Urban Legends of the NFL: The Curse of Bobby Layne

October 12, 2016   ·   Mike Tanier   ·   Jump to comments

Bobby Layne seethed with anger as he emptied his locker. The Lions had just traded him—one of the NFL's greatest players, a quarterback who helped them win three championships—for a prospect and some draft picks. It was just two games into the 1958 season. The Lions were the defending NFL champs. The trade was simply inexplicable. 
Teammates and beat writers milled about as the colorful, quotable and wildly popular Layne packed his belongings into a suitcase for Pittsburgh. As he left the Lions locker room for the last time, Layne delivered a parting shot at his foolish former employers. This team will not win for another 50 years, he said.
None of the professional sportswriters within earshot bothered to put the juicy quote in their newspapers. But the football gods heard Layne's decree and passed judgment on the Lions. The team spent five decades wandering in a wilderness of losing seasons, playoff failures and quarterback controversies. In fact, it's now g...

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