1951 Detroit Lions (NFL) |
| 2nd place • National Conference • 7-4-1 .636 |
| Head Coach: Buddy Parker |
| Earl Brown | Assistant Coach |
| Aldo Forte | Assistant Coach |
| George Wilson | Assistant Coach |
| SCORES | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Day | Date | Opponent | Result | Location | Venue | Attendance | |||
| Fri | 8/24/1951 | N | New York Giants | 31-21 | W | Dallas, TX | Cotton Bowl | 56000 | |
| Mon | 8/27/1951 | N | Philadelphia Eagles | 17-17 | T | Shreveport, LA | Independence Stadium | 17000 | |
| Fri | 8/31/1951 | N | Washington Redskins | 7-10 | L | Amarillo, TX | Sandie Stadium | 12000 | |
| Tue | 9/4/1951 | H | Cleveland Browns | 21-20 | W | Detroit, MI | Briggs Stadium | 35165 | |
| Sat | 9/15/1951 | N | Chicago Cardinals | 21-7 | W | San Antonio, TX | Alamo Stadium | 19510 | |
| Fri | 9/21/1951 | N | New York Yanks | 28-14 | W | Houston, TX | Rice Stadium | 48000 | |
| Sun | 9/30/1951 | H | Washington Redskins | 35-17 | W | Detroit, MI | Briggs Stadium | 28900 | |
| Mon | 10/8/1951 | A | New York Yanks | 37-10 | W | Detroit, MI | Briggs Stadium | 24194 | |
| Sun | 10/14/1951 | H | Los Angeles Rams | 21-27 | L | Detroit, MI | Briggs Stadium | 50567 | |
| Sun | 10/21/1951 | H | New York Yanks | 24-24 | T | Detroit, MI | Briggs Stadium | 21807 | |
| Sun | 10/28/1951 | H | Chicago Bears | 23-28 | L | Detroit, MI | Briggs Stadium | 34778 | |
| Sun | 11/4/1951 | A | Green Bay Packers | 24-17 | W | Green Bay, WI | City Stadium | 18165 | |
| Sun | 11/11/1951 | A | Chicago Bears | 41-28 | W | Chicago, IL | Wrigley Field | 43709 | |
| Sun | 11/18/1951 | A | Philadelphia Eagles | 28-10 | W | Philadelphia, PA | Shibe Park | 25350 | |
| Thu | 11/22/1951 | H | Green Bay Packers | 52-35 | W | Detroit, MI | Briggs Stadium | 32247 | |
| Sun | 12/2/1951 | H | San Francisco 49ers | 10-20 | L | Detroit, MI | Briggs Stadium | 45757 | |
| Sun | 12/9/1951 | A | Los Angeles Rams | 24-22 | W | Los Angeles, CA | Memorial Coliseum | 52937 | |
| Sun | 12/16/1951 | A | San Francisco 49ers | 17-21 | L | San Francisco, CA | Kezar Stadium | 26465 | |
| Schedule Notes | ||
|---|---|---|
| 10/8/1951 | New York Yanks | Moved from New York, NY |
| ROSTER | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | No | Pos | Ht | Wt | Age | College | GP | GS |
| Vince Banonis | 51 | C-LB | 6-1 | 230 | 30 | Detroit Mercy | 12 | 0 |
| Ed Berrang | 85 | LDE-RDE | 6-2 | 205 | 29 | Villanova | 10 | 10 |
| Les Bingaman | 65 | C-MG | 6-3 | 272 | 25 | Illinois | 8 | 8 |
| Jack Christiansen | 19 | S | 6-1 | 190 | 23 | Colorado State | 12 | 12 |
| Gus Cifelli | 70 | ROT | 6-4 | 244 | 25 | Notre Dame | 12 | 12 |
| Ollie Cline | 30 | FB | 6-0 | 200 | 26 | Ohio State | 9 | 0 |
| Lou Creekmur | 76 | LOG | 6-4 | 246 | 24 | William & Mary | 12 | 12 |
| Pete D'Alonzo | 16 | FB | 5-10 | 210 | 22 | Villanova | 12 | 1 |
| Dorne Dibble | 84 | LOE-LDH | 6-2 | 195 | 22 | Michigan State | 12 | 7 |
| Don Doll | 44 | S | 5-10 | 185 | 25 | Southern California | 12 | 12 |
| Jim Doran | 83 | RDE-ROE | 6-2 | 201 | 24 | Iowa State | 12 | 9 |
| Fred Enke | 24 | QB | 6-1 | 201 | 27 | Arizona | 7 | 0 |
| Dick Flanagan | 74 | LLB-ROG | 6-0 | 216 | 25 | Ohio State | 12 | 9 |
| Barry French | 67 | ROG-ROT | 6-0 | 225 | 29 | Purdue | 11 | 0 |
| Pat Harder | 34 | FB-K | 5-11 | 203 | 29 | Wisconsin | 12 | 11 |
| Leon Hart | 82 | ROE-RDE | 6-5 | 257 | 23 | Notre Dame | 12 | 12 |
| Jimmy Hill | 12 | LDH-S | 6-0 | 188 | 22 | Tennessee | 11 | 2 |
