1952 American Football Season

The 1952 American football season was marked by major transitions, a historic collapse in the professional ranks, and a dramatic battle for the collegiate national championship.

National Football League (NFL) Highlights

The 1952 NFL season is best remembered for the demise of the original Dallas Texans, who went bankrupt mid-season. The league took over the franchise, turning it into a traveling team based in Hershey, Pennsylvania; they finished 1–11 and folded at the end of the year, marking the last time an NFL franchise failed completely.

On the winning side, the Detroit Lions and the Los Angeles Rams tied for the National Conference title with 9–3 records. Detroit defeated Los Angeles 31–21 in a playoff game to advance to the NFL Championship.

• NFL Champions: Detroit Lions (defeated the Cleveland Browns 17–7 on December 28, 1952).
• MVP Performance: Detroit Lions quarterback Bobby Layne and running back Doak Walker led a powerhouse offense.

College Football Highlights

In the collegiate ranks, substitution rules heavily restricted “two-way” players, making it an era of gritty, iron-man football.

The battle for the national title was highly contested, but ultimately dominated by the Michigan State Spartans. Under head coach Biggie Munn, the Spartans finished the season 9–0. Because Michigan State was not yet fully integrated into the Big Ten conference schedule and postseason bowl agreements, they did not play in a bowl game, but were universally voted #1 in both the AP and Coaches polls.

• National Champion: Michigan State Spartans (9–0)
• Heisman Trophy Winner: Billy Vessels, halfback for the University of Oklahoma Sooners.
• Major Bowls:
  • Rose Bowl: USC defeated Wisconsin 7–0.
  • Sugar Bowl: Georgia Tech defeated Ole Miss 24–7.
  • Orange Bowl: Alabama defeated Syracuse 61–6.

A Deep Dive into 1952 Football History and Highlights

• January 1, 1952 – At the 38th Rose Bowl Game, the Stanford Indians were humbled by the Illinois Fighting Illini in a 40-7 rout. Bill Tate, the Illini star running back, was the game’s MVP.
• January 12, 1952 – Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum – The second annual NFL Pro Bowl game was played.
• January 17, 1952 – The 1952 NFL Draft took place. The top pick was Bill Wade from Vanderbilt University by the LA Rams.
• January 19, 1952 – The NFL took control of the NY Yanks, according to a story on ProFootballTalk.NBCSports.com. The Yanks, who really got their League starts in 1945, when the Brooklyn team reassembled the Yanks franchise that had left the NFL in the mid-1940s and entered the All-America Football Conference. They played as the AAFC’s Boston Yanks for three seasons from 1946 to 1948. In 1949, the franchise
• January 24, 1952 – The Dallas Texans franchise was awarded after Dallas purchased the New York Yanks’ assets from the NFL. This is the first Texas NFL franchise in history. As we learned in the January 23 edition of this series, they were not very good, and the NFL shut them down after just one season. The remnants of the franchise were sold to Caroll Rosenbloom in 1953, forming the Baltimore Colts.
• November 16, 1952 – According to the onthisday.com website, it was the first time in the Peanuts Comic strip that Lucy held a football for Charlie Brown. However, the Schultzmuseum.org website claims that the first time Charles Schulz used the football idea in his comic strip was in 1951, although Violet is the one holding the football for Charlie Brown in that instance, and she pulls it away more out of fear than just being mean, as Lucy did.
• November 25, 1952 – Dallas, Texas – Thanksgiving games in Dallas are not just a current-era phenomenon. The Dallas Texans hosted one during a dismal 1952 season against a good Chicago Bears team. ESPN.com has a pretty good story on the game that says, before the game, instead of the usual warmups and such, the Texans players went up into the stands to thank the fans for coming. Up to that point, the Texans had not smelled victory this season. The air was so chilly that day that the players had set up burn barrels on each end of the bench area to keep their hands warm. They always say don’t count the home team out in a Thanksgiving Day battle, and that may have started in this very game, when the NFL’s Dallas Texans won their only game on this day, beating the Bears 27-23. 
• November 29, 1952 – Varsity Stadium, Toronto – It was the Toronto Argonauts who showed their mettle with their record 10th Championship as they squashed the Edmonton Eskimos, 21-11 in the 40th playing of the Grey Cup according to thestar.com.
• November 29, 1952 – Legion Field, Birmingham – The 17th Iron Bowl saw Alabama crush the hopes of the Auburn Tigers with a 21-0 victory, per onthisday.com.
• December 2, 1952 – Oklahoma halfback Billy Vessels won the 18th Heisman Trophy.
• December 28, 1952 – Cleveland Municipal Stadium was the site of the 1952 NFL Championship game, featuring the Detroit Lions representing the National Conference and the Cleveland Browns representing the American Conference. This was the Browns’ third straight NFL title game appearance, according to a story on mesa.marmot.org. This year marked the first of three consecutive championship meetings between Detroit and Cleveland. The Lions’ quarterback Bobby Layne and running back Doak Walker each scored rushing touchdowns, giving Detroit an early advantage. The Detroit defense contained Cleveland’s offense, led by quarterback Otto Graham. The Lions defeated the Browns, 17-7, to win the championship game.