A Glimpse into Life in 1957: The Last Time Detroit Lions Won Two Playoff Games in a Season

If you’re under 67 years old, you were not alive the last time the Detroit Lions won two playoff games in the same season, which happened in 1957. It’s been a while since Lions fans have seen this kind of success, and now they are one win away from the francise’s first-ever Super Bowl appearance.

For starters, when it last happened Bill Belichick was only 5 years old and The Beatles were three years away from forming, with Paul McCartney just 15 years old. Super glue, diet soda and power steering had all just been invented a few years earlier, McDonald’s was still new and the Barbie doll would not come around for two more years.

To break this very long streak, the Lions defeated the Los Angeles Rams 24-23 in the divisional round and the beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 31-23 to advance to the NFC Championship, where they will face the NFC’s top-seeded San Francisco 49ers. The Niners are coming off a 24-21 win over the No. 7 Green Bay Packers in the divisional round.

Now flash back to 1957, when the Lions defeated the San Francisco 49ers 31-27 in the Conference Playoff and beat the Cleveland Browns 59-14 in the NFL Championship.

Life was a little different back then, so we are taking a time machine to see how things were the last time Lions fans got to witness such success. Here’s a look at what things were like in 1957.

Lions’ 1957 season

Detroit went 8-4 that season and were first in the NFL Western Conference. The 49ers also ended 8-4, meaning there would be a playoff tiebreaker.

In the Western Conference championship, the Lions were down 24-7 against the Niners at halftime. Detroit had to rely on backup quarterback Tobin Rote, since starter Bobby Layne was out. Rote helped lead the comeback, as the team scored 24 unanswered points in the second half. It marks the last time the Lions won a road playoff game.

The Browns were favored by three points in the championship and sat at 9-2-1 heading into the game. It marked the fourth time these teams met in the championship game.

The Lions general manager was Edwin J. Anderson, the head coach was George Wilson, who won AP Coach of the Year, and the team was owned by the Detroit Football Company. They played their home games at Briggs Stadium.

The team had seven Pro Bowlers:

MLB Joe Schmidt
SS Jack Christiansen
FS Yale Lary
LT Lou Creekmur
LG Harley Sewell
DB Jim David
DE Darris McCord

The Lions had five AP All-Pros:

LT Lou Creekmur (1st team)
LG Harley Sewell (2nd team)
MLB Joe Schmidt (1st team)
SS Jack Christiansen (1st team)
FS Yale Lary (2nd team)

NFL news

1957 NFL Draft: Green Bay Packers select halfback Paul Hornung from the University of Notre Dame
Rule changes: The home teams now wear dark jerseys and road team wear white, unlike before when teams wore whatever color they wanted
The league was broken down into two conferences, Western and Eastern, with six teams in each
AP Most Valuable Player: Jim Brown, Browns

Sports news

World Series: Milwaukee Braves defeats the New York Yankees
NBA Finals: Boston Celtics defeats the St. Louis Hawks
Stanley Cup Final: Montreal Canadiens defeats the Boston Bruins
MLB: Brooklyn Dodgers owner Walter O’Malley agrees to move the team to Los Angeles
MLB: Baseball legend Jackie Robinson, the first African-American MLB player, retires
MLB: Horace Stoneham announces the Giants are moving from New York to San Francisco
Associated Press Male Athlete of the Year: Ted Williams, MLB
Associated Press Female Athlete of the Year: Althea Gibson, Tennis

Inventions

Bubble wrap
Sweet N’ Low sweetener
The Whopper

Politics

Dwight D. Eisenhower was the U.S. president; Richard Nixon was the vice president
The Civil Rights Act of 1957 was enacted, creating the United States Commission on Civil Rights