By Darin The 1957 American football season was marked by historic dominance in the professional ranks and a deeply divided crown in college football. It stands as a pivotal year that shaped the legacies of legendary coaches, legendary franchises, and future Hall of Fame players.
1958 Houstonian photography staff
Professional Football: The NFL Campaign
In the National Football League, the Detroit Lions captured the NFL Championship, marking their fourth franchise title—and notably, their last league championship appearance to date.
The Lions’ path to the title was a true underdog story. Weeks before the season began, their head coach resigned. Late in the regular season, star quarterback Bobby Layne suffered a broken ankle. Backup quarterback Tobin Rote stepped in beautifully, leading the Lions to a stunning 20-point comeback victory over the San Francisco 49ers in the Western Conference tiebreaker playoff.
On December 29, 1957, Detroit hosted Paul Brown’s favored Cleveland Browns at Briggs Stadium for the title. Led by Rote’s four passing touchdowns and one rushing score, the Lions completely dismantled the Browns in a 59–14 blowout. The game also featured a rookie performance from Cleveland’s legendary fullback, Jim Brown, who scored the Browns’ opening touchdown.
College Football: A Split National Championship
The 1957 NCAA college football season concluded without a consensus national champion, resulting in a famous split crown:
- Auburn University (10–0): Head coach Ralph “Shug” Jordan led the Tigers to a perfect, undefeated season, capturing the AP Poll national championship. Anchored by a phenomenal defense that recorded six shutouts, Auburn was ineligible for a bowl game due to SEC probation violations.
- Ohio State University (9–1): Under the direction of Woody Hayes, the Buckeyes rebounded from an opening-day loss to TCU to win the UPI Coaches Poll and the FWAA national championship. Ohio State went on to defeat Oregon 10–7 in the Rose Bowl.
Additionally, the prestigious Heisman Trophy was awarded to Texas A&M halfback John David Crow, playing under head coach Paul “Bear” Bryant, who departed for Alabama at the conclusion of the season.
A Deep Dive into 1957 Football History and Highlights
For gridiron purists, 1957 is remembered as the end of an era and the beginning of a modern football landscape. It marked the definitive peak of the Detroit Lions’ dynasty of the 1950s, a decade where they won three titles in six years. For Cleveland, despite the championship loss, it served as the launching pad for Jim Brown, who went on to lead the league in rushing yards as a rookie. In the collegiate landscape, the season highlighted the intense, era-defining debates generated by the old polling systems, leaving fans to wonder how an Auburn vs. Ohio State matchup would have truly played out on the field.
- January 1, 1957 – The Rose Bowl Game celebrated its 43rd edition as the Iowa Hawkeyes humiliated the Oregon State Beavers, 35-19. Iowa QB Ken Ploen was selected as the Most Valuable Player for the game.
- January 13, 1957 – Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum – The NFL held its 7th annual Pro Bowl game, and it was the all-stars of the Western Conference who overcame the challenge of their Eastern Conference rivals 19-10. The Most Valuable player on the defensive side was Pittsburgh’s Ernie Stautner, a defensive tackle, and Baltimore Colt Bert Rechichar, a kicker, won the award for the MVP of the offense.
- May 20, 1957 – Former Notre Dame star and coach Frank Leahy had agreed to return to coaching at Georgetown University. The school had suspended its football program in 1950.
- November 10, 1957 – Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, LA, California – An NFL record crowd of 102,368 crammed into the stadium to watch LA come away with a 37-24 victory over the San Francisco 49ers. And they say LA fans don’t turn out for games!
- November 10, 1957 – Cleveland Municipal Stadium, Cleveland, Ohio – Cleveland Browns’ Don Paul sets club record for longest scoop and score with a 89-yard touchdown that helped the Browns to blank the Pittsburgh Steelers 24-0.
- November 16, 1957 – Cleveland Browns Rookie running back Jim Brown was something special even in his initial season in the League. Incredibly, Brown set an NFL season rushing record of 1163 yards after only eight games, one year removed from college! According to the website sports.ha.com, in his 9 seasons in the NFL, he led all rushers 8 times.
- November 16, 1957 – Norman, Oklahoma – Oklahoma Football’s NCAA win streak ends at 47 after losing to Notre Dame, 7-0. The Oklahoma Sooners were the defending college football champions. Oklahoma had a 47-game win streak going into a home game against Notre Dame, the last to defeat them. What occurred was a defensive slugfest, with the game coming down to a late 4th-quarter drive by the Irish. David Funk, of Bleacher Report, explains the sequence of events in his 2008 article. The Golden Domers had a series of successful plays that put them at the Sooners’ 8-yard line as the clock approached five minutes left in the game. The Irish ran the ball on three consecutive plays to advance the ball to the Sooners’ 3-yard line.
- November 24, 1957 – Cleveland Browns running back Jim Brown rushed for 237 yards and 4 touchdowns against the Los Angeles Rams. It was Brown’s rookie season, and according to fs64sports, Brown wasn’t even the Browns’ target in the 1957 Draft; Len Dawson was. The Pittsburgh Steelers drafted Dawson before the Browns had a chance, so they went with their next choice, Jim Brown of Syracuse.
- November 30, 1957 – Varsity Stadium, Toronto – In the 45th Grey Cup final, it was the Hamilton Tiger-Cats who took home their 2nd CFL title after they dispatched the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, 32-7. The website cfl.ca has the full recap of the story.
- November 30, 1957 – Legion Field, Birmingham – The 22nd Iron Bowl was an extremely one-sided affair as the Auburn Tigers dominated Alabama 40-0.
- December 2, 1957 – The Chicago Cardinals selected Rice University quarterback King Hill as the top choice in the 1958 NFL Draft.
- December 3, 1957 – Texas A&M Halfback John Crow won the 23rd Heisman Trophy Award, becoming the only Heisman winner coached by the legendary Bear Bryant during his tenure with the Aggies.
- December 29, 1957 – Briggs Stadium, Detroit – The 1957 NFL Championship game once again had Jim Brown-led Cleveland Browns facing the Detroit Lions. An article on the Oakland Press website gives the details of the game. The Lions had to overcome a 20-point third-quarter deficit the previous week on the road against the San Francisco 49ers and quarterback Y.A. Tittle to make it to this title game. Lions scored 2 touchdowns in each quarter, led by running back Steve Junker with two and 109 yards rushing, and fellow backfield mate Jim Doran, who had 101 yards on the ground with a TD. The Detroit Lions dominated the Cleveland Browns, 59-14, to win the title again.