The Curse of Bobby Layne

Early in life most of my opportunities to learn about the Detroit Lions came via the radio.  My first recollections occurred in the barber shop where my mom or dad took me to get my hair cut.  It was a few blocks from our house and owned by a pair of brothers, Henry and Pete.  Henry had the first chair, Pete the second, and depending on the day, two or three others operated to Pete’s left.

There were no appointments, but you could sit and wait for a particular barber if you chose to do so.  If Mom took me, it was Henry or Pete.  Dad wasn’t as particular.  When I got old enough to go on my own, Mom told me to wait to see one of the brothers. I’d ride my bike or walk to the shop.  Most of the time I rode my bike.

One day Dad opted for a first come first served approach and had me go to the first chair available.  I can still see the man’s face, but I don’t recall his name.  He had acne in his youth, so his face had an extra rugged look.  He worked there for years like most of the other guys.  He manned the fourth chair.  I think they operated on a seniority basis. In any case, the moment I got home Mom said, “Who cut your hair?”  She had some superpower when it came to hair cutting.  She could tell it wasn’t Henry or Pete, so after scolding my dad, we got in the car, and she drove back to the barber shop.

We marched in, and after a brief speech from my mom, Pete gave me a second cut.  That’s just how she rolled.

I was sitting in Pete’s chair when I learned that the Lions had traded Bobby Layne to the Pittsburg Steelers. It wasn’t the same day that Mom took me back for a second cut, but I recall the moment because it was a big deal.  Layne was a legend and my favorite player.  When we played football in the park, I pretended to be Bobby.  Everybody was somebody other than themselves. I didn’t always play quarterback like Bobby, but none of the guys cared.

He was the Lion’s quarterback during 1952 and 53 and led them to a championship in each year.  They played in the championship game in 1954 but lost. Layne broke his leg during the Lion’s championship run in 1957.  Tobin Rote completed the season and led the team to a win over the Cleveland Browns.  The underdog Lions beat the Browns 59 – 14.  I listened to the barber shop banter about the Lions in each of those years.

In 1958 the defending NFL champion Lions traded Layne to the Pittsburg Steelers.  He responded to the trade by supposedly saying that the Lions would “not win for 50 years.”   While the Layne story has been called a hoax, particularly because the quote was never published at the time, they haven’t had much success since then, but I still follow them.

The Lions have had multiple consecutive losing seasons since their 1957 championship. Their lone playoff win was over Dallas in 1991. In 2008, the last year of the supposed curse, the Lions lost all sixteen games.

And then there’s now.  I like now.

The Lions have won two playoff games this year and are hoping to upset the San Fransisco 49ers next Sunday just like they did in 1957.  After being down 21 to 7 at the half, they rallied to beat the 49ers 31 – 27.  The next game was against Cleveland, and they upset them too. I was ten years old. Tobin Rote led the team while Layne nursed his broken leg.

I’m in Florida for the winter, watching the Lions from here, cheering them on with my fellow Lion diehards and some Johnny-come-latelies.  Back in Detroit, and the surrounding suburbs, they’re celebrating the fact that the curse of Bobby Layne has expired.  And no matter the outcome of this Sunday’s game, you can be sure they’ll be talking about it in barber shops throughout the country on Monday morning.