1957

NFL CHAMPIONSHIP GAME

Briggs Stadium, Detroit

Plus:

1957 Cleveland Browns & Detroit Lions Season Highlights

The 1957 NFL Title Game, the 1957 Cleveland Browns Highlights and the 1957 Detroit Lions Highlights are all available for the first time on one 103-minute DVD! All three original films have now been restored by Rare Sportsfilms and the Championship Game is in beautiful COLOR! The B & W Browns highlight film, narrated by Ken Coleman and presented by Sohio gasoline and Carling Black Label Beer, as well as the Lions highlight film, narrated by Van Patrick and sponsored by Goebel Beer, each show the outstanding games from the regular season. The Lions film is also in color and includes the only existing footage of the memorable Western Conference Playoff at old Kezar Stadium. Trailing Y.A. Tittle and the 49'ers 24-7 at halftime, the Lions roar back to beat San Francisco 31-27 in a thriller never to be forgotten by Lions fans!

1957 Cleveland Browns - Head Coach Paul Brown had selected young Jimmy Brown of Syracuse in the college draft and even before the regular season began, he knew he had something special - a heavily muscled, hard to bring down back who was also fast and shifty enough to break tackles. Young Brown's only weakness was blocking, but he had such unusual balance that he became an instant star, and by the end of the season, had led the NFL in rushing! It was supposed to be a re-building year for Cleveland and twelve rookies were on the roster to start the season, including Brown, young Milt Plum, Vince Costello, Milt Campbell, Fred Robinson and Paul Wiggin. However, behind starting QB Tommy McConnell, the Browns re-captured the Eastern championship with two games to go in the regular season, making for 11 titles in their 12 years of existence! Highlights of all 12 Browns games are shown here.

1957 Detroit Lions - The '57 Lions started out in the doghouse and finished in the penthouse. Two days before the first pre-season game, seven-year head coach Buddy Parker addressed the Lions Booster Club Banquet. "This team of ours is the worst I have ever seen in training camp", he said, leaving the audience open mouthed in shock. "Since I don't want to be involved in another losing season, I'm leaving Detroit. Matter of fact, I'm leaving tomorrow". This left Assistant coach George Wilson in charge of a talented but listless squad. But fired up by Parker's resignation, the Lions battled the Bears and up-and-coming Colts all season for the Western crown. A new two-QB system (Bobby Layne and ex-Packer Tobin Rote) brought more depth at the position and came in handy when Layne broke his leg near the end of the season and Rote led the team to victory in two must-win games to tie the 49'ers for the conference title. In yet another beautiful COLOR film, you'll see games vs the Packers at new City Stadium, the Colts at Briggs Stadium, 49'ers at Kezar Stadium, Browns at Briggs Stadium, and Bears at Wrigley Field. This is the oldest professional sound and COLOR film which exists of young Bart Starr and Johnny Unitas! In addition, you'll see the Western Conference Playoff (a re-match with the 49'ers in San Francisco)!

The 1957 NFL Championship Game - Even though the Lions have just knocked off the 49'ers to win the West, they enter the NFL Title game against the favored and rested Browns with two other strikes against them: Charley Ane, one of the NFL's best tackles, is nursing a sore ankle and is out for the season. Even worse, Bobby Layne's broken leg is still in a cast, and Tobin Rote must fill in at QB! So even if any "expert" had forecast a final score of 59-14, no one would have wagered the winning team to be the Lions. But truth is sometimes stranger than fiction. By halftime, the fans at Briggs Stadium are in near hysteria with joy, as the Lions already have a 31-7 lead in an almost unbelievable game! The turning point comes midway thru the second quarter after a 29-yard TD run by Jim Brown cuts the Lions17-0 first quarter lead to 17-7. With the Lions at the Browns 33-yard line, FG placement holder and QB Tobin Rote pulls off a fake FG try. Grabbing the ball, he rolls to his right and tosses a 26-yd TD pass to Detroit's rookie Steve Junker for a 27-7 lead. It's all downhill for the Browns from there. Against the highly rated Cleveland defense, the Lions score eight touchdowns, as Rote throws for four TD's and score one himself and Detroit wins the championship by the second largest margin in NFL history, 59-14! It's a historic game, for even though the fabulous Jimmy Brown is just embarking on his remarkable career, the Browns will never again reach the Championship Game under the coaching leadership of the great Paul Brown.

On this new 103-minute DVD, Lion fans will once again see their heroes of that memorable 1957 season: Coach Wilson, Rote, Junker, Jim Martin, Layne, Hopalong Cassady, John Henry Johnson, Yale Lary, Jim David, Jack Christiansen, Joe Schmidt, Roger Zatkoff, Frank Gatski, Terry Barr, Jim Doran, Gene Gedman, Bob Long, John Gordy, Carl Karilivacz, Jerry Perry, Dave Middleton, Stan Campbell and Jerry Reichow. Browns shown in action include starting QB Tommy O'Connell and backup Milt Plum, Mike McCormack, Don Colo, Darrell Brewster, Ken Konz, Warren Lahr, Milt Campbell, Ray Renfroe, Bill Reynolds, the brothers Lew and Preston Carpenter, Chet Hanulak, Jim Ray Smith, Lou Groza and of course, rookie Jim Brown.

To order all three films on this one DVD, send $29.95 plus $4.00 S & H (Illinois residents must add $2.30 Sales Tax) to:

Add only $10 extra for BLU-RAY!