| Bob Hoernschemeyer | 14 | ROH | 5-11 | 194 | 26 | Indiana; Navy | 12 | 11 |
| Floyd Jaszewski | 72 | LOT-LDT | 6-4 | 230 | 24 | Minnesota | 12 | 8 |
| Bobby Layne | 22 | QB | 6-1 | 201 | 25 | Texas | 12 | 12 |
| Ray Lininger | 55 | LLB | 5-11 | 217 | 24 | Ohio State | 12 | 3 |
| Jim Martin | 89 | LOT-LDE | 6-2 | 227 | 27 | Notre Dame | 12 | 12 |
| Thurman McGraw | 73 | LDT | 6-5 | 235 | 24 | Colorado State | 9 | 9 |
| Bob Momsen | 63 | MG | 6-2 | 225 | 22 | Ohio State | 12 | 0 |
| Art Murakowski | 35 | DB | 5-11 | 195 | 26 | Northwestern | 12 | 0 |
| Lindy Pearson | 42 | ROH-LOH | 6-0 | 198 | 22 | Oklahoma | 12 | 1 |
| John Prchlik | 75 | RDT | 6-4 | 234 | 26 | Yale | 12 | 12 |
| Dan Rogas | 64 | ROG | 6-1 | 228 | 25 | Tulane | 11 | 8 |
| Clarence Self | 11 | LDH-S | 5-8 | 181 | 26 | Wisconsin | 10 | 6 |
| Bob Smith | 40 | P-DH | 6-1 | 198 | 26 | Tulsa; Iowa | 12 | 12 |
| Bill Swiacki | 88 | LOE | 6-2 | 195 | 29 | Holy Cross; Columbia | 12 | 5 |
| LaVern Torgeson | 53 | RLB-CB | 6-0 | 215 | 22 | Washington State | 12 | 12 |
| Doak Walker | 37 | LOH-K | 5-11 | 173 | 24 | Southern Methodist | 12 | 12 |
| Bruce Womack | 60 | LOG | 6-3 | 210 | 22 | West Texas A&M | 3 | 0 |
| DRAFT LIST | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Round | Overall | Player | Pos | College |
| 2 | 19 | Dick Stanfel | G | San Francisco |
| 3 | 33 | Dorne Dibble | E | Michigan State |
| 4 | 44 | Pete D'Alonzo | B | Villanova |
| 5 | 55 | Jim Doran | E | Iowa State |
| 5 | 58 | LaVern Torgeson | C | Washington State |
| 6 | 69 | Jack Christiansen | B | Colorado State |
| 7 | 80 | Bob Momsen | T | Ohio State |
| 8 | 91 | Dick Raklovits | B | Illinois |
| 10 | 117 | Jim Shoaf | G | Louisiana State |
| 11 | 128 | Frankie Anderson | E | Oklahoma |
| 13 | 153 | Wayne Siegert | T | Illinois |
| 14 | 164 | Lee Wittmer | T | Detroit Mercy |
| 15 | 178 | Jimmy Hill | B | Tennessee |
| 16 | 189 | Ted Geremsky | E | Pittsburgh |
| 17 | 200 | Darrel Meisenheimer | B | Oklahoma State |
| 18 | 214 | Eddie Wolgast | B | Arizona |
| 19 | 225 | Gordy Hansen | T | Washington State |
| 20 | 236 | Harry Gibbons | B | South Dakota State |
| 21 | 250 | King Block | B | Idaho |
| 22 | 261 | Dan Foldberg | E | Army |
| 23 | 272 | Dick Gabriel | B | Lehigh |
| 24 | 286 | George Buksar | B | San Francisco |
| 25 | 297 | Dick Harris | C | Texas |
| 26 | 308 | Frank Kazmierski | C | West Virginia |
| 27 | 322 | Harry Allis | E | Michigan |
| 28 | 333 | Dick Peot | T | South Dakota State |
| 29 | 344 | Bruce Womack | G | West Texas A&M |
| 30 | 358 | Ron Horwath | B | Detroit Mercy |
| SCORING BY QUARTERS | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Totals | 40 | 110 | 105 | 81 | 336 |
| Opponents Totals | 59 | 72 | 59 | 69 | 259 |
| TEAM STATS | TOP | 1st Downs | FDR | FDP | FDX | 3rd Down Efficiency | 4th Down Efficiency | PEN | PENY |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Totals | 231 | 109 | 105 | 17 | / % | / % | 80 | 746 | |
| Opponents Totals | 235 | 102 | 107 | 26 | / % | / % | 81 | 656 |
| SCORING | TD | X1 | X1A | PCT | FG | FGA | PCT | SAF | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Doak Walker | 6 | 43 | 44 | 97.7 | 6 | 12 | 50.0 | 0 | 97 |
| Leon Hart | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 72 | ||
| Pat Harder | 8 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 5 | 60.0 | 0 | 57 | |
| Dorne Dibble | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 36 | ||
