- WEEKLY POLL
Lake Twp. man played for NFL champs 50 years ago
By P.J. Whitman
Special to The Press
sports@presspublications.com
Fifty years ago this season, the 1957 Detroit Lions, with Lake Township resident and former Bowling Green Falcon Ken Russell playing offensive tackle, won their last National Football League championship.
“It was a pretty good couple of years for me. Bowling Green won the MAC title under Doyt Perry, the first one ever, it was first year for the league, and then winning the title in Detroit.” said Russell, who played high school football for the Rossford Bulldogs.
The Lions were one of the dominant team of the 1950’s, winning NFL championships in 1952, 1953, and again in 1957, and beating the Cleveland Browns all three times in the championships.
In an interview for the Detroit News, Lions end Steve Junker told the reporter about a fake field goal in the 1957 championship win over the Browns, “…when I got to the line, I put on a pretty good act with Ken Russell as we pointed out who we were going to block. When the ball was snapped, I ran past the linebacker who realized he had been had.”
For a rookie offensive lineman playing in a pro football championship game, that was about as good as it gets, Russell admits. Russell said that he played about half the offensive snaps in his rookie season, including starts in late season games. Russell played from 1957-59 for Detroit.
The Lions were led by legendary quarterback Bobby Layne and middle linebacker Joe Schmidt.
Russell recalls the popular 1957 Lions coach Buddy Parker, who resigned in a cloud of controversy at an official “Meet the Lions” banquet just a couple of days before the opening exhibition game of the season.
Midway through the ‘57 season, the Lions were 3-3 and then won seven of the next eight games. They won the NFL and the hearts of Detroit fans much like ‘68 and ‘84 Tigers, and the 2001 Red Wings. Today, they would call the ‘57 Lions a “team of destiny”.
“We had a 3-3 record (after six games) in a 12-game season. We were a pretty good road team. Most people don’t know that the Lions last road playoff win was against San Francisco in 1957,” said Russell.
The Lions and the 49ers’ had tied for the Western Conference championship and league rules required a playoff. In ’57, the 12 team league had only Western and Eastern conferences and the NFL championship game was between the top teams from each division.
In that game, the Lions trailed the 49ers’ 24-7 at halftime and 27-7 with only five minutes left in the third quarter.
With nothing to lose, the Lions opened up the offense and started blitzing almost every down on defense. Former Green Bay quarterback Tobin Rote (who also played running back during the season), who had come to Detroit at the beginning of the season, led the Lions back for one of the greatest playoff comebacks in league history. The Lions put up the last 24 points of the game to win, 31-27.
‘High Roller’
Would you believe that Hall of Fame defensive back Yale Lary did both the punting and the punt returning for Detroit in 1957? Layne also did the place kicking that season until going out in game 10 of a 12-game season with a broken ankle. Then, teams only carried 35 players on the roster, compared to the 53 on today’s roster.
“Bobby Layne was the leader, he was bigger than life. He took care of the guys on the line. Bobby was a high roller,” explained Russell.
Russell says it is both easy and hard to believe that it has been 50 years since the last Lions football title. He has hoped for one ever since, and the 6-2 start this season is getting his hopes even higher.
Russell notes that he has lived five decades of his life since 1957, “… yet you relive all those memories of games you’ve played from high school and college and three years in the pros and it seems like yesterday.”
Russell knows football was just growing up in the 1950’s. In college, the backs and ends often still wore single bar facemasks and the linemen had double bar facemasks. In the pros, backs and ends wore single and double bar facemasks and the linemen had the first generation of cage style facemasks.
In 1957, Joe Schmidt, one of the top defenders in the league, was paid $9,700 for the season. Russell made $6,000 that season ($4,800 was minimum). Many potential players turned down a chance to go pro, instead opting for a professional career that made more money.
Russell says winning the championship was a big deal cash-wise for the players, with a championship share of about $5,000 — often more than a single player’s seasonal salary. Only about 42 shares, including coaches, were counted for the Lions in ’57; current championship teams count between 150-200 shares.
Russell notes numerous other changes in the NFL since his playing days.
“Linemen played at 250 pounds. With modern training methods, the players then would be just as good as players today. At every level, there is always someone who is a little bigger or faster than everybody else. They play the game at a higher level. They build him into a stud with weight training and modern training methods,” added Russell.
Russell says the changes in blocking styles from 1957 to 2007 are massive.
“It is hand-blocking today. We blocked shoulders into thighs and drove the other player,” Russell said.
The differences in football today are apparent at all levels of football, Russell said.
“College football is more sophisticated. The internet has changed things. Even Division II and III teams can find kids today. The internet has put teams on a more even level in college.”
Lake Hall of Famers played some pro football, too
By P.J. Whitman
Special to The Press
sports@presspublications.com
Pro football and its affects on former Detroit Lion Ken Russell have lingered for him and his family.
In addition, Russell believes the NFL has done a great job marketing itself, and “…that we are a sports country and the NFL has built its trademark and copyright and exclusive licensing…” well since his playing days.
But Russell feels fortunate someone like Mike Dikta is standing up for the retired players of the league. He agrees that not all retired players need extra help, but he believes those who do should be able to get it.
Plus, Russell’s two sons, Mike and Marlin, after playing linebacker at Lake and for the Toledo Rockets, made it to training camps in the World Football League.
Both sons had career ending injuries before getting a chance to play regular season games at the pro level. Their father noted that both have since recovered from those injuries and retired from sports to be very productive in their own careers, “…and that is an accomplishment itself. That’s all any father could ask.”
According to Lake athletic director Dave Shaffer, both Mike and Marlin had brief stints in the NFL, also. Both have been inducted into Lake’s Athletic Hall of Fame.
At Lake, Marlin and Mark played on Lake’s 1977 Northern Lakes League championship team, where they were both First Team All-NLL on offense and defense.
Both were second team all-district, but Marlin was special mention all-state, while Mark honorable mention all-state. Graduating in 1978, both received Scholar Athlete Awards from the National Football Foundation.
Football wasn’t their only sport — Marlin earned five varsity letters, including two in football, two in basketball, and one in baseball, and was first team all-league in baseball. Mark earned six letters, including three in football, two in basketball, and one in baseball, and was first team all league in baseball and second team in basketball.
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