1953 NFL Championship Game
The 1953 NFL Championship Game was the 21st annual championship game, held on December 27 at Briggs Stadium in Detroit.
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| Date | December 27, 1953 | ||||||||||||||||||
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| Stadium | Briggs Stadium, Detroit, Michigan | ||||||||||||||||||
| Attendance | 54,577 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Hall of Famers | |||||||||||||||||||
| Browns: Paul Brown (coach/gm), Doug Atkins, Len Ford, Frank Gatski, Otto Graham, Lou Groza, Dante Lavelli, Marion Motley, Chuck Noll (as a coach), Bill Willis Lions: Jack Christiansen, Lou Creekmur, Yale Lary, Bobby Layne, Joe Schmidt, Dick Stanfel, Doak Walker | |||||||||||||||||||
| TV in the United States | |||||||||||||||||||
| Network | DuMont | ||||||||||||||||||
| Announcers | Harry Wismer and Red Grange | ||||||||||||||||||
| Radio in the United States | |||||||||||||||||||
| Network | Mutual | ||||||||||||||||||
| Announcers | Earl Gillespie, Chris Schenkel | ||||||||||||||||||
The defending NFL champion Detroit Lions (10–2) of the Western Conference were led by quarterback Bobby Layne and running back Doak Walker, and the Cleveland Browns (11–1) of the Eastern Conference were led by head coach Paul Brown and quarterback Otto Graham. The game was a rematch of the previous year, which was won by the Lions, 17–7. This was the Browns' fourth consecutive NFL championship game appearance since joining the league in 1950, and they were favored by three points.
The Lions were attempting to become the third team in the championship game era (since 1933) to win two titles in a row, following the Chicago Bears (1940, 1941) and Philadelphia Eagles (1948, 1949).
The home underdog Lions rallied in the fourth quarter with a late touchdown and conversion to win by a single point, 17–16. The two teams met the following year for a third consecutive title match-up.
Ticket prices ranged from three to seven dollars.