| Bob Hoernschemeyer | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 30 | ||
| Jack Christiansen | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 24 | ||
| Jim Doran | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | ||
| Bobby Layne | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | ||
| John Prchlik | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | ||
| Team Totals | 44 | 43 | 44 | 97.7 | 9 | 17 | 52.9 | 1 | 336 |
| Opponents Totals | 32 | 31 | 32 | 96.9 | 12 | 22 | 54.5 | 0 | 259 |
| FIELD GOALS | MADE | ATT | PCT | BL | LG | 1-19 | 20-29 | 30-39 | 40-49 | 50+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Doak Walker | 6 | 12 | 50.0 | 1 | 23 | 4/6 | 2/2 | 0/1 | 0/2 | 0/1 |
| Pat Harder | 3 | 5 | 60.0 | 1 | 42 | 1/2 | 0/0 | 1/2 | 1/1 | 0/0 |
| Team Totals | 9 | 17 | 52.9 | 2 | 42 | 5/8 | 2/2 | 1/3 | 1/3 | 0/1 |
| Opponents Totals | 12 | 22 | 54.5 | 2/ | 4/ | 4/ | 2/ | 0/ |
| RUSHING | ATT | YDS | AVG | LG | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bob Hoernschemeyer | 132 | 678 | 5.1 | 85t | 2 |
| Pat Harder | 101 | 380 | 3.8 | 28 | 6 |
| Doak Walker | 79 | 356 | 4.5 | 34 | 2 |
| Bobby Layne | 61 | 290 | 4.8 | 36 | 1 |
| Lindy Pearson | 22 | 88 | 4.0 | 25 | 0 |
| Jim Doran | 2 | 23 | 11.5 | 7 | 0 |
| Ollie Cline | 3 | 15 | 5.0 | 10 | 0 |
| Pete D'alonzo | 2 | 11 | 5.5 | 7 | 0 |
| Fred Enke | 4 | 6 | 1.5 | 4 | 0 |
| Leon Hart | 4 | -6 | -1.5 | 3 | 0 |
| Team Totals | 410 | 1841 | 4.5 | 85t | 11 |
| Opponents Totals | 454 | 1509 | 3.3 | 13 |
| PASSING | ATT | COM | PCT | INC | YDS | Y/ATT | Y/COM | LG | TD | TD% | INT | INT% | TS | YL | NYP | RTG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bobby Layne | 332 | 152 | 45.8 | 157 | 2403 | 7.2 | 15.8 | 63 | 26 | 7.8 | 23 | 6.9 | 153 | 2250 | 67.6 | |
| Bob Hoernschemeyer | 4 | 2 | 50.0 | 2 | 46 | 11.5 | 23.0 | 30t | 2 | 50.0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 46 | 131.3 |
| Doak Walker | 5 | 2 | 40.0 | 3 | 29 | 5.8 | 14.5 | 22t | 1 | 20.0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 29 | 99.2 |
| Fred Enke | 9 | 2 | 22.2 | 6 | 22 | 2.4 | 11.0 | 12 | 0 | 0.0 | 1 | 11.1 | 0 | 0 | 22 | 0.0 |
| Pat Harder | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 39.6 | ||
| Team Totals | 351 | 158 | 45.0 | 169 | 2500 | 7.1 | 15.8 | 63 | 29 | 8.3 | 24 | 6.8 | 153 | 2347 | 68.3 | |
| Opponents Totals | 374 | 181 | 48.4 | 178 | 2608 | 7.0 | 14.4 | 18 | 4.8 | 15 | 4.0 | 253 | 2355 | 70.8 |
| RECEIVING | REC | YDS | AVG | LG | TD | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Leon Hart | 35 | 544 | 15.5 | 33t | 12 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Dorne Dibble | 30 | 613 | 20.4 | 47 | 6 | 0 | |||
| Bob Hoernschemeyer | 23 | 263 | 11.4 | 48 | 3 | 1 | |||
| Doak Walker | 22 | 421 | 19.1 | 63 | 4 | ||||
| Pat Harder | 17 | 193 | 11.4 | 26 | 2 | 2 | 0 | ||
| Bill Swiacki | 16 | 188 | 11.8 | 24 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Jim Doran | 10 | 225 | 22.5 | 48 | 2 | ||||
| Lindy Pearson | 5 | 43 | 8.6 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Jim Martin | 0 | 10 | 10L | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Team Totals | 158 | 2500 | 15.8 | 63 | 29 | ||||
| Opponents Totals | 181 | 2608 | 14.4 | 18 |
| INTERCEPTIONS | INT | YDS | AVG | LG | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bob Smith | 3 | 70 | 23.3 | 42 | 0 |
| Jack Christiansen | 2 | 53 | 26.5 | 53 | 0 |
| Leon Hart | 2 | 22 | 11.0 | 20 | 0 |
