Detroit Lions: The Most Underrated Players In Team History
Tobin Rote
While Bobby Layne gets most of the praise for quarterbacking the Lions’ championship teams of the 50s, Tobin Rote deserves his fair share of credit as well. Although he only spent three seasons in Detroit, the Lions would most likely have not won the 1957 NFL Championship if it were not for Rote, and his performance during that season alone justifies his inclusion.
He spent the first seven years of his career in Green Bay, where he led the NFL in passing touchdowns in 1955 and 1956. Rote was known for his ability to run the ball effectively, leading the NFL in quarterback rushing yards six times and holding the NFL career mark for rushing yards by a quarterback when he retired. Despite his success, the Packers opted to give second-year Bart Starr the starting nod in 1957 and traded Rote to the Lions.
Layne and Rote split time at quarterback in 1957, leading the Lions to a 6-4 record until Layne went down with a gruesome season-ending leg injury in the next-to-last game of the regular season. Rote finished the game, which the Lions won, and stepped in as the starter for the rest of the season. A win in the regular season finale against Chicago forced a playoff between Detroit and the San Francisco 49ers for the Western Conference crown and a spot in the NFL Championship game. Down 27-7 in the third quarter of the playoff game, Rote led the offense to three touchdowns in a matter of minutes to give the Lions the lead en route to a 31-27 victory in one of the greatest comebacks in NFL history.
Where Rote really left his mark was in the 1957 NFL Championship game. The Lions met the Cleveland Browns for the title for the fourth time in six years, the Lions having won two of the first three meetings, but the Browns having won the most recent matchup 56-10 in 1954. In the 1957 game, the Lions returned the favor almost down to the point, as Rote threw for four touchdowns and ran for one more in a 59-14 romp to claim the Lions’ most recent championship.
The next season, the Lions opted to trade Layne to the Pittsburgh Steelers and go with Rote as their starter. Rote played the next two seasons in Detroit, but his performance was underwhelming and he was released after the 1959 season.
Rote headed north of the border after leaving Detroit and joined the CFL’s Toronto Argonauts, where he set a CFL record by throwing for 38 touchdowns in 1960. In 1963, he returned to the United States to quarterback the San Diego Chargers. He led the Chargers to the 1963 AFL Championship and was named AP Player of the Year. He is the only quarterback to win both an NFL and AFL Championship. He retired after the 1964 season, although he did briefly attempt a comeback with the Denver Broncos in 1966. He was elected to the Packers’ Hall of Fame in 1974.
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