curse was in fine form this day.

Detroit Lions opened the 2010 season on the road against the Chicago Bears. 

Many thought the Lions could won this game with their new defensive line featuring rookie Ndamukong Suh and free agent Kyle Vanden Bosch.

Knowing full well that a Mike Martz offense was weak in protecting the quarterback, the Lions game plan was to attack QB Jay Cutler.

Lions QB Matthew Stafford was knocked out of the game on a vicious, but legal hit, fom Bears defensive end Julius Peppers.

But Shaun Hill, who the Lions got via a trade from San Francisco, came in and performed admirably.

He got the Lions into a great position to win the game with 25 seconds on the clock and the Lions down 19-14. 

Everyone in the stadium knew where the ball was going and the Lions didn’t disappoint.

Hill dropped back to pass and lofted a beautiful fade to Calvin Johnson who leapt into the air to catch the ball and landed in the end zone to give the Lions a 20-19 lead and a Lions celebration ensued.

"But wait." said The Curse.  "I'm not done toying with you just yet."

As per NFL rules, all questionable plays can only be reviewed by the booth official and cannot be challenged by either team. 

The on-field referee was buzzed by the booth and he went under the curtain for what seemed like an eternity in an attempt to make the right call.

The play was being shown over and over again to the TV audience and the announcers indicated there wasn't enough irrefutable proof to reverse the call.

We all saw it.  Calvin caught the ball in the air and had control.

He got one foot down, then the other and then landed on his rear-end. 

He rolled over and in celebration, drove the ball to the ground which caused it to come out.

The call was reversed as it was ruled the ball came out while CJ was in the process of making the catch.

No touchdown and no win to start the 2010 season.

What Do You Think Lions Fans?

So based on all of these incidents, can it be determined the Lions are truly cursed or just have the worst luck of any NFL team on the planet?

I'd say its a combination of both. 

There is a saying that you make your own luck. 

A lot of what transpired over these past eight decades was based on lousy decisions made by players and coaches.

But there were some truly odd occurrences that defy explanation and can only be attributed to some ethereal power.

Share your thought on the subject.

The next slide consists of some classic Lions jokes.  After all, if we can't laugh at ourselves, we would all go insane!

Enjoy!

Why So Serious?

Michigan State Police are cracking down on speeders heading into Detroit.  First offense, they give you two Lions tickets.  Second offenses they make you use them.

What do the Lions and Billy Graham have in common?  Both can make 60,000 people stand up and say “Jesus Christ!”

What’s the first thing Lions fans will hear when they win the Super Bowl?—Their alarm clocks.

What do you call 47 people sitting around a TV watching the Super Bowl?—The Detroit Lions.

How can you tell when the Lions are going to run the ball?—The running back leaves the huddle in tears.