Origins of the “Great Lakes Classic” between the Browns and Lions

Back in the 1950’s and the early 1960’s, the Detroit Lions were one of the NFL’s best teams almost every season. From 1952-1957, this franchise played in four NFL Championship Games and won three NFL titles.

Similarly from 1950-1957, the Cleveland Browns played in seven NFL Championship Games and captured three NFL titles on their own.

The common denominator was that the Browns played the Lions in five of those championships including four in a row from 1951 through 1954.

All throughout the 1950’s, it was either the Browns or the Lions or the Los Angeles Rams or the New York Football Giants and occasionally the Washington Redskins in the title game.