The Curse of Bobby Layne
by Jody Jamieson
23/6/2008
 
Sports curses aren't exactly something that are prevalent on this side of the pond. Some may make the accusation that Newcastle United are cursed, due to their lack of ability to win anything for decades despite throwing money at big name players and employing big name managers. The curse of Faustino Asprilla never became such a big talking point in the North East of England.
 
You cross the Atlantic to the United States and curses are not only talking points, they are part of the very culture of American sports. From the Curse of the Bambino which the Boston Red Sox finally snapped in 2004 after being dogged by it for 86 years, to the Curse of 1940, which prevented the New York Rangers from winning the Stanley Cup until 1994. Football over here is not exactly as awash with curses as the other major sports in America (or in particular baseball) but there are still some popular ones. The Cardinals in their various different forms since their inception have been cursed since 1925 due to underservedly claiming the 1925 NFL Championship from the Pottsville Maroons. And apparently the Curse of Marty Schottenheimer prevents any team he coaches from winning a playoff game. Curses state that teams will never again win a championship until they find a way to break it. What makes one of footballs lesser known curses unusual is that not only has the curse successfully stopped a certain team from winning a Championship, but due to comments made when the Curse was "placed" it is actually due to be broken in 2008.
 
The Detroit Lions won the NFL Championship 3 times in the 1950s. '52, '53 and '57 were the years and the Lions were probably the elite team in football for the decade, as the beat the Cleveland Browns in each Championship game. They were led by Hall of Fame quarterback Bobby Layne. Layne was aquired from the New York Bulldogs in 1950 and immediately turned around the fortunes of the team. With another Hall of Famer Doak Walker running the ball, they had an excellent offense which was hard to contain. However during the 1957 season Layne was injured, but the Lions went on to win the Championship without him. The Lions decided it was time to go in a new direction as they believed they could win without him, and they subsequently traded Layne to the Pittsburgh Steelers.
 
Layne's reaction to the trade was to proclaim that the Lions wouldn't win another Championship for the next 50 years. While not exactly rivaling Nostradamus for his ability to see into the future, it is a prediction which has been absolutely spot on as the Lions have not only failed to win a Championship since the trade, they have only made the playoffs 9 times since. What is even more shocking is that they can only claim 1 playoff victory in that time, with a 38-6 win over Dallas in 1991. They got to the NFC Championship game that year, only to be squashed 41-10 by the Redskins.
 
While the Curse of Bobby Layne is not one of the more talked about and publicised curses in American sports, it has taken on intense significance in Motor City. I visited a website entitled www.curseofbobbylayne.com for more answers and I found some incredible facts out about how bad the Detroit Lions have been during the "cursed years." While only Joe Schmidt (43-35-7) and Gary Moeller (4-3) can boast winning records as Lions head coach during the period, amazingly none of them have been hired as head coaches anywhere else after leaving Detroit. The last Lions head coach to get another job upon leaving the Lions was George Gilmore. Gilmore was Layne's last coach as a Lion.
 
It goes further, but most will accuse mismanagement of being the issue here rather than a curse. The 1974 Draft will be remembered as the year the Steelers selected four players who went onto become Hall of Famers, but in Detriot it is remembered as the year they accidently traded away the 13th overall pick to the Saints. Then of course, as the afformentioned Moeller was given a three year contract after two games in charge and then fired five games later, Moeller continued to be paid for the next two years while his replacement Marty Mornhinweg went 5-27 over the next two years. However my favourite story from the whole idea of the curse is so good, I'm just going to lift a quote from the website. It's from 1988, and it needs no introduction. Just read...
 
"Chuck Long only quarterbacked here for 23 games but perhaps the funniest example of futility in history happened during his reign as quarterback. Lions were leading 14- 12 with the ball on Detroit's 12 yard line and 4th down coming up, the punting team came onto the field. However right before the ball was snapped, one of the Saints defensive players yelled "MayDay" which was the Lions receivers' code word that the defense was not covering them and to fake the punt and do a pass play. Needless to say the punter (Jim Arnold) did not punt, but instead threw the ball to his receiver (rookie Carl Painter) who had no idea it was coming and hit him on the back as he ran down field. The Lions lost the game 22- 14 but created one of the all time funniest moments in history."
 
Now it could be argued that last season was the 50th season since the Curse was set and that it was due to be broken at Super Bowl XLII in Arizona. However the claim was not made till after the trade, so officially it will be 50 years since the comment when this season starts. So you heard it here first sports/curse fans! The Detroit Lions will win the Super Bowl this coming February. Jon Kitna will probably be the Super Bowl MVP also.
 
Of course, looking at it objectively rather than trying to second guess these "curses" the Detroit Lions are in no shape to be winning anything anytime soon. Despite starting the season strongly last year, going 6-2 through the first half, only to fall apart when the Mike Martz passing express went full speed ahead. Detroit finished the season 7-9, with only a single win over Kansas City Chiefs to show for their efforts in the second half of the season. Kitna spent the season getting killed behind a disappointing offensive line, Martz lost confidence in the running game, and the defense was posted missing in some horror shows, including conceding 37 to Green Bay on Thanksgiving, 42 to Minnesota the week after, and then 51 to the Chargers in December. It's really hard to see how the Lions can reverse the curse, whether you believe in it or not. Realistically ability will dictate results before curses will.
 
Do you believe in magic? You'll have to if you think this curse is being broken in February. But stranger things have happened. Well....
 
For more information on the Curse I'd recommend visiting www.curseofbobbylayne.com and have a look around. There's a hilarious "exorcism" of a Joey Harrington jersey on the site that's worth checking out.