| Dick Flanagan | 2 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jim Doran | 1 | 38 | 38.0 | 38 | 0 |
| Dorne Dibble | 1 | 26 | 26.0 | 26 | 0 |
| Ed Berrang | 1 | 14 | 14.0 | 14 | 0 |
| Vince Banonis | 1 | 12 | 12.0 | 12 | 0 |
| Don Doll | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| LaVern Torgeson | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Team Totals | 15 | 235 | 15.7 | 53 | 0 |
| Opponents Totals | 24 | 277 | 11.5 | 0 |
| PUNTING | NO | YDS | AVG | LG | BL | TB | I20 | RYDS | NYDS | NET |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bob Smith | 49 | 2082 | 42.5 | 73 | 1 | |||||
| Doak Walker | 9 | 316 | 35.1 | 50 | 0 | |||||
| Team Totals | 58 | 2398 | 41.3 | 73 | 1 | 386 | 34.7 | |||
| Opponents Totals | 56 | 2335 | 41.7 | 483 |
| PUNT RETURNS | NO | FC | YDS | AVG | LG | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jack Christiansen | 18 | 343 | 19.1 | 89t | 4 | |
| Doak Walker | 7 | 85 | 12.1 | 19 | 0 | |
| Don Doll | 5 | 39 | 7.8 | 14 | 0 | |
| Bob Hoernschemeyer | 2 | 16 | 8.0 | 6 | 0 | |
| Team Totals | 32 | 483 | 15.1 | 89t | 4 | |
| Opponents Totals | 32 | 383 | 12.0 | 0 |
| KICKOFF RETURNS | NO | FC | YDS | AVG | LG | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Doak Walker | 15 | 408 | 27.2 | 63 | 0 | |
| Jack Christiansen | 11 | 270 | 24.5 | 45 | 0 | |
| Don Doll | 9 | 220 | 24.4 | 35 | 0 | |
| Bob Hoernschemeyer | 3 | 78 | 26.0 | 41 | 0 | |
| Ollie Cline | 3 | 48 | 16.0 | 22 | 0 | |
| Pat Harder | 1 | 14 | 14.0 | 14 | 0 | |
| John Prchlik | 1 | 12 | 12.0 | 12 | 0 | |
| Barry French | 1 | 3 | 3.0 | 3 | 0 | |
| Art Murakowski | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Team Totals | 45 | 1053 | 23.4 | 63 | 0 | |
| Opponents Totals | 58 | 1328 | 22.9 | 0 |
| FUMBLES | NO | LOST | OWN | OPP | REC | YDS | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ed Berrang | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 0 |
| Les Bingaman | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Jack Christiansen | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 52 | 0 | |
| Pete D'Alonzo | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Dorne Dibble | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 9 | 0 |
| Don Doll | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Jim Doran | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| Pat Harder | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| Jimmy Hill | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Bob Hoernschemeyer | 3 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | |
| Floyd Jaszewski | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Bobby Layne | 8 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | |
| Jim Martin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Thurman McGraw | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Bob Momsen | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Lindy Pearson | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Bob Smith | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 11 | 0 |
| Doak Walker | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | |
| Team Totals | 19 | 9 | 10 | 16 | 26 | 75 | 0 |
| Opponents Totals | 22 | 16 | 6 | 9 | 15 | 0 |
| Player Deaths |
| NFL Boxscores |
| NFL Game Officials |
| NFL Training Camps |
| NFL Roster Limits |
| Pro Football Hall of Fame |
| Super Bowl Scores |
| Privacy Policy |
| ©2006-2025 Pro Football Archives. All Rights Reserved. |
| Last Updated: October 12, 2